Dihydrostreptomycin Deafness

Cases of irreversible hearing loss attributable to dihydrostreptomycin are continuing to occur, usually without the knowledge of the prescribing physician, because of the latent period of from several weeks to as long as six months between administration of the drug and onset of the hearing loss. There is no known effective treatment for this type of nerve deafness. In view of the ototoxicity of dihydrostreptomycin and, in particualr, in view of the unique latent period, this antibiotic should be omitted from commercial combinations of antibiotics or, if it is included, its presence should be clearly indicated in the name.