I assume you’re describing tinnitus. There’s no question that Oxaliplatin does a number on nerves—I can vouch for that every time I get up in the morning and walk across the bedroom floor (and my neuropathy is quite minor from what I have read/understand!).
However, tinnitus is also a very common condition that increases in prevalence with age, and most cases start after 40. Plus, in your case you didn’t notice it until about 1.5 years after chemo, which to me diminishes the likehood of (but does not refute) a causal link. Further, tinnitus is one of those conditions that varies in severity by how much one concentrates on it (that is NOT to say it’s made up, or the result of “focusing on it,” etc.) I have, however, suffered from it for many years (from playing in rock bands “back in the day”) and have observed that it “disappears” when I’m not looking for it/distracted, but can seem quite acute when I do focus on it (as I write this, for instance : ) I also feel it “really” varies in intensity from time to time, for various reasons (but that’s just an impression).
And I DID sometimes feel mine was worse during chemo, but was unable to reliably verify that. Now, 6 months post-chemo, it seems to have returned to its “baseline” from prior to chemo. So:
I hope and trust your “buzzing” isn’t too bad, just mildly annoying (some cases can be worse than that, for sure). If that’s the case, my advice (which you didn’t ask for—sorry!) is to try to just accept it/welcome as part of your everyday “background noise.” It’ll vanish, and eventually you’ll become comfortable with it when you do notice it again. Maybe it was triggered by the chemo, maybe not—there’s no question that chemo does weird things (my hair was grey pre-chemo, turned white, and is now coming in black (?!)). And I think we all have similar “small things” as a result of the poisoning
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
and irradiation we undergo.
Of course, as always (and as you intend to do), make sure your Dr. is comfortable that there’s no broader issue.