Purpose: Recent research in a large, publicly funded tertiary hospital in Australia revealed patients receiving ototoxic, cumulative cisplatin chemotherapy (CT) had a median of one encounter with audiology (IQR = 0) during their treatment. This finding was in contrast with international audiological ototoxicity monitoring (OtoM) guidelines that recommend prospective OtoM for all patients undergoing CT. This study reports the thoughts and experiences of a sample of these patients regarding audiology and hearing impairment during CT.
Sample and Setting: Fifteen adults were interviewed from a cohort of 189 patients who received CT at a large Australian tertiary hospital between 1st January and 31st December 2023.
Procedures: Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, an abbreviated Hearing Handicap Inventory, and a single, semi-structured interview. Patient demographics were described and interview transcripts were analysed using inductive content analysis.
Results: The thoughts and experiences of fifteen patients were grouped into two major themes. The first theme Cancer and Cancer Treatment had four distinct sub-categories of content - information and information needs, side effects of cancer treatment, ongoing quality of life and memory. The second major theme, Audiology Experience and Hearing had six sub-categories of content – referral process, audiology experience and education, self-management, referral and assessment process, onset of hearing loss and tinnitus and recommendations to improve the process.
Conclusion and Clinical Implication: Although the need for audiological OtoM is well documented in the literature, patient experience with audiology and OtoM was limited but positive where encounters occurred. This study provides patient perspectives of their journey with audiology, physician referral processes and the impacts of cancer treatment on long-term health related quality of life. These findings can be used to benchmark areas for improvement and address limitations in audiology referral processes and OtoM care pathways in Australia.