Sensorineural hearing loss following radiotherapy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A prospective study

This prospective study was designed to evaluate the effect of radical external irradiation on hearing function after treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Twenty-eight patients [52 ears] were included in the study. Pure tone audiogram was performed before and one year after completion of the radiotherapy course. The results revealed a deterioration of bone conduction threshold at 4 kHz in eight ears. Patients older than 50 years and ears with bone conduction threshold >10 dB at 4 kHz before radiotherapy were more vulnerable