by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady explained,
I had a cold on Feb 17 and on Feb 22 I suddenly went deaf in my left ear. I went to my primary care doctor immediately and he prescribed Amoxicillin and Flonase. I was not told this hearing loss could be so serious. I saw an ENT on March 23 and was diagnosed with severe sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) in my left ear. I am on a high dose of Prednisone for the next 2 weeks and hoping for the best.
When a patient comes in with a cold and complains of hearing loss, I wish doctors wouldn’t be so quick to assume that the person has middle ear congestion that is causing the hearing loss, then write out a prescription for antibiotics (Amoxicillin) and decongestants (Flonase) and go on their merry way to their next patient. This is not doctoring. This is just being a “drug pusher” running on autopilot.
To be sure, many people with colds do come in with middle ear congestion that causes some degree of temporary conductive hearing loss. However, numbers of people come in with a much more serious problem, like in your case. The cold virus may or may not have invaded your middle ear, but it obviously did invade your inner ear and has now caused you permanent sensorineural hearing loss.
The former case is a temporary condition and typically doesn’t even need a doctor’s attention. All it requires is time. In a week to several weeks, the cold will go away, the congestion will drain out through the Eustachian tube and hearing will return.
The latter, which you had, is a medical emergency and needed immediate attention if you were to have a hope of getting any hearing back. Unfortunately, your doctor squandered your precious “golden hours” away with useless treatments, when effective help could have made a difference.
I emphasize that the operative words are “could have”, not “would have”. There is no guarantee that doing the “right” treatment would have given you your hearing back. About half the time it does. However, the rest of the time, nothing seems to work. But at least you then could take solace in knowing your doctor did all the right things in a timely manner.
You don’t say what tests your doctor did, but whether you had middle ear congestion or not, your doctor still could have conducted a simple, 10 second test to quickly determine whether you had the common middle ear problem or the serious inner ear emergency (or perhaps both).
Let me emphasize this again—this is a free, 10-second test. Any doctor worth his salt should know and use this simple test to rule out a hearing loss medical emergency of this type. Because your doctor failed to do his job properly, now you likely will have to live the rest of your life with a severe hearing loss in your left ear.
What your doctor should have done is given you the “Hum Test”. This hum test was designed by an otologist to instantly help doctors determine what the underlying problem is. (Incidentally, you can do this yourself at any time in order to know whether you have a clogged ear or whether you have an ear emergency on your hands.)
This test assumes that only one ear feels “blocked” which was your complaint. (If both ears are equally blocked, then this test won’t work.)
Here’s all you need to do. Hum out loud. If you hear your voice louder in the blocked ear, the problem is congestion (fluid in your middle ear) and is probably temporary until your cold goes away and your ear clears.
However, if you hear your voice louder in your good ear, this probably indicates a viral attack causing permanent hearing loss if left untreated. If this is your case, seek treatment immediately. This is a true medical emergency and needs to be treated now if you want a chance of getting your hearing back. Your chances of getting your hearing back with immediate treatment are greater than 50%.
You can learn more about this “Hum Test” in my article Sudden Hearing Loss is a Medical Emergency.
Thank you so much Dr for taking the time to give me so much information unfortunately it’s been one week on prednisone so far with one more to go tapering off and no improvement. It kills me that I was right at my primary dr office within 10 minutes The hearing test showed I’m at 70-80 which is severe hearing loss in my left ear and thank God my good ear is at 15. So now I’m going for an MRI which is disturbing to me but gas to be done. One more question will this sound I. My ear of the wind blowing constantly ever stop. Thank you so much for listening to me
Hi Ann:
When you have sudden hearing loss in only one ear, doctors like to cover all bases and schedule an MRI to be sure there isn’t something like a growth in the one ear that caused the hearing loss. In your case, I doubt it will find anything, because it appears your hearing loss was viral in nature, as well as probably some conductive loss from the congestion in your middle ear.
