I have been given two hearing aids due to the chemo i recieved 3 yrs ago being ototoxic Has this happened to you
That’s strange I’ve noticed that my hearing hasn’t been so good since chemo! Not so bad that I’ve needed to see about it but I definately can’t hear so well as I did before! Thought it must just be “old age” but maybe not! Chemo does really strange things to your body -even the doctors don’t seem to know all the side effects! Suppose we just have to put up with them better than cancer!
Best wishes
Kaye
Hi spongeboob & Kaye,
What chemo were you on? I know that cistplatin specifically can cause irreversible hearing loss. One of the things I was told to watch out for was tinitus if I didnt normally have it. When this happened I let the onc know and was sent to have my hearing tested - they have someone in the hospital who does this. The hearing in my right ear had been partially damaged and my drug was immediately changed to carboplatin. Back in those days it was a question of cost!!
Dawn
xx
Hi spongeboob
I had a hearing test a month ago as I really felt my hearing had deteriorated and as I thought, I had mild/moderate hearing loss in both ears - nothing will make it come back apparently and the only thing that can be done is hearing aids - well I’m not that desperate for them and feel rather irritated to be dealing with this now. Apparently it’s nothing to do with age - i’m one of the younger lot and is to do with the treatment. I had FEC and Taxotere and herceptin.
Ruby x
Hi Spongeboob (great screen name by the way)
I had 3 FEC and 3 Taxotere and now I cannot hear at all in my left ear.
I have recently been fitted, aged 39, with a super high-tech WiFi hearing aid, which essentially is a microphone in the left ear aid which transmits to the right ear aid. Very short hair as a result of chemo, so they show. It takes a lot of getting used to, and it just means that I can hear that something is coming from my left and turn so that I can decipher what it is.
Obviously I don’t sleep with the aids in, so if my left ear is up and my right in the pillow, I cannot hear my 3 year old when she sometimes wakes at night at all, which I find really distressing.
To be fair, I did have some hearing loss in my left ear, but the chemo has completely finished it off. And my hair is growing so soon they will not show. But, have now turned 40, and what with this and the chemo/tamoxifen induced menopause, I feel about 75 most of the time!
Kinden
xx
Hi All
Sounds like its the FEC plus Taxotere we all seem to have the same result! I keep thinking my ears are blocked but nothing seems to clear them! GP says its not bad enough to do anything about it YET!!!
Keep going
Kaye x
I had to go for an ultrasound of my neck this morning… (i had a suspect area of soft tissue on a recent ct scan - which has turned out to be just my chin sneaking into the scan… 
) I also mentioned that my ears have been feeling weird recently - almost blocked… Straight away the lady said “Did they give you taxol…?” She said it is a quite common side effect and will probably last for a year or so… she said it might get better or might stay… She also said it can cause sore ribs and tummy pains… I already have tingling feelings in my fingers and breathlessness from it… (I finished chemo 6 months ago)
Theresa
I also have an aid in each ear. The specialist believes hearing loss was caused by chemo. I had 4 x FEC and 4 x Taxotere. I am told that the Fluoroucil 5FU is the most likely to have caused the problem.
It is a pain but at least my cancer is in remission so in the end it is the better of the two evils
This is worrying me now - I am due to start chemo next week but I already have congenital moderate to severe hearing loss which is corrected by the use of hearing aids.
The thought that chemo could make things worse is a real issue for me - I cope reasonably well with hearing aids but am pretty much useless without them.
My oncologist and key chemo nurse were both made aware that I wear hearing aids so why was it not mentioned that chemo can affect hearing. In fact I even tried the coldcap to see if it had any effects while wearing hearing aids such as whistling/muting etc. We are told everything else about hair loss and side effects of nausea and so on - the fact that this has not been mentioned when I have made people aware is of real concern to me and if I’m honest has now terrified me that something so precious to me is at further risk - the thought of chemo is scary enough - the thought of further damage to my hearing scarier still.
Swampy
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I am so pleased I have found this thread. I thought I was going mad. it started I the left ear, and has now spread to the right ear too. I thought maybe I had a cold coming to start as they just felt blocked,and I was treated with anti biotic, but got no better and is continuing to deteriorate. oices are the worst as I can’t make out what people are saying and it is affecting my ability to do my job. I’m sick of saying pardon.I can hear a pulsing noise in other ears, which feels like maybe my pulse, and this noise gets louder when I am lying down in bed. my doctors don’t believe me when I said it must be down to the treatment.I have another appointment in a couple of weeks though so will talk to them again.The list of long term side effects of these drugs continues to make themselves more apparent.
Ask them if you can do the treatments in order to avoid the neulasta shot, although dose-dense chemo can contribute to tinnitus and hearing loss, it’s a small percentage if it’s given in lower doses. Neulasta, I think causes the ringing and hearing loss, I noticed a big rush to my head after the shot, and 3 weeks later, I still have ringing in my ears. Will probably not continue with chemo, in my case it only offers a 30% benefit, and I think I’d rather feel sane than worry about reoccurrence! Personally, I feel chemo causes cancer, especially if it’s aduvient
Oh it’s your treatments alright! The neulasta doesn’t help either, that too can cause ringing in your ears!