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Industrial chemical exposure is ototoxic and can cause hearing loss and vertigo. It has the same effect as industrial noise according to a research audiologist.

Adhesives like paint are poisonous to the hearing and balance parts of the ear which is associated with vertigo. Honeywell audiologist Robert M. Ghent Jr. explains in Occupational Health and Safety that there is a connection between chemicals, noise and issues of the ear. People should protect themselves from hydrocarbon, asphyxiant and heavy metal exposure.

Ghent said that people thinks the ear hazards like vertigo and hearing loss is strictly caused by respiratory or neurological. However, chemical exposure in the ears is harder to detect and quantify considering it is a complex piece of physiology.

Harvard Health Publication explains that understanding vertigo means knowing the sense of balance that comes from multiple different systems in the body. The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, can cause havoc when it is not working properly.

There are medications that can target brain structures during vertigo attacks. According to the same site, antihistamines like dimenhydrinate, diphenhydramine and meclizine can be useful treatments. Where motion sickness is anticipated, anticholinergic medications like scopolamine in a patch form can also be helpful.

Unlike industrial noise, chemical exposure can affect all the inner ear structures which include the balance organs and not just the hearing part. This can put the person at greater risk for vertigo. These chemicals are likely to be poisonous to kidneys as well since the inner ear and kidneys are from the same germ layer during embryonic development.

Industrial chemicals that can affect hearing loss even without noise exposure are organic solvents like benzene-based and aliphatic hydrocarbons, organic compounds like carbon disulphide and trichloroethylene. Phosphate-based chemicals for farming, gardening and industrialized agriculture can also affect inner ear structure and may cause hearing loss and vertigo.