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Monitoring and predicting ototoxic damage using distortion-product otoacoustic emissions: pediatric case study
T A Littman1, A Magruder, D R Strother
1Audiology Department, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, USA.
Insights
Cisplatin chemotherapy can cause hearing loss in children. Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) show potential for early detection of hearing changes before they appear on standard hearing tests.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Audiology
- Ototoxicity Research
Background:
- Cisplatin chemotherapy is a known risk factor for progressive sensorineural hearing loss in young children.
- Early detection of hearing loss is crucial for timely intervention and management strategies.
- Traditional behavioral audiometry can be challenging and imprecise in very young or ill pediatric patients.
Observation:
- This case study highlights the utility of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) as a supplementary tool.
- DPOAEs were used to cross-check and confirm findings from pediatric behavioral audiometry.
- The study observed the potential of DPOAEs in identifying subtle auditory changes.
Findings:
- Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) may serve as a reliable cross-check measure for pediatric behavioral audiometry.
- DPOAEs demonstrated potential in detecting the earliest signs of progressive hearing loss.
- These changes were detectable by DPOAEs even before they were evident in audiometric thresholds.
Implications:
- Otoacoustic emissions testing could enhance the early diagnosis of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in pediatric patients.
- Implementing DPOAEs may allow for earlier intervention, potentially mitigating long-term hearing damage.
- This approach could improve audiological monitoring protocols for children undergoing chemotherapy.
Abstract:
Young children undergoing cisplatin chemotherapy are known to be at risk for progressive sensorineural hearing loss. Early detection of such hearing loss is important for providing management options. However, in ill and/or young children, behavioral audiometry may not be sufficiently precise to detect the early stages of hearing loss. This case illustrates that distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) may be an appropriate cross-check measure to supplement and confirm pediatric behavioral data. Perhaps more importantly, this study suggests that DPOAEs may have the potential to predict the earliest stages of progressive hearing loss before such changes are seen in audiometric thresholds.