Rush's two symptoms are: (1) Hearing loss; and (2) A Drudge siren about pain medication abuse (a possible third symptom is impolitic remarks on ESPN). One disease explaining all symptoms is hydrodone abuse.
Another point to consider, is if you really wanted to destroy someone without leaving a trace, how would you do it? Wouldn't getting someone addicted be the ideal method? How did he get started on the medications? Who was supplying him?
ASPIRIN, NSAIDS and other ANALGESICS Aspirin and Nsaids (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents) -- commonly used, and apparently only toxic to hearing . These include Advil, Nuprin, Motrin (Ibuprofen), Aleve, Naprosyn, Anaprox (Naproxen), Feldene, Dolobid, Indocin, Lodine, Relafin, Toradol, Volteran, Salicylates: Aspirin, disalcid, Bufferin, Ecotrin, Trilisate, Ascriptin, Empirin, Excedrin, Fiorinal. Arthrotec (diclofenac and misoprostel) has been associated with tinnitus and hearing reduction (Bombardier, Peloso et al. 1995).
Hydrocodone in combination with acetaminophen has also been associated with hearing loss (Friedman, House et al. 2000; Oh, Ishiyama et al. 2000).
Fiorinal contains aspirin, which is well known to be an ototoxin capable of causing a sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus (Brien 1993).
Over the counter headache powders also commonly contain aspirin or related compounds (salicylates) and therefore have a potential for causing hearing toxicity.
Permanent hearing disturbances are possible but rare. They are most commonly seen in individuals who take aspirin in large doses for long periods, such as for treatment of severe arthritis. Occasionally persons with Menieres syndrome will develop a hearing disturbance from a small amount of a NSAID.
Acetaminophen is not generally thought to be ototoxic although in combination with hydrocodone as noted above there have been cases of hearing lost.
References: · Bombardier, C., P. M. Peloso, et al. (1995). "Salsalate, a nonacetylated salicylate, is as efficacious as diclofenac in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Salsalate-Diclofenac Study Group." J Rheumatol 22(4): 617-24.
· Brien, J. A. (1993). "Ototoxicity associated with salicylates. A brief review." Drug Saf 9(2): 143-8.
· Friedman RA and others. Profound hearing loss associated with hydrocodone/acetaminophen abuse. Am J Otol 21:188-191, 2000
· analgesics: clinical experience." Med Toxicol 1 Suppl 1: 86-92.
· McKinnon, B. J. and L. F. Lassen (1998). "Naproxen-associated sudden sensorineural hearing loss." Mil Med 163(11): 792-3.
· Oh AK, Ishiyama A, Baloh R. Deafness associated with abuse of hydrocodone/acetaminophen · .Naproxen has been associated with deafness (Kewitz 1986; McKinnon and Lassen 1998). I have also encountered patients reporting tinnitus and hearing reductions after taking Naproxen.
Talk-radio titan Rush Limbaugh is being investigated for allegedly buying thousands of addictive painkillers from a black-market drug ring.
The moralizing motormouth was turned in by his former housekeeper - who says she was Limbaugh's pill supplier for four years.
Wilma Cline, 42, says Limbaugh was hooked on the potent prescription drugs OxyContin, Lorcet and hydrocodone - and went through detox twice.
"There were times when I worried," Cline told the National Enquirer, which broke the story in an edition being published today. "All these pills are enough to kill an elephant - never mind a man."
Cline could not be reached for further comment yesterday, but her lawyer, Ed Shohat of Miami, said his client "stands behind the story."
The Daily News independently confirmed that Limbaugh is under investigation.
His lawyers, Jerry Fox and Dan Zachary, refused to comment on the accusations and said any "medical information" about him was private and not newsworthy.
They said Limbaugh - who has a top-rated syndicated radio show but resigned early today from a weekly ESPN football segment amid criticism of racial comments about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb - was traveling and had no comment.
The Palm Beach County state attorney's office, which is running the probe, said it could not confirm or deny the allegations.
Scoring in parking lot
Cline told the Enquirer she went to prosecutors with information about Limbaugh and others after four years of drug deals that included clandestine handoffs in a Denny's parking lot.
She said she wore a wire during her last two deliveries to the conservative commentator and gave the tapes to authorities.
She also gave the Enquirer a ledger documenting how many pills she claimed to have bought for him - 4,350 in one 47-day period - and E-mails she claimed Limbaugh sent her.
In one missive, Limbaugh pushed Cline to get more "little blues" - code for OxyContin, the powerful narcotic nicknamed hillbilly heroin, she said.
"You know how this stuff works ... the more you get used to, the more it takes," the May 2002 E-mail reads. "But I will try and cut down to help out."
The account Cline gave the Enquirer is that she became Limbaugh's drug connection in 1998, nine months after taking a housekeeping job at his Palm Beach mansion.
It started after her husband, David, hurt himself in a fall, and Limbaugh asked how he was.
"He asked me casually, 'Is he getting any pain medication?' I said, 'Yes - he's had surgery, and the doctor gave him hydro-codone 750,'" Cline said. "To my astonishment, he said, 'Can you spare a couple of them?'"
Husband's pills
Cline said she gave Limbaugh 10 pills the next day and agreed to give him 30 of her husband's pills each month. When the doctor stopped renewing the prescription in early 1999, Limbaugh allegedly went ballistic.
"His tone was nasty and bullying. He said, 'I don't care how or what you do, but you'd better - better! - get me some more,'" Cline said.
The housekeeper said she found a new supplier and arranged to hide Limbaugh's stashes under his mattress so his wife, Marta, wouldn't find them.
After several months, Limbaugh told her he was going to New York for detox and didn't need any more pills, Cline said.
But a month later, he said his left ear was hurting and asked her for hydrocodone, followed by an order for OxyContin.
Limbaugh, 52, suffered from autoimmune ear disease, a condition that left him deaf and had to be corrected with cochlear implant surgery two years ago.
Cline said she continued to make deliveries to Limbaugh even after she quit as his housekeeper in July 2001 - but he became increasingly paranoid, even patting her down for recording devices, she said.
In June 2002, Limbaugh told her he was going to New York for detox a second time.
After he returned, "I went to talk to him, and he cried a little bit," she said. "He told me that if it ever got out, he would be ruined."
She claimed that a lawyer for Limbaugh gave her a payoff - $80,000 he owed her, plus another $120,000 - and asked her to destroy the computer that contained the E-mail records.
Soon after, Cline and her husband retained Shohat and contacted prosecutors.
Feeling no pain
The drugs Rush Limbaugh is accused of abusing are legal only with a doctor's prescription. All are habit-forming.
- Hydrocodone
Anti-cough agent and painkiller similar to morphine. Side effects include anxiety, poor mental performance, emotional dependence, drowsiness, mood changes, difficulty breathing and itchiness.
- Lorcet
Brand name for the combination of Tylenol and hydrocodone, prescribed for moderate to severe pain. Side effects include dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, dizziness, tiredness, muscle twitches, sweating and itching.
- OxyContin
Potent time-release medication for relief of moderate to severe pain, known as hillbilly heroin because of black-market popularity in some rural areas. Side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, sweating, muscle twitches and decreased sex drive. A large dose can be fatal.