In this paper, ototoxicity and its effects on hearing and balance will be discussed. Ototoxic drugs can affect different areas of the ear. It can affect anyone no matter the age, race, or gender. Although it is a common cause of hearing loss and balance problems, ototoxicity was not brought to awareness until the 1940s. Two common drugs that are damaging to one’s hearing are medications in the aminoglycoside family and cisplatin. There may be ways of preventing ototoxicity, but in some cases, it may be difficult to avoid these medications. There may be some ways to attempt to manage ototoxicity such as by sound pre-conditioning, vestibular rehabilitation, or use of hearing aids or cochlear implants. Some techniques may work for some
…show more content…
Schacht, Talaska, and Rybak (2012) stated, “Historically, cochlear and vestibular complications have been experienced by patients and recorded by clinicians for centuries, but it was not until the 1940s that ototoxicity caught widespread awareness” (p. 1837, para. 1). Ototoxicity is not specific to any gender, age, or race; it can affect anyone. It typically affects more adults than children, but it is very possible for a child to be born with hearing loss due to ototoxic medications given to the mother while she was pregnant. There may be several steps one can do in order to prevent hearing loss from ototoxicity and also ways to manage it. In this paper, ototoxicity will be discussed and defined along with the causes, prevention, and the management of …show more content…
The client needs to be completely aware of the risks and also to know that all management strategies may not always work. Roland also stated that one needs to discontinue aminoglycoside therapy as soon as ototoxicity is identified or suspected—assuming that this is possible without endangering the patient’s health in some other way (2003, p. 6). Leis, Rutka, and Gold (2014) reiterated that aminoglycoside therapy can be damaging when they stated that, “When aminoglycoside therapy is indicated, the duration of therapy should be minimized” (para. 2). Another useful method might be steroid therapy. Roy, Bruele, Fitzgerald, and Cunningham conducted a study on sound preconditioning using mice. They stated that sound therapy provided protection against aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss and that sound preconditioning protects against both classes of ototoxic drug-induced hearing loss (2014). Sound preconditioning not only protects against aminoglycoside-induced ototoxicity but also cisplatin
Schacht, Talaska, and Rybak (2012) stated, “Historically, cochlear and vestibular complications have been experienced by patients and recorded by clinicians for centuries, but it was not until the 1940s that ototoxicity caught widespread awareness” (p. 1837, para. 1). Ototoxicity is not specific to any gender, age, or race; it can affect anyone. It typically affects more adults than children, but it is very possible for a child to be born with hearing loss due to ototoxic medications given to the mother while she was pregnant. There may be several steps one can do in order to prevent hearing loss from ototoxicity and also ways to manage it. In this paper, ototoxicity will be discussed and defined along with the causes, prevention, and the management of …show more content…
The client needs to be completely aware of the risks and also to know that all management strategies may not always work. Roland also stated that one needs to discontinue aminoglycoside therapy as soon as ototoxicity is identified or suspected—assuming that this is possible without endangering the patient’s health in some other way (2003, p. 6). Leis, Rutka, and Gold (2014) reiterated that aminoglycoside therapy can be damaging when they stated that, “When aminoglycoside therapy is indicated, the duration of therapy should be minimized” (para. 2). Another useful method might be steroid therapy. Roy, Bruele, Fitzgerald, and Cunningham conducted a study on sound preconditioning using mice. They stated that sound therapy provided protection against aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss and that sound preconditioning protects against both classes of ototoxic drug-induced hearing loss (2014). Sound preconditioning not only protects against aminoglycoside-induced ototoxicity but also cisplatin