The tinnitus sound you are hearing (like wind blowing) will probably be with you as long as you have a hearing loss–so there is a good chance it will be permanent. Thus you need to learn to totally ignore it and not form any emotional attachment to it. This means you treat it as a totally unimportant sound such as the noise your fridge makes. When you do this, it will typically fade into the background and you won’t be aware of it for hours on end, although it will still be there.
If you focus on it, the opposite will happen and it will get louder and more intrusive.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, I had loud ringing in my ear suddenly accompanied by a feeling of fullness then dizziness and hearing loss. I’m pregnant (3rd trimester) and was treated as if I had an inner ear infection at first then treated for fluid in my ear. After 6 weeks of no improvement I visited an ENT and was told I had SSNHL. I was given three injections of steroids in my ear with no improvement to date. It’s been two months since the onset of symptoms and I still experience crackling in the ear, hear the sound of wind and feeling of fullness. My question is whether this is something that may have to do with my pregnancy and is there any chance my hearing could return after I deliver?
Hi Marlene:
Think back to when this happened. Did you have any active virus or cold in your body at that time, or did you have a recent Covid shot, or have Covid? What you describe sounds a lot like a viral attack on your ear. From what you say, it doesn’t sound like it is related to your pregnancy, and thus I don’t think any hearing will come back when you deliver your baby.
My rule of thumb regarding sudden hearing losses is that the hearing you have at the end of 30 days is likely what you’ll have going forward. Thus, I think that trying to restore hearing now is basically a waste of time and money.
It’s possible that the feeling of fullness and crackling will go away in time. Are your ears congested at all? And is your neck/shoulders tight? If so, Perhaps going to an upper cervical chiropractor after your baby is born might be a good idea.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, Dr. Neil…
Wow. I wish I would have known then what I know now. I have had hearing loss in my left ear now since February 6th of this year. It started out with a cracking, popping noise in my ear. I thought I was getting an ear infection so I went to the local Emergacare and the irrigated out my ears.. which I have to note, the hurt me something FIERCE in my left ear trying to dig something out. Moving forward, that night, after the irrigation, I went quite deaf in my left ear. Not totally but it was pretty quiet in there. I visited my gp twice and they did the whole antibiotic/flosnase/sudafed routine with no help whatsoever. I have experienced two bouts of vertigo. I feel unbalanced at times and dizzy. I can’t recall if I had a cold or anything of such before this happened but I feel as if I have been congested continuously SINCE it’s happened. I do have nonstop tinnitus but it’s bearable actually. Sometimes I actually have to stop what I’m doing and actually have to LISTEN for the tinnitus. I’m not so worried about the tinnitus as I am the hearing loss. And that is not even bad compared to some of the stories I’ve read. I was tired of dealing with my gp so went ahead myself and went to an ENT. I have had a hearing test and, not knowing the exact numbers, it was considered to be a mild hearing loss. I want to mention that one of the visits at the gp and my first visit with my ENT, they both said that my eardrum in my left ear was retracted, so assuming ETD. Upon my second visit with my ENT, yesterday (April 22, 2016) my ENT has now ruled out ETD because of how my hearing test result came in. He is saying it is one of two things… an acoustic neuroma or a viral attack. I am scheduled for an MRI this Monday to rule out (GOD WILLING) an acoustic neuroma. Needless to say, I’m scared to death. I will take this mild permanent hearing loss, if that’s what it is, over an acoustic neuroma anyday. My question to you, I guess, is… in your opinion, according to my information, would you say this sounds more like a SSNHL or is this something I should work on getting a second opinion? This is all contingent on the MRI coming out clean.
