Background: Ototoxicity refers to the hearing disorder which results from the temporary or permanent inner ear dysfunction after treatment with an ototoxic drug. One such drug class that produces ototoxicity is the cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Chemotherapy is a core component of treatment for advanced cancers, when early metastasis is known to occur. Objectives: The current study is to evaluate the cisplatin-associated ototoxicity in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and evaluate the feasibility of an audiological monitoring program. Patients & Methods: Eighteen cancer patients were treated with cisplatin chemotherapy in this cohort in Oncology Department & audiologically evaluated in Audiovestibular Medicine Unit, Otorhinolaryngology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University Hospital. Results: significant changes in hearing thresholds (250 through 8000Hz) in pure tone audiometry after cisplatin therapy. Extended high frequency audiometry revealed highly significant reduction in hearing threshold at frequencies (10, 12.5,16KHZ) after cisplatin therapy in the study group. Transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) revealed significant reduction in hearing amplitudes after cisplatin therapy. Extended high frequency audiometry and Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions had the highest sensitivity in the early detection of cisplatin ototoxicity.
Conclusions: Cisplatin produces a bilateral, symmetrical hearing loss, mainly affecting the high-frequency range which could be monitored by Extended high frequency audiometry and Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions.