Tinnitis

[Hopeful]

Ok, I know that cancer drugs can have some weird side effects, but has anyone noticed ringing in the ears from Herceptin or AI's? This is one that has been creeping up on me for the last several weeks, to the point where it is now constant. I only really notice it when there is absolute silence in the room, but it makes it hard to get to sleep without leaving the tv on low (at least mine has an automatic timer on it.) Is this, literally, all in my head?

Thanks,

Hopeful

[bobbiw]

Nope not all in your head...I have it as well.

Bobbi

[Hopeful]

bobbiw, which of the two drugs (Herceptin or AI) did you notice this with, and how long did it take to show up? My inclination is that the Herceptin is the more likely culprit (and I sure hope so, since I can be off that in 9 months but have 5 years of AI ahead of me). Thanks for answering.

Hopeful

[RhondaH]

I TOO experienced it while I was on Herceptin. I had my last dose on 8/10/06 and am gradually getting back to "whatever MY normal is":) Take care and God bless.

Rhonda

[karenann]

I had a terrible problem with it while I was on Herceptin.

Karen

[Hopeful]

Karenann and RhondaH, thank you also so very much for responding! I am sorry for your experiences with this annoying side effect, but very grateful to learn that it IS real and common enough that others recognize it.

Hopeful

[bobbiw]

I too am on Herceptin, have been since February. I think I started noticing the band playing in my ears a couple of months ago. Man some days it does get loud huh?

Bobbi

[lisahammo]

I, too, suffer from tinnitis. My onc told me it was from the chemo. I did panic at first thinking it was brain mets. You do get used it, sadly, but it can be bloody annoying at night.

Love Lisa

[Hopeful]

To be thorough, I went to my PCP and had my ears checked for infection - all was clear. He did mention that my bp was high, and suggested that hypertension can also cause tinnitis. Wondering now if this is a side effect of Herceptin causing bp to rise, vs. sinus type issues. Either way, I think H is the culprit. Will take it up with the onc at next treatment in 2 weeks.

Hopeful

[Hopeful]

but more likely the Femara causing the ringing in my ears. This started after I had completed three Herceptin treatments with no problem, but within the first month on Femara. I have been doing research on hormones and tinnitis, and something called "sensorineural deafness" and learned that there are estrogen receptors in the ear (can you believe it?) Here is a recent abstract on the topic:

Acta Oto-Laryngologica Publisher: Taylor & Francis Issue: Volume 126, Number 1 / January 2006 Pages: 10 - 14 URL: Linking Options DOI: 10.1080/00016480510038617 Estrogen and hearing: a summary of recent investigations M. Hultcrantz A1, R. Simonoska A1, A. E. Stenberg A1 A1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden Abstract: Is the female sex steroid estrogen the key to preserved hearing in the aging human? This question remains unanswered, but hearing loss is more profound in elderly males than females. There are also well-known sex differences in the auditory brainstem response (ABR), i.e. women have shorter latencies than men. Moreover, menopausal women who are administered hormone replacement therapy have slightly better hearing than those who are not, and women with Turner's syndrome (45,X), who are biologically estrogen-deficient, show longer ABR latencies and early presbyacusis.

[Hopeful]

These findings are also supported by animal experiments. When boosted with estrogen or testosterone the non-reproductive female midshipman fish alters its inner ear auditory mechanism so that it can hear the male's hum-like call. If estrogen receptor β is knocked out in mice, severe progressive hearing loss occurs, leading to early deafness. In apparent contradiction to these findings, there have been case reports suggesting that hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptive use can lead to hearing loss, but of another type, namely acute sudden deafness. Such contradictory aspects of the action of estrogen are commonly found and may spring from the fact that there are two estrogen receptors, α and β, both of which are present in the inner ear of mice, rats and humans. Knowing how sex steroids can alter hearing ability may give important clues as to how estrogen can preserve hearing in humans. In this review we present a summary of current knowledge about hearing and estrogen.


So, does this mean I will be deaf after 5 years on Femara? Should I ask to swtich to Arimedex or the third AI (whose name I can't recall)? Give up on hormone therapy? Any ideas?

Thanks!

Hopeful