[Monitoring ototoxic side effects in streptomycin therapy of tuberculosis patients with transitory evoked otoacoustic emissions TEOAE]

Abstract

The transient stimulated otoacoustic emissions TEOAE's from 10 patients treated with Streptomycin for tuberculosis, were measured. The patients received a combination of four drugs consisting of isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamid and streptomycin. All patients received a total of 30 grams of streptomycin during 30 days of treatment. Pure tone audiograms between 125 Hz and 8000 Hz were performed before, during and at the end of the treatment. The TEOAE's were measured in a soundproof cabin before during and after the streptomycin treatment. None of the patients experienced subjective dizziness, hearing loss or tinnitus. The pure tone audiograms showed no significant fluctuations. However, 14 of the 20 examined ears showed a significant decrease in the amplitudes of the TEOAE's. An observation of the TEOAE-amplitudes of each patient during the treatment allows an assessment of impending cochlear dysfunction before subjective hearing loss can be recognized.