Question

Think about this medical scenario and answer why physicians may disregard this common side effect of ototoxic medications.

A common side effect of antineoplastic, chemotherapeutic treatment for cancer is ototoxicity, development of sensorineural hearing loss, and tinnitus. Why do oncologists (physicians who treat cancer) sometimes disregard these side effects?

Answer 1

Ototoxicity is basically a pharmalogical severe effect that affecting the inner ear or auditory nerves and characterized by cochlear dysfunction. Ototoxicity is a common side effect of cancer treatment .

Oncologists may disregard the common side effects of ototoxic medication because;

• Some times the side effects might be unrecognised as the mostly time, the physician have to spend with patients and the doctors receive lots of fetail about the benefits of medication but not much on their dangers.
• The chemotherapeutic is the only option that can avail by mostly people.Chemotherapy drugs are used for so many types of cancers while others are used for few specific.  Ototoxic medications may lead to hearing loss and balance issues but there are no guarantee that the new drug or treatment will work better than the standard.
• Patients who are suffering the side effects of these medications won't concern to the physicians properly and this leads to the conclusion that create alot of issues whether the medication is accurate or correct or not.