Postoperative Auditory Effects After Neck Dissection

Objective: The objective of this prospective study was to investigate the prevalence of hearing loss after neck dissection combined or not with postoperative radiotherapy. Study design: Prospective Study. Material and Methods: Only patients with no previous history of ototoxic treatment, nasopharyngeal carcinoma or hearing loss were included. Fifty-one patients signed the informed consent and underwent a pure tone audiometry, immitance audiometry and otoacoustic emissions tests before and after the surgery, and after postoperative radiotherapy. They were divided into three groups as follows: Group 1 (N=21), included subjects who underwent neck dissection combined with further radiotherapy; Group 2 (N=14), included subjects who underwent only neck dissection; and Group 3 (N=16), a control group, included patients who underwent other head and neck surgery without neck dissection. Criterium to indicate hearing decrease after the treatment was defined as either a 20 dB decrease at any one test frequency or a 10 dB decrease at any two adjacent test frequencies. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the effect of neck dissection on post treatment hearing loss. Results: In group 1, eleven (52%) showed some degree of hearing loss after the neck dissection, while in group 2, five of the patients (36%) showed a decrease in hearing. In the control group, four patients (25%) presented a hearing loss after surgery. In group 1, radiotherapy added hearing loss to eleven patients. Conclusion: Our results showed that neck dissection, as well as radiotherapy, may induce hearing loss in patients treated for head and neck cancer.