I might add that I am supposed to be boarding a plane on the 30th…. and I am aware that if this is either one of the possible diagnosis’s… that the flight will not worsen my symptoms… but if it’s been misdiagnosed, that is where I have a concern of flying. I guess, as I am not into a medical field whatsoever, I am wondering, if this is a permanent deafness or if it’s being caused by a tumor, would I be experiencing periodic crackling? (Like water draining out of ear….) or when I do the “plug your nose and blow out” routine, I almost feel as if it MAY pop, but then it goes right back… almost like what a plunger does…..if that makes any sense.
Hi Laura:
Whenever you get crackling sounds, my first thought is that you have a middle ear or Eustachian tube problem. As I mentioned in the above referenced article, you could have a cold that clogs up you middle ear/Eustachian tube AND a viral attack on your inner ear at the same time.
I do not understand how your doctor could say a retracted eardrum could be the result of an acoustic neuroma. Doesn’t make sense to me.
As far as your tinnitus goes, you shouldn’t TRY to listen for it. Just the opposite. Learn to totally ignore it and let it fade into the background.
Have the MRI if it will make you feel better. But I doubt that they will find an acoustic neuroma. That’s my personal opinion.
I wish I knew the results of your hearing tests–specifically your air and bone conduction hearing tests and the results of your tympanogram. Those would give clues as to why your doctors think you don’t have a middle ear problem. Depending on those results, the retracted eardrum, the crackling feelings and the congested feelings would typically lead to a diagnosis of middle ear problems.
The various balance problems are more in line with a viral attack, but there are also other things to check out.
One thing I always want to know is what happened before all your symptoms began. You say you can’t remember having a cold. Did you have any other active virus? Did you have any head trauma of any kind.
Another possibility that comes to mind that could explain all your symptoms is that your upper cervical spine is out of proper alignment.
If your MRI checks out ok, then contact me again, and I’ll explain this to you and where to go to get effective treatment.
When you fly, if your ears are congested, it is a good idea to take a decongestant an hour or more before you take off and again an hour or so before you begin to come down. If the congested feeling isn’t true in fact (just a feeling), then flying shouldn’t bother you.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Neil, 2 weeks ago I suffered from SSHL. I’m a week into steroid treatment with no results thus far. My hearing loss is in my left ear and severe. I’ve had lots of bloodwork and am scheduled for an MRI in a few days. I also have a follow up this week where my Dr may inject steroids into my ear if my hearing hasn’t improved at all. Your response about cervical spine alignment interests me as I have building discs in my cervical spine. Can you please elaborate? I hope to hear from you!
Hi Amanda:
Sometimes prednisone works and sometimes it doesn’t. So if there is no change at all, I wouldn’t keep flogging a dead horse. Taking more probably won’t make much if any difference. You can try it if you want to, but once 30 days has gone by, it’s basically a lost cause continuing prednisone treatment.
What caused your SSHL? Any ideas? Did you have any active virus in your body? Did you begin taking or change the dose on any drugs you might have been taking?
Did you have any neck problems that acted up right at the time of your SSHL? If so, your neck being “out” might be the culprit.
Bulging discs in your neck are not likely the problem unless the bulge is in the disc between C2 and C3. There is no disc between C1 and C2. Misalignments in discs below C2 don’t affect your ears as I understand it.
If you want to learn more about upper cervical spine treatment, read my comprehensive article on Meniere’s disease at https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/ . Since you don’t have Meniere’s (at least I don’t think you do), just read between the lines for how what I say might apply to hearing loss and see if it makes sense in your case.
Cordially,
Neil
I got a noise in my ear a few days after getting covud and my dr said ignore it goto a psychiatrist or accu puncture or a tumor on the end of the nerve wow how to help you with it never had any ear problems
Hi Judy:
Tinnitus is associated with Covid and Covid 19 vaccines. Roughly 5,000 people have reported getting tinnitus after the Covid shot by mid June, 2021 according to the VARES data base. So your tinnitus is almost certainly related to Covid one way or another–not some other cause.
You are not “crazy” so you don’t need a psychiatrist. And you don’t develop a tumor (acoustic neuroma) on your auditory nerve in a few days. Your doctor was just scaring you with his ignorance.
