title: The role of ultrahigh-frequency audiometry in the early detection of systemic drug-induced hearing loss.
abstract: In monitoring patients for drug-induced hearing loss, most audiometric evaluations are limited to the range of frequencies from 0.25 to 8 kHz. However, such testing would fail to detect ototoxicity in patients who have already experienced hearing loss in the ultrahigh frequencies from 10 to 20 kHz. Awareness of ultrahigh-frequency ototoxicity could lead to changes in a drug regimen to prevent further damage. We conducted a prospective study of 105 patients who were receiving a potentially ototoxic drug-either gentamicin, amikacin, or cisplatin-to assess the value of ultrahigh-frequency audiometry in detecting systemic drug-induced hearing loss. We found that expanding audiometry into the ultrahigh-frequency range led to the detection of a substantial number of cases of hearing loss that would have otherwise been missed.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Nepalgunj Medical College, Kohalpur, Nepalgunj, Nepal. rajeevsinghent@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: Rajeev
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Singh Chauhan
authors.forename: Ravinder Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Varshey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000583:Amikacin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001299:Audiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000009:adverse effects*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D005839:Gentamicins; D000583:Amikacin; D002945:Cisplatin