Azithromycin 500 mg. 3 X week for Bronchiectasis

I experienced hearing loss after 2 months .
Dr, treating me doesn’t know if it’s irreversible. ENT doctor thinks it is .
Hearing aids do not help with this kind of hearing loss.
I regret having taken this medication. Pulmonologist downplayed the risk . I believe risk outweighs benefits .

Downpour

As I commented in a previous post, azithromycin can hsve serious effects on hearing

Yes I took Azithromycin 3 times a week . After 3 months I had irreversible hearing loss. You should monitor for this early on.
I had to stop taking it, of course .

Hi Everyone, This is such an incredible site and I have learned so much from everyone. Now I need help with finding a good Pulmonologist and/or Infectious Disease doctor in the Phoenix greater area. I go to NJH that I think very highly of but feel I need someone here in Arizona as well just incase. Any help would be most appreciated. - Roz

I just started taking Azrithromycin 250mg once daily and have been for about a week, I have noticed that my ears seem to be plugged sometimes like water in them. Would it be like this for early on symptoms of hearing loss?

Probably so. I became aware of my hearing loss when the sounds became muffled, as if I had cotton in my ears . A hearing test by an audiologist confirmed a significant loss from my previous tesr .
Adjusting my hearing aids did not help because volume increase distorted speech .

I am just starting the process I will keep you posted

@kevin7 Welcome to Mayo Connect, where we are patients supporting one another in the journey of living with Bronchiectasis. Even though I have not taken Azithromycin alone, I am jumping in to greet you because the members in this discussion, except @spider109, are no longer active in our group. Here are a few questions to help us learn more about you:

How recently were you diagnosed? Are you also doing airway clearance to help keep your lungs clear? Have you been diagnosed with MAC through sputum culture or bronchoscopy, or is this just a shot in the dark by your doc?

@sueinmn my Pulmonologist at Mayo Jax had me taking Azrithromycin 250mg daily from mid January 2025 thru mid September. On September 5, I started the new medication for Bronchiectasis Brinsupri, so my Pulmonologist recommended I wean off the Azrithromycin, first every other day for two weeks then 3 days a week for one week, then nine. He also stated that he did not think that the Azrithromycin would add anything else to help, since I’m taking Brinsupri now. But he did say that if I feel that I’m having a setback (as he called it) to go back on Azrithromycin daily and notify him. As we all know Azrithromycin is an antibiotic, and I know he/we have to be cautious of building up resistance to the antibiotic’s. It has and did affect my hearing, I had tubes out in both ears in July, and I’m scheduled to see a Mayo Jax ENT in January.

@spider109 none