Hi Mariam,
I'm sorry to hear about your father. My dad had a similar diagnosis. (We're also in Illinois. Where are you being treated?) Can you give any more information about his age, health, etc?
We got consultations at Rush, Northwestern and U of C. We decided to with U of C. My dad's treatment protocol called for an "induction chemo" phase which was 8 weeks long and he received carboplatin, taxol and Erbitux. Phase 2, which we're currently in, is 7 weeks and consists of cisplatin (twice), Erbitux (weekly), and daily radiation. He's had one of his two cisplatin treatments and seems to be handling it well. He is a little more nauseous than with the carboplatin, but that may just be due to the cumulative effect of all the drugs. He says he's had a little tinnitus (high pitching ringing), but that it's barely noticable. (Or at least not much different than pre-cancer days.) I've read about several people on here who started with cisplatin (since it's basically the "gold standard"), but were switched to carboplatin if the side effects got too bad. You should ask your doctor if that would be a possibility.
Please feel free to contact me if you think I can help you with anything.

Stephanie