If it is not too loud, just ignore your tinnitus. The more your focus on it and get bent out of shape over it, it will tend to become louder and more intrusive. So treat it as you do any other useless, unimportant background sound and focus on the loves of your life and let your tinnitus fade into the background and not bother you.
Cordially,
Neil
Hey Dr. Neil I’d like to share my story and my experiences and see what you think. I’ll try to keep this short.
So Oct.29th I got sick with a bad head cold, sinus congestion, sinus headache etc. that lasted for a good 7-10 days and somewhere between the 7th and 14th I woke up and noticed my left ear just felt full with pressure and this sound as well. Not high pitched ringing, not loud piercing, just this steady low pitched kind of sound that comes with pressure and irritation I guess if that makes sense? So I didn’t think anything of it, thinking I just slept too long on one side and all that mucus went to my ear, it’s happened to my right ear before, similar sensation and sound and everything and it went away on its own. 2 weeks go by and it was still there so I went to this walk in clinic, first visit was November 28th and they said earwax buildup and irrigated my ears and sent me on my way. Didn’t help.
Went back Dec.5th and ever since then been getting treated for middle ear fluid, been told it looked infected twice, I’ve been put on 2 different regiments of medicine (antibiotics, nasal spray and decongestants and z pak prednisone) 2 different times. Every time they put me on antibiotics and the steroid pak I did see some improvement, where the intense low pitched sound would ease up my ear would feel sensitive to sound? Like I could feel sounds in my ear? Scratch the wall I could feel it, close lids hard I could feel it, my voice and other peoples voice I could feel it.
My symptoms would come and go? The whole month of December, the fullness low pitched sound was more intense when it flared up, and my ear was more sensitive to sounds.
It’s the month of Jan. now and I have seen some GRADUAL improvement, where the sound isn’t so intense anymore and my ear isn’t as sensitive as it was. Symptoms still come and go, almost like a pattern? When I go to bed my ear almost feels 95% normal, very minimal sound if any, same thing in the morning when I wake up. Then by midday they sound is def more present and amps back up a little more through the day.
They done a CT scan on me Dec.19th everything came back normal including middle ear. No fluid. I have an ENT apt. Jan.26th and haven’t been able to get in sooner, been put on a cancellation list, told them my CT results and still can’t get in sooner.
Just went and done hearing test at this audiology office and come to find out I have mild-normal sensorineural rising hearing loss? Or mild low frequency hearing loss in my left ear.
My ears were perfectly normal and the same all the way until the last 2 lowest frequencies, I dropped to 30db at 500Hz and 35db at 250Hz.
I’ve done hearing test at the house and have past those, humming test is always hard to differentiate which one it’s louder in, most of the time I feel like it’s equal? And other times maybe louder in the other ear and vice versa, but most of the time sounds equal to me. I can hear really well out my ear, pickup background noise, subtle sounds and which direction, low pitched sounds like bass in music, talk on the phone fine, understand and follow convos fine etc. idk if that hearing loss was there prior to my symptoms?
But on paper my audiogram does not look too severe so what I’m trying to figure out is if my symptoms are from this mild hearing loss or is my body possibly still trying to heal or is it possible there may still be something left from the virus, or inflammation or something?
Like I said my symptoms seem to be on a pattern, they never get worse, just consistent and present. The left side of my face gets red the same time every day, no pain, and goes away, no idea why not sure if that’s related. I haven’t experienced any vertigo or spinning dizzy spells, maybe some slight light headedness but that’s been like weeks ago and it wasn’t nothing serious at all. All I’ve experienced is this pressure, fullness sensation with this low pitched sound that amps and up eases up (comes and goes) ANYTHING will help, I realize I’m 2 months in with steroid treatment but that’s not my fault I had NO IDEA I was experiencing hearing loss or whatever because I could still hear out of my ear??? Even when the low pitched humming ringing sound was at its worse I could still hear out of it that’s why “sudden hearing loss” never occurred to me, I didn’t even know what that was until I talk to a Doc about my CT results.
