PG and hearing loss

[ThaRealist]

Lately I've been seeing talk about PG causing hearing loss and/or emphasize tinnitus.
An electronic music producer (Rob Swire) has sworn that his sudden complete hearing loss in his left ear is caused by the PG in his vape.

As I've been vaping almost every day at 18mg, using a mix of PG and VG for almost a year now, I haven't experienced hearing loss until a month ago, a little in my left ear. This may be due to wax buildup, but I can't be too sure, as PG has been proven to be ototoxic (irreversible damage to hearing organs).

 

[Cullin Kin]

There was a thread posted about this earlier this week. His condition was alleviated by decongestants which suggests that his issue wasn't otoxicity. We are talking about the inner ear here...

The thing is, we really don't know. However, unless someone was blowing clouds directly in his ear or dumping juice in there, I don't see how this could happen. He was vaping for a week... There are members on here that have been vaping for 8 years with no problems.

 

[ThaRealist]

Aha, so the PG was congesting which part of his ear?

 

[Izan]

Aha, so the PG was congesting which part of his ear?

Snot caused the congestion.
Correlation is not causation.
This has NOTHING to do with PG and or Vaping.

Cheers
I

 

[ThaRealist]

Ok, because if PG is ototoxic when applied topically, wouldn't some PG make its way to the inner ear, seeing as there is a eustachian tube connecting our nasopharynx to our inner ear?

Maybe the PG vapor can enter the inner ear via that tube, when its open (such as when yawning or such).

For all the people that say PG is safe when consumed orally, well, stuff that digests in your stomach/intestines gets filtered by your liver... while lungs does not directly get filtered..

 

[Izan]

Ok, because if PG is ototoxic when applied topically, wouldn't some PG make its way to the inner ear, seeing as there is a eustachian tube connecting our nasopharynx to our inner ear?

Maybe the PG vapor can enter the inner ear via that tube, when its open (such as when yawning or such).

For all the people that say PG is safe when consumed orally, well, stuff that digests in your stomach/intestines gets filtered by your liver... while lungs does not directly get filtered..

Ironic your user name is...

No
No
THE BACTERICIDAL ACTION OF PROPYLENE GLYCOL VAPOR ON MICROORGANISMS SUSPENDED IN AIR. I

cheers
I

 

[ThaRealist]

Yeah, so PG is microbicidal, but this doesn't mean that continuous exposure wouldn't have any deleterious effects on the hair cells of our inner ear, right?

if PG kills bacteria rapidly as a vapor, then how would that react with hair cells over a long period of time?

 

[Izan]

Best of luck.


What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know it's what we know for sure that just ain't so.
Mark Twain

 

[ThaRealist]

What I meant to say is that PG is safe to eat because the liver can metabolize it to a different compound, while the lungs do not get filtered by the hepatic portal venous system (veins from your stomach/intestines to your liver, back to your heart, then to your body, etc)!

 

[Lessifer]

Commercial fog machines use PG in the liquid. If he's an electronic music producer, he's probably been exposed to PG for quite a long time before he ever started vaping, and in much higher quantities.

 

[ThaRealist]

Yeah... that's why I'm concerned about vaping, better safe than sorry, but .... it, lol!

 

[snork]

Yeah... that's why I'm concerned about vaping, better safe than sorry, but .... it, lol!

Maybe PG effected the guy that way, anything's possible. But I've read an incredible amount of user reports on various health issues related to vaping here and elsewhere and nothing points to PG causing hearing loss in any way. I don't recall even one other report.

I have some loss & tinnitus in my left ear that gets a little worse each passing year. I know it's because of the damn out of control trombone player who used to sit behind me. I remember the day it happened.

 

[3mg Meniere]

What I meant to say is that PG is safe to eat because the liver can metabolize it to a different compound, while the lungs do not get filtered by the hepatic portal venous system (veins from your stomach/intestines to your liver, back to your heart, then to your body, etc)!

The inner ear is well protected from such contact. Drainage, etc, occur with the middle ear. Ototoxicity (inner ear) occurs through the circulatory system, not the respiratory system. In fact, anything that affects the heart will also affect the inner ear. Therefore, nic is the most ototoxic component of vaping and smoking. PG and VG are metabolized.

I was thinking on upping my PG from 50/50. I guess not.

However, over-the counter motion sickness meds are classified as antihistamines. They therefore reduce pressure in both the inner ear and middle ear.

 

[stevegmu]

Pretty sure it is nicotine which can make hearing issues more pronounced...