Certain medications like aminoglycoside antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs can damage hearing and balance by harming delicate inner ear cells. Regular audiometric monitoring above 8 kHz, where hearing is lost first, is the most effective way to detect this potentially preventable ototoxicity early. Protective strategies are being studied to allow safer use of these important drugs.
2. Close to 200 prescription and OTC medications have
ototoxic potential.
“Drug-induced hearing loss accounts for most cases of
preventable hearing loss worldwide”
3. Two categories of medications that have the greatest
potential for permanent changes in hearing and or
balance are:
aminoglycosides and
anti-neoplastic agents.
Others Are:
Diuretic- furosemide, ethacrynic acid
Salicylate-aspirin
antimalarial drug- quinine
6. Clinical characteristics of ototoxic deafness
Bilateral hearing loss
Hearing loss happens at high
frequency
Reversible or progressive
With tinnitus, vertigo
8. Pathophysiology of Ototoxicity
Hair cells in the inner ear are primarily affected.
In the vestibular system type I hair cells of the crista of
the semi-circular canals are targeted
X
13. Risk Factors
Long term treatment i.e. TB patients
Impaired renal function – increases drug half-life
Concomitant use of loop diuretics
Genetic – mitochondrial mutations (1555 mutation)
14. Aminoglycoside Ototoxicity
Streptomycin was the first aminoglycosides
antibiotic and the first drug effective against
TB.
Discovered by Selman Waksman et al in 1944.
Adverse side effects on the kidney and inner
ear (vestibular toxicity) were reported in 1945
15. Aminoglycoside Ototoxicity
In the last 20 years the use of aminoglycosides
has declined in industrial societies
In developing countries, their effectiveness and low
cost make them popular.
They are often sold OTC and are the most
commonly used antibiotics worldwide.
X
16. Aminoglycoside Ototoxicity
With the resurgence of drug resistant TB, there is
renewed interest in aminoglycosides specifically
streptomycin and amikacin/ kanamycin as part of
the World Health Organization recommended multi
drug regimen.
X
17. Effect of Aminoglycosides on
Auditory/Vestibular Functions
Studies of human temporal bones and experimental
animals show inner ear hair cells are the first to be
affected followed by outer hair cells..
Outer hair cells are targeted in the cochlea extending
from base to apex.
Results in high frequency hearing loss which can
extend to frequencies important to understanding
speech.
18. In the vestibular system, its primary effect is loss of
vestibular hair cells in the semi circular canals and
Utricular macula.
This leads to oscillopsia resulting in postural instability and
risk of fall.
It was once believed that maintaining peak and trough
serum levels of a drug would mitigate ototoxic effects.
Current evidence shows this not to be the case at least for
vestibular toxicity.
19. Gentamycin and streptomycin are considered
more vestibulotoxic.
Amikacin and Neomycin are considered more
cochleo-toxic.
20. Pharmokinetics
Presence of the drug does not necessarily cause
toxicity
Concentration of the drug in the inner ear does not
exceed the serum level
Half life in cochlear tissue has been measured to
exceed one month
Traces can be detected up to 6 months following the
end of treatment.
21. Mechanisms of Aminoglycoside
Ototoxicity
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) formation appears to be
key.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are chemically reactive
molecules containing oxygen. Examples include oxygen
ions and peroxides. ROS are formed as a natural byproduct
of the normal metabolism of oxygen
Depletion of anti oxidant Glutathione (GSH) enhances
ototoxicity while dietary supplementation inhibits toxicity.
22. Is Aminoglycoside ototoxicity preventable?
Medications showing promise are d-
methiomine and salicylate.
Two issues need to be solved before
protective treatment can be considered.
Effective drug levels must be maintained.
Drug must not interfere with the anti-
bacterial activity of the aminoglycosides.
X
23. One clinical study found aspirin was protective
reducing incidence of hearing loss by 75%.
Sha, S. H. , Qui, J. H. & Schacht, J. (2006) Aspirin to prevent gentamicin-
induced hearing loss. New England Journal of Medicine, 354, 1856-7.
X
24. Chemotheraputic Agents &
Ototoxicity - Cisplatin
Introduced in the 1970s and is effective against
germ cell, ovarian, endometrial, cervical, urothelial,
head and neck, brain and lung cancers.
