Radiotherapy-enhanced ototoxicity in elderly

Most head and neck cancers occur in elderly age and there is a natural occurrence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) due to age also. Despite the ages and the physiological changes inherent to ageing, their auditory systems when exposed to aggressive agents caused the hearing loss to be greater as a consequence of the treatment received.

Histopathologically proved 66 head and neck cancer patients were subjected to radiotherapy (RT) and 34 patients were subjected to concomitant chemoradiation (RT + CT) to study the occurrence of SNHL from 1(st) September 2010 to 31(st) August 2012.

It was found that the percentage of significant SNHL was more in patients >50 years after RT and RT + CT. It was also found that the results were significant.

The occurrence of SNHL is more in elderly and the concern for the quality of life of patients undergoing cancer treatment is necessarily growing. Hence, the determination of hearing loss should be a part of investigations to enable better rehabilitation in elderly.