Late Playboy Hugh Hefner Suffered from Hearing Loss

Up till about five years ago, Hugh Hefner, former editor of Playboy magazine, who passed away Thursday at the age of 91, was a playboy in his mid-eighties—thanks to Erectile Dysfunction drug Viagra. 

The Playboy mogul, believed to have bedded 2,000 women during his lifetime, took on several lovers after his marriage ended and famously had several live-in girlfriends. Late Playboy Hugh Hefner He once remarked: “Thank goodness for Viagra. But experience also helps. 

Woody Allen once said: ‘If you don’t think sex is dirty, you’re not doing it right’.” Hugh also told a newspaper that “Dealing with seven girlfriends was easier than dealing with one wife.” However, the performance enhancing drug caused the late Hefner to lose his hearing in one ear, according to more than one of his lovers. 

Hefner’s widow Crystal Harris said in a 2011 interview that the late Hefner tried to avoid taking the drug during his old age for that reason. And his ex-wife, Karissa Shannon, said that even though he used hearing aids, only one of his ears functioned properly. 

A 2007 study on the effects of Viagra led the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, to administer a warning to consumers, letting them know that their auditory systems can be damaged as a result of taking the drug. 

Shannon said that people talking to Hefner had to lean down to his level for him to understand them. Additionally she said that, even if you sat right next to him, he was not able to hear what you were saying. 

Along with hearing loss, Viagra can cause tinnitus, which leads to the perception of a ringing sound in one’s ears.