Highest ototoxic potential and is the most ototoxic
drug in clinical use.
Symptoms of ototoxicity begin with tinnitus and high
frequency hearing loss.
25. Incidence of hearing loss has been reported at
11-91% with an overall incidence of 69%.
In patients with head and neck cancer treated
with Cisplatin, about 50% develop hearing loss.
26. Risk Factors for Cisplatin
Ototoxicity
Intravenous bolus administration or high cumulative
dose
Young children, under 5 years, or older > 46 years
Renal insufficiency
Prior cranial irradiation
Co-administration of vincristin
X
27. The best predictor of cisplatin ototoxicity is
cumulative dose.
The critical dose is 3-4 mg/Kg body weight.
Ototoxicity increased dramatically when the total
cumulative dose exceeds 400 mg/m2
X
28. Characteristics of Cisplatin
Ototoxicity
Bilateral and permanent. High frequencies affected
first.
It can occur suddenly. Speech discrimination may be
markedly affected.
29. Mechanisms of Cisplatin
Ototoxicity
Hearing loss affected by free radical formation and
anti-oxidant inhibition.
Formation of reactive oxygen radicals produces
glutathione depletion in the cochlea and lipid
peroxidation.
Induced apoptosis in hair cells causing permanent
hearing loss.
30. Carboplatin
Introduced due to its lower nephrotoxicity than
cisplatin.
It is used to treat small cell lung cancer, ovarian
and head and neck cancers.
carboplatin is less toxic than cisplatin but higher
doses of carboplatin are used increasing ototoxicity
31. OTOTOXIC MONITORING
Ototoxicity is determined by establishing baseline
hearing test data ideally prior to treatment including
testing at high frequencies.
Results are compared to serial audiograms allowing
the patient to serve as their own control.
32. The highest frequencies measuring 100 dB or less
are monitored with testing ideally occurring just prior
to each chemotherapeutic dose
Monitoring 1-2 times per week for patients receiving
ototoxic antibiotics.
Post treatment evaluations are conducted as soon as
possible after dispensing the drug and repeated at 1,
3 and 6 month post treatment.
33. The customized test protocol is called the Sensitive
Range for Ototoxicity, or SRO and differs for each
patient.
It consists of the highest frequencies with thresholds
100 dB or better followed by the next six lower
frequencies.
The SRO is established during baseline testing prior to
ototoxic drug administration.
34. Summary
Audiometric monitoring using the patient’s own
extended high frequency thresholds as a control, is
the most sensitive method to detect ototoxicity.
The test is easily tolerated
High frequency hearing is affected first
Speech perception can degrade if hearing loss
extends below 8KHz.
Editor's Notes
The changes can be temporary or permanent. (p.231)
Ototoxic incidence is dependent on drug dosage, patient factors and concomitant ototoxic medication administration.
p. 231
For this presentation, we will concentrate on drugs that are primarily cochleotoxic although as you can see from the slide , some drugs also produce permanent changes in vestibular function leading to debilitating conditions affecting stability and risk of falling. (p.
Without monitoring, ototoxic hearing loss may go unnoticed until hearing loss affects the ability to understand speech.
Outer hair cells are important because they amplify soft sounds and help with frequency (pitch) sensitivity. Without them, sounds must be much louder to be perceived.
Most standard audio tests are done at frequencies up to 8K. This leaves the early ototoxic effect undetected above this frequency. (p. 167)
Patients with the 1555 mutation have increased toxicity to the cochlea from aminoglycocide. Profound deafness can occur after one injection of an aminoclycoside. (p.169)
(p.164)
(p.164)
(p.164)
(p.165)
There are however no hard and fast rules and all aminoglycosides may affect either the vestibular system, cochlear or both. (p.166)
This may explain the enhanced sensitivity of patients getting a second round of treatment. (p. 168)
(p.169)
In the case of salicylate there was no negative influence on efficacy of the aminoglycocide. (p.170)
(p.171)
(p.141)
(p.142)
(p.143)
71% of cisplatin hearing loss was detected first in frequency of 8000 Hz or above. (p.144). High frequency testing is the hallmark of the ototoxic monitoring program which will be discussed later.
(p.144)
These results are tabulated in graphical form to track changes from baseline