Huh. I looked it up, and you’re right! I never knew that.
Do you really think Rush made it all up about having a familial genetic disposition for hearing loss? If so, it comes as a disappointment. I believed him, and made no connection to his use of synthetic opioids.
But I am left with a question: if synthetic opioids cause deafness, why aren’t we seeing an epidemic of mass deafness among the legions of heroin and Fentanyl users with whom we are inundated these days?
No. I think he was lied to and rationalized the rest of it. No doctor will tell you that the drugs you were given were responsible for harm. He was worldly on politics, but he had his own bubble like the rest of us. He was human, after all.
The toxicity occurs in conjunction with other substances.
Rush admitted to both Vicodin and Oxy use. That combination is one which is known to result in damage to the auditory nerve.