LOSS OF HEARING LISTED AS POSSIBLE REACTION TO DRUGS

Hydrocodone/acetaminophen prescription painkillers are sold under more than 25
trade names, including Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet, Dolacet and Hydrogesic.

According to the 2003 edition of the Physicians' Desk Reference, one of the
adverse reactions listed for this class of drugs is hearing loss.

"Very rare cases of hearing impairment or loss have been reported in patients
predominantly receiving very high doses of hydrocodone/acetaminohen for long
periods of time," the medical reference says.

Two years ago this month, Rush Limbaugh, whose housekeeper has made allegations
that she supplied him with thousands of prescription painkillers over a
four-year period, announced to his radio audience that he was virtually deaf.
Limbaugh's condition developed over a three-month period to a point where he
was totally deaf in his left ear and partially deaf in his right, he said.

At the time, doctors said he suffered from an autoimmune inner-ear disease
caused when the immune system launches a misguided attack on the inner ear and
damages the nerve.

After unsuccessful drug therapy, doctors in December 2001 performed cochlear
implant surgery to help him regain partial hearing.

The most serious adverse reaction listed is death from overdose. Last year a
South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation found more than 400 overdose deaths
involving prescription narcotics in a seven-county area. Hydrocodone was
implicated in 77 of the deaths, usually in combination with other drugs.

According to a report issued by the state's medical examiners in June,
prescription drug overdoses accounted for 60 percent of the fatal overdoses in
the state in 2002. Illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin accounted for 40
percent.

Hydrocodone, a narcotic, is often combined with acetaminophen, an
over-the-counter painkiller that is the principal ingredient in Tylenol,
because the two drugs complement each other and require smaller doses than
either taken alone to achieve the same amount of pain relief.

Hydrocodone is believed to relieve pain by acting on specific areas of the
spinal cord and brain that process pain signals from nerves, while
acetaminophen appears to interfere with the action of prostaglandins,
substances in the body that cause inflammation and can make nerves more
sensitive to pain impulses.

Lorcet, Vicodin and the other drugs in the class are classified by the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration as Schedule III narcotics, not as powerful as
Schedule II drugs such as OxyContin, a heroin-like painkiller, or morphine, but
carrying the same warnings that the drugs can cause psychic dependence and
physical dependence with prolonged use.