For many years, our Practice has diligently shared educational facts about how hearing health decisions are intertwined with various medical conditions. Learning the nuances about how hearing loss prevention or loss itself relates to these condition(s) helps raise awareness about reputable research, so sensible decisions regarding your personal treatment plans can be confidently made.
Imagine your hearing system as a row of neatly arranged dominoes, each playing a key role in sound’s natural travels from your ear to your brain. When functioning normally, auditory signals flow smoothly from one process domino to the next, delivering clear sounds to your brain.
Some common prescriptions, while vital for treating medical conditions, can act like harmful nudges to that first domino. Initially, the effect might be barely noticeable, but as time passes, repeated nudges can cause process dominoes further down the line to wobble or fall, disrupting how sound typically travels through your hearing system.
With April as Head & Neck Cancer Awareness Month, an Ototoxicity case in point is Cisplatin. Learning more, research states:
- “Since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1978, cisplatin has been a core therapy in oncology and an essential systemic therapy for germ cell malignancies.” 1
- “Despite its clinical effectiveness, cisplatin can cause severe side effects due to its non-specific mechanisms of action, targeting both cancer cells and healthy tissues.” 2
- “Cisplatin-induced ototoxicity is characterized by bilateral, moderate-to-profound high-frequency hearing loss, and a significant loss of outer hair cells (OHCs) in the basal turn of the cochlea.” 3
- “Cisplatin-induced hearing loss affects 40–60% of adults, of which 18% have severe to profound hearing loss after cisplatin treatment, whilst tinnitus is present in 40% of cases.” 4
With daily challenges associated with taking multiple medications or dispensing for someone who does, the ability to communicate well is crucial.
In addition to talking with your oncologist or pharmacist, please see us or encourage your loved ones to get periodic evaluations to accurately assess the type and degree of hearing loss. This personal consultation will enable us to get accurate baseline information and help educate you about the possible side effects of treatment-related medications.
1 Dasari, S.; Bernard Tchounwou, P. Cisplatin in cancer therapy: Molecular mechanisms of action. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 2014, 740, 364–378.
2 Breglio, A.M.; Rusheen, A.E.; Shide, E.D.; Fernandez, K.A.; Spielbauer, K.K.; McLachlin, K.M.; Hall, M.D.; Amable, L.; Cunningham, L.L. Cisplatin is retained in the cochlea indefinitely following chemotherapy. Nat. Commun. 2017, 8, 1654.
3 Prayuenyong, P.; Taylor, J.A.; Pearson, S.E.; Gomez, R.; Patel, P.M.; Hall, D.A.; Kasbekar, A.V.; Baguley, D.M. Vestibulotoxicity associated with platinum-based chemotherapy in survivors of cancer: A scoping review. Front. Oncol. 2018, 8, 363.
4 Frisina, R.D.; Wheeler, H.E.; Fossa, S.D.; Kerns, S.L.; Fung, C.; Sesso, H.D.; Monahan, P.O.; Feldman, D.R.; Hamilton, R.; Vaughn, D.J.; et al. Comprehensive audiometric analysis of hearing impairment and tinnitus after cisplatin-based chemotherapy in survivors of adult-onset cancer. J. Clin. Oncol. 2016, 34, 2712–2720.
