Five years after Demi Lovato suffered a near-fatal overdose, the 30-year-old singer continues to live with long-term complications, including partial loss of hearing and vision, she recently shared on SiriusXM Radio Andyby E ! News.
The topic came up when Lovato told Cohen that she wouldn’t change her life’s path despite her challenges. “The closest thing I get to regret is when I overdosed,” they explained. “It actually caused a disability. I have visual impairment and hearing impairment to date. She doesn’t drive because of « blind spots » in her vision. In fact, she said she couldn’t fully see Cohen during their interview.
These life-altering complications serve as a « constant reminder to stay on track, » she said, « because I never want this to happen again. »
In July 2018, emergency medical personnel would have been transported Lovato in a Los Angeles hospital after responding to a call for an overdose. Lovato said she took OxyContin which she said also contained fentanyl, another synthetic opioid. Research has shown that opioids can cause auditory And visual damage in the form of blurred vision, double vision, partial or total vision loss, gradual or sudden hearing loss, tinnitus and dizziness, among other effects.
In the weeks leading up to Lovato’s overdose, she was using various substances, as SELF had previously reported. “I had never used meth before, I tried meth. I mixed it with molly, with coke, with weed, with alcohol, with OxyContin. And that alone should have killed me,” she said in her 2021 YouTube docuseries Demi Lovato: Dances with the Devilby AND online.
The overdose also caused him three strokes and a heart attack. « I had brain damage, » she said. For a few months she had « very hard to read », they added, « because my vision was so blurry ».
Now that she’s sober, the « Confident » singer is « in a more positive mental space, » she told Cohen. « I don’t focus on shame at all because I have a lot of sympathy for where I was at that time and the choices I made, and I understand why it happened and what happened. But there’s no shame in that because it was just a life lesson that I had to learn.
Instead, she chooses to focus on the fact that she survived. « It could have been a lot worse, » they said. « I’m thankful it’s just what it is. »
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