Coping with cancer is awful. Because of this, patients getting cancer treatment will sometimes feel compelled to disregard cancer treatment side effects, including hearing loss, as insignificant. But it’s important to keep in mind that, for a lot of cancer patients, there is life after your disease. And, obviously, you want a very full and happy life!
Talking to your healthcare team about controlling and reducing side effects is so essential for this reason. By discussing potential hearing loss, tinnitus, or balance problems that may arise from chemotherapy, for instance, you’ll be more ready for what happens next, and be in a better position to completely enjoy life after cancer.
Cancer treatment options
In the past 20 years, significant advancements in cancer treatment have been made. There are even some vaccines that can stop the development of some cancers in the first place! But generally, doctors will utilize one or more of three different ways to battle this disease: radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery.
Each treatment method has its own unique strengths and drawbacks, and none of them are mutually exclusive. Your care team will use your diagnosis and prognosis to establish the best course of treatment.
Do all cancer treatments lead to hearing and balance issues? Well, each patient is different, but generally, these side effects are limited to chemotherapy.
What is chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells with a combination of strong chemicals. Because of its very successful track record, chemotherapy is often the leading treatment option for a wide range of cancers. But because these chemicals are so strong, chemotherapy can produce some unpleasant side effects. Those side effects can include:
- Nausea
- Hair loss (including your nose hairs)
- Mouth sores
- Hearing loss
- Tiredness and fatigue
- Vomiting
Side effects of chemotherapy tend to vary from person to person. Side effects may also vary based on the specific combination of chemicals used. Some of these side effects are often pretty visible and well known (hair loss, for instance). But not so many people are aware of chemotherapy related hearing loss.
Does chemo produce hearing loss?
Hearing loss isn’t the most well known chemotherapy side effect. But hearing loss can be a real side effect of chemotherapy. Is hearing loss from chemo permanent? The answer is frequently yes.
So is there a particular type of chemo that is more likely to result in hearing loss? Platinum-based chemical protocols (also known as cisplatin-based chemotherapy) are more typically responsible for hearing loss side effects. These kinds of therapies are most often utilized to treat head, neck, and gynecological cancers, but they can be used for other cancers also.
Scientists believe that platinum-based chemotherapy chemicals attack and damage the tiny fragile stereocilia in the ears, but the exact cause-and-effect relationship is still unclear. Over time, this can cause hearing loss, and that hearing loss is often permanent.
Hearing loss is something you want to pay attention to, even when you’re battling cancer
Hearing loss might not seem like that much of a concern when you’re combating cancer. But there are considerable reasons why your hearing health is important, even while you’re battling cancer:
- Hearing loss can negatively impact your mental health, especially if that hearing loss is untreated. Neglected hearing loss is closely related to increases in depression and anxiety. Battling cancer can, similarly, increase anxiety and depression, so you don’t want to add more fuel to that fire.
- Tinnitus and balance problems can also be the outcome of chemo-associated hearing loss. So, now you’re thinking: wait, does chemotherapy cause tinnitus too? Unfortunately, yes. This tinnitus and loss of balance can be an issue, too. When you’re recouping from chemotherapy, the last thing you need is to take a fall.
- Hearing loss has been known to cause social isolation. This can aggravate lots of different conditions. If you’re feeling isolated socially, it can become laborious to do daily activities, especially getting appropriate treatment.
Reducing other health issues while you’re fighting cancer will likely be a priority, and something you’ll want to speak with your care team about.
So what should you do?
When you’re fighting cancer, your life becomes a laundry list of doctor’s appointments. But it’s beneficial to add one more appointment to your list: schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist.
Here are several things that visiting a hearing specialist will help with:
- Set a baseline for your hearing. This will make it substantially easier to recognize hearing loss in the future.
- Become a patient of a hearing specialist. If you experience hearing loss, your hearing specialist will have a more comprehensive picture of your needs, your health history, and what your hearing treatment should be.
- If you do detect hearing loss, it will be easier to get fast treatment.
So if you develop hearing loss from chemo, can it be reversed? Regardless of the cause, sensorineural hearing loss can’t be cured, unfortunately. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a treatment. Your hearing loss can be treated and managed with the help of your hearing specialist. You may need hearing aids or you may just need your hearing to be monitored.
It’s mostly frequencies in the higher register that go when your hearing loss is triggered by chemo. It might not necessarily have any effect on your day-to-day hearing.
Your hearing health is important
It’s critical to take care of your hearing health. If you’re worried about how chemotherapy might impact your hearing, consult your care team. You may not be able to change treatment options, but at least you’ll be able to closely monitor your symptoms and treat them accordingly.
Hearing loss can be caused by chemotherapy. But with the correct plan, and a little help from your hearing specialist, you’ll be able to get effective treatments that keep you hearing better longer.