Dr. If you could help me understand a little better what’s going that would be greatly appreciated, id like to know what my chances are, if any, of getting back to feeling normal atleast symptomatically. Or if there may be another explanation of what’s going on. I just really want your opinion on whether I’m pretty much screwed at this point and if I’m gonna have to deal with this sensation and sound forever OR if there’s any chance I can regain any kind of normalcy. If it’s possible this sound and sensation can get better and possibly go away. Sorry for the long post. Thank you.
Hi Nick:
Obviously your problem with the low-pitched hum wasn’t ear wax clogging your ear canals. When your ears get clogged up, you have a temporary conductive hearing loss. That may result in tinnitus.
Usually, the tinnitus pitch is at/near the frequency of you worst hearing loss, so if you have a low-frequency loss, you would typically experience a low-frequency humming tinnitus. On the other hand, if you have a high-frequency hearing loss, you’d typically have high-pitched tinnitus.
It doesn’t always work this way as I have a low-frequency hearing loss, yet my tinnitus has always been a high-pitched hissing sound.
When you get a head cold, your ears often get congested–filled with fluid–I call in gunk because it is basically mucous, a thick fluid, not “thin” like water. Thus this fluid doesn’t drain out very easily. It may become infected, and that is why so many doctors give antibiotics (which may or may not help depending whether an infection is present or not).
When your ears become more sensitive to sounds, that is called loudness hyperacusis. Numbers of drugs can cause this including Azithromycin (Z-pak). You didn’t mention the other drugs you took so I can’t look them up.
You wrote, “It’s the month of Jan. now and I have seen some GRADUAL improvement, where the sound isn’t so intense anymore and my ear isn’t as sensitive as it was.”
Were you off the drugs at this point?
If the MRI showed that your middle ears and Eustachian tubes are clear, then taking any drugs is not the answer as there is nothing for them to treat.
What may be happening is that because you have a low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss in your left ear, you have low-frequency tinnitus accompanying this hearing loss.
The reason your ear feels “full” or clogged is not because it is physically clogged, but because of a psychological feeling of being clogged due to the sudden hearing loss. Your brain doesn’t hear these low frequencies well anymore so reasons that your ear must be clogged or you’d still hear them–thus it gives you the psychological feeling of it being clogged.
The hum test only works when one ear has a sensorineural hearing loss and the other one doesn’t. If both have a loss, the hum test can’t work.
In order to answer your questions, let’s assume that your low-frequency hearing loss is recent–due to the cold virus. Typically, hearing loss that persists for 30 days or longer (your case now). proves to be permanent. So I don’t think anything you do will bring back your hearing. And since tinnitus often accompanies hearing loss, your tinnitus will likely also be permanent, although it may come and go at times.
The feeling of fullness, if it is psychological in nature, typically will disappear in time as your brain gets used to the new normal.
The humming tinnitus doesn’t affect your hearing. You hear normally in spite of your tinnitus.
Don’t focus on your tinnitus–rather treat it as a totally unimportant background sound that is safe to ignore–then ignore it. When you do this, in time it will fade into the background and not bother you anymore. Often, hours will do by without your even being aware of it. Thus it becomes a non-issue.
On the other hand, if you worry about and focus on your tinnitus, and thus think of your tinnitus as a threat to your well-being in any way, your limbic system won’t let you forget about it and it will not fade away. So determine now to ignore it as a useless background sound.
