Cisplatin (AKA Platinol) is some miserable, rotten, stuff to be sure but it has a good, proven, track record for doing its job and adds an estimated whopping 13% to your 5 year survival rate when used in conjunction with radiation.

The hearing loss issue is fairly rare and the radiation can damage the eustacian tubes for a time and cause the same effect (it causes fluid buildup behind the ear drum - this is also why many complain of ear ache). Make sure that you report any changes in hearing to your oncologist immediately.

I should mention also that since the archive thread was written, some institutions give more frequent but smaller dosages and some seem to tolerate that better.

Here's the latest from the NCCN http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/head-and-neck.pdf