Lifestyle - How to keep healthy
HEARING PROBLEMS
Hearing problems after cancer treatment are uncommon but they may occur with certain drugs and after radiotherapy to the head, in the region of the ear. Occasionally hearing problems can occur after certain antibiotics.
Cisplatin is the drug most likely to cause hearing impairment (i.e. partial deafness). This causes particular difficulty in hearing high-pitched noises, and can be detected by sensitive hearing tests. It is seldom severe enough to be noticeable by either the patient, their family or friends, since the lower pitched noises used for speech are not usually affected. If the damage is severe and has involved lower pitch sounds there may be more difficulties.
Treatment at a young age (pre school age) may be more likely to have caused a noticeable problem because at this age children are still developing speech. Under these circumstances an assessment by a hearing specialist may help. Occasionally a hearing aid may be needed.
Hearing problems due to cisplatin do not get worse after treatment has finished but once hearing problems are present, they usually remain.
Very loud music at a concert or in a club can have a damaging affect on your hearing.
This website is produced on behalf of the CCLG Late Effects Group.
Edited by Dr Annie Griffiths | Contributors
Designed by the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG)
© CCLG 2007