does chemo cause hearing loss?

[landinm]

Had chemo back in 2000, have had ringing in the ears most of the time since than.
had a hearing test and have a small loss of hearing but the ringing is getting really
bad.
Marlyn

[Wear/a/Jimmy]

I perspnally hate tinnitus maskers.... and I happen to have experience in this area...  along with TRT, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, which is a hoax in my professional opinion. (Yes I know there are text books regarding the subject, I have one)  But I do not even think insurance covers the "therapy" in the first place.  Easy continious cash money for TRT sessions without any objective measurements of results, that is the what I call a ripp off.

My advice would be to try a set of GnResound Airs, they are second generation open mini BTEs which means they should be relatively cheap. They are extremely small, and will aid what little hearing loss you have and "mask" over your tinnitus.

Now there is a new device/diagnostic tool & treatment tool on the market totay. It is called the TinniTest.

http://www.micro-dsp.com/en/product/product.asp?catalogid=030303&catalogname=Tinnitest

Finding someone that has one of these would be the challenge. They are new to the market, they have probably had FDA approval for 8 months now.

Be careful, there is a lot of "Quacks" out there that claim they hold the answer regarding Tinnitus. Trust me, if they did, they would have retired a long time back.

Good luck,

AuD. CCC-A

[Nancy T]

Do a search on "ototoxicity" (which basically means "ear poisoning") and you will find lists of drugs that can damage hearing (and hearing damage often entails tinnitus, i.e., ringing in the ears). Certain chemo drugs are among them.

Very sorry to hear you have the ongoing problem. There are ENTs and doctors that specialize in tinnitus. Find one through a referral from your doctor, or call your nearest medical school, and see if they can help you. For help with tinnitus there are medications (which don't cure it--nothing can--but which might make you less bothered by it), masking devices, and tinnitus retraining therapy, among other things.

Best of luck,
Nancy T.

[Wear/a/Jimmy]

Most certainly chemo can damage your hearing....