Head and neck cancers in India account for 30% of all cancers. In India, 60 to 80 % of patients present with advanced disease as compared to 40% in developed countries. Chemoradiotherapy (CTRT) is the most common modality of treatment for advanced head and neck cancers.

                Radiation induced sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is an important side effect as the temporal bone is often included in the field of radiation. It is usually high frequency SNHL that occurs either during or 6-24 months after therapy and may progress to complete deafness. The widely used chemotherapeutic drug, cisplatin, is also known to cause ototoxicity, thus adding to the SNHL.

                  This hearing impairment can cause significant disability in these patients especially in cases of binaural hearing loss, hence this should be kept in mind during the pre- radiotherapy counseling and post-radiotherapy follow-up of these patients. Many of the previous reports were based on studies that were either retrospective or involved a limited number of patients. The aim of this study is the qualitative and quantitative assessment of hearing loss in patients receiving CTRT in adjuvant settings for head and neck malignancy.