Do you hear what I hear?

Tinnitus is the technical term for ear ringing. I thought one blog post should be dedicated to this because of its prevalence during my chemo treatments - especially during the clinical trial (with Cisplatin).

After four Adriamycin/Cytoxan treatments last summer, I received four Taxol/Abraxane treatments that made my ears ring; the ringing would usually dissipate between treatments. The Cisplatin I received Feb-Apr really brought on the ear ringing. After my first treatment it lasted ~4 days and each consecutive treatment it lasted a few days longer.

A neat diagram in the audiologist's testing chamber.

This time around, the ringing hasn't gone away. It's still pretty strong and is prevalent during every waking hour. It's high-pitched. And it kinda drives me crazy at times. I can somewhat successfully mask the ringing by playing music.

Cisplatin has many side effects; one of which is ototoxicity. Ototoxicity = producing, involving, or being adverse effects on organs or nerves involved in hearing or balance. (via Merriam-Webster)

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Some of the important points from my hearing exam/meeting last week:

• chemo binds nerve endings and makes them irritated so they're firing all the time; that's why people experience ringing (it's perceived sound--not actual sound)
• high pitches: I currently have below normal hearing
• doc recommended I use constant low-level noise (music/white noise) to mask the ringing and keep my ear nerves engaged
• avoid excessively loud environments
• should get back high pitch hearing in 4-6 weeks; ringing should subside, too
• should not have lasting effects since I have four treatments; people who receive 10+ treatments sometimes have irreversible damage and need hearing aids, etc.