Headaches, muscle aches, toothaches, menstrual cramps—whatever type of workaday pain you’re prone to, chances are that you reach for an over-the-counter painkiller to deal with the discomfort.

After all, you’ve got plenty of readily available options, including acetaminophen (Tylenol) plus the various nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve) and aspirin. In fact, such pain relievers are the most commonly used medications in the US.

But watch out: The pills that ease pain also may do damage to women’s hearing, recent research shows.

Perhaps you heard about a similar finding in a previous study that focused solely on men? Well, given that women use nonprescription painkillers even more than men do, researchers thought it was important to determine whether these pills were risky for female ears, too.

So they analyzed data on 62,261 women who were 31 to 48 years old and who reported normal hearing at the start of the study. Periodically during the 14-year follow-up, all the women answered questions about their use of painkillers and 10,012 of them reported losing some of their hearing. Here’s what the research revealed about…

  • Ibuprofen. Compared with women who used ibuprofen less than once per week, the risk for hearing loss was 13% greater among those who regularly used it two to three days per week…21% greater for those using it four to five days per week…and 24% greater for those using it six or more days per week.

  • Acetaminophen. Compared with women who took acetaminophen less than once per week, the risk for hearing loss among women who regularly took it two or more days per week ranged from 11% to 21%…and the risk tended to be higher with increasing use.

  • Aspirin. Surprisingly, taking either low-dose or regular aspirin two or more days per week was not associated with an increased risk for hearing loss among women. This was unexpected, given that the earlier men’s study did show such a connection.

  • Naproxen. There was not enough information to determine whether other types of NSAIDs, such as naproxen, also were associated with increased risk for hearing loss.

How the drugs hurt our ears: Researchers theorize that frequent use of ibuprofen may reduce blood flow to the cochlea (the spiral-shaped cavity of the inner ear), resulting in cell damage that diminishes the organ’s function. Acetaminophen is thought to deplete factors (such as the antioxidant glutathione) in the cochlea that protect it from noise and other sources of damage.

Bottom line: Hearing problems become common as we age, affecting one-third of women in their 50s and almost two-thirds of women in their 60s. Yet even mild hearing loss can impair the ability to connect with others, adversely affect work and significantly reduce quality of life. That’s why it is so important to identify and avoid preventable causes of hearing loss, such as excessive use of analgesic medications.

Realize, too, that more than your ears are at risk—because these drugs also can cause ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, increased blood pressure, kidney damage, liver damage and/or other serious problems. So if you often find yourself reaching for pain relievers, work with your doctor to identify the cause of your pain and discuss alternative ways to control discomfort. Also note that many cold and sinus medications combine analgesics with other ingredients, so check labels to make sure you’re not ingesting painkillers more often than you realize.