Hi Freelancer, Not sure if this any help at all but just over 3 years ago I had bone marrow stem cell transplant which consisted of several months in hospital and many, many visits (and stays) in hospital and visiting all the various specialists associated with this procedure. During my recovery process I was given an oral medication (I really can't remember its name) I started taking it as recommended and in the space of a week or so I was totally deaf. Back to the Dr's and yes he confirmed that this is one of known side effects and that it was probably permanent (shouldn't I have known??) anyway my GP believed that my hearing would recover in time as I was taken straight of the medication. In order for me to go back to work I was fitted with some (very expensive hearing aids) and that seemed to be the end of it. Three plus years on my hearing has essentially returned (not fully) and I have newer better hearing aids as I still have a level of hearing loss, which is probably age related, still have the tinnitus which wasn't there previously.   I hope you are still okay and stay that way.   Colin ... View more

Hey Hey   The cancer treatments are designed to attack fast replicating cells in your body (like cancer), but so targetted they also can damage your vision, hearing, taste, libido, pretty much every apparatus you use to engage and enjoy the world.   That's cancer for you - it doesn't just want to take your life, it wants to take your QUALITY of life too.   My vision started to decline after chemo (whereas previously it had been perfect, zero issues), and there may be subtle hearing impairment too (with the tinnitus, everything gets a bit drowned out anyways).   I couldn't say definitively whether it's not a natural decline after coincidentally hitting the jackpot age where the downhill slide starts ... but yeah, I reckon the chemo played a big part in my vision decline, and probably your hearing too.  (Cisplatin)   What I'd urge you to do, if you had radiation for head & neck cancer - vigilantly care for your teeth.  The way radiation interacts with bone is a bit different, and you notice a sharp and awful decline in your dental health suddenly after 3-4 years out from treatment .. so be as diligent as you can with dental care.   Sorry mate, yeah, you're going to find side effects cropping up not just in the short term, but later on as well, just have to roll with it. ... View more

Hello @AuntyCoral , I'm very happy that you are cancer free, and I hope it stays that way. I can tell you from my own experience that during and months after treatment I often felt tired and lethargic, more so than prior to treatment. A solution that worked for me was daily exercising using an elliptical. 15 minutes at a time, at low settings at first. The main point was to take it very slow and build it up gradually. Eventually  it helped me return to my normal self. Or just taking walks and getting into a healthy exercise and eating habit. Of course these are things that should be done by anyone, but even more so for people like us that have gone through chemotherapy.  ... View more