Studies have shown that between 10% and 30% of patients who are treated for cancer report some hearing loss following treatment. Not all, but some chemotherapy agents are know to be "ototoxic" (toxic to the ear) and can cause hearing loss.
"As chemotherapy agents such as cisplatin and carboplatin become more successful and patients live longer, healthier lives, oncologists are discovering side effects that can seriously impact a patient’s quality of life. One such impact is ototoxicity — damage to the inner ear by a toxin." One way to work with patients undergoing chemotherapy is to monitor changes in hearing. Measuring otoacoustic emissions and conducting ultra high frequency monitoring are ways that we can identify, track, and report changes in hearing for our patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Oncologists are often able to make adjustments to their treatments (such as modifying dosages) to preserve hearing. This is a standard practice for any child undergoing chemotherapy but is not necessarily so for adults. Adults should establish a baseline hearing test before undergoing treatment and then periodically throughout the course of treatment. If you have had treatments for cancer and never had a hearing test, it is not too late. Talk to your primary care physician and ask for a referral to an audiologist.