You probably will hear it whenever you think about it, but when you focus on other things, you’ll realize it has faded into the background. Just replying to your post has my ears “ringing away” fairly loudly because I am now thinking about tinnitus, but here’s the good news. Within 5 minutes of completing this post, I’ll not be aware I even have tinnitus anymore. That is how habituated I am to my tinnitus. You can do the same.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi! I had a slight cold (VERY mild) at the beginning of the month of February and remember first noticing the hearing loss on Feb 11 or 12. I spent a week thinking it was just a blocked ear due to sinuses (stress, not sleeping) and it would go away. But it didn’t. I was at the point of not being able to hear at ALL and trying so hard to pop that ear all the time. I finally went to a doctor – urgent care – Feb 21. A nurse practitioner saw me, diagnosed me with an ear infection and gave me Azithromycin. Said there was no wax build-up and it was probably sinuses. I took that (5 days) and realized it hadn’t worked. My ear remained either blocked totally or like my hearing was from the end of a long hallway. At this point, my balance was also compromised. The follow Tues, Feb 28, I saw my primary care who told me I may lost my hearing permanently and recommended an audiologist and specialist (which, obviously, should have happened the first time around). I finally saw a specialist on March 3. The audiology test showed the hearing in my right ear was significantly worse than my left. The specialist said the ear drum is fine and it’s probably sudden hearing loss. I was prescribed Prednisone but I am SO worried it is too late. I was told there’s an 80% chance it will come back, as it’s been three weeks and I can hear some two syllable words – just not high pitches on that side. I do a lot of yoga and I dance – and my balance has been off – it feels like seasickness many times throughout the day. I hear buzzing (tinnitus) and a blocked, full feeling still in the ear. Throuhogut the day every few minutes, it will pop (if I yawn, open my jaw, even swallow etc.) and have that feeling of opening up and then closing back down. Also, sometimes, the hearing sounds almost too loud in that ear as if it is reverberating wrong – this is especially true in environments with a lot of background noise. Also, sometimes, there will be little noises on that side – almost like twitching – like an engine trying to turn over but not quite starting. It’s very odd.
Do I have any chance at all of getting this hearing back, even partially? Is the fact that I’m getting that popping sound in my ear a good sign? Is there ANYTHING at all else I can do – anything at all – foods to eat, steam room, sauna – to help!? Can the doctors drain fluid from the middle or inner ear? Any chance of anything?!
Thanks for your help, Chelsea
Hi Chelsea:
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a virus (cold virus) got into your inner ear and caused both the hearing loss and the balance problems. It can happen just as you described–a week or two after you catch a cold.
When you yawn or swallow and your ear clears momentarily, do you hear crackling sounds. If so, that indicates that air is trying to get through your Eustachian tube to your inner ear. This is a good sign–and means that your middle ear/Eustachian tube is clogged with “gunk” to use a fancy medical term. In time this should clear up and the blocked feeling go away.
Your hearing seems to be coming back to some degree. This is good. However, I fear it will not come back as much in the high frequencies as it will in the mid and lower frequencies, leaving you with a high-frequency loss.
If the imbalance is caused by the virus attacking your inner ear balance system, as your brain learns to ignore the faulty balance signals from that ear, your balance should return close to normal, but you will always have a “weakness” in your overall balance system.
I’m not sure what you can do at this point apart from keeping your immune system robust. Once your Eustachian tube clears from the “gunk” and you still have the blocked feeling, then maybe there is something else going on. If this happens, get back to me and I’ll see what I think the next step might be.
Cordially,
Neil
On March 7, 2017, we had to have a cat put down. I was upset but not hysterical . but as soon as we walked out of the vets office, my hearing left in my right ear. the next day, I went to ER, where the doctor looked in my ear then prescribed MUCINEX. he didn’t ask me any questions if I have been sick. etc. So I took the mucinex and it did NOTHING. the next week I went back to the ER (I have an appointment with ENT, but NOT UNTIL APRIL 14th) This doctor did same thing. looked in my ear and that was it. this time I was prescribed Nortryptiline . I didn’t get it filled and then when I decided to get it filled I read the side effects and DRUG INTERACTIONS. I SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PRESCRIBED with the Celexa I take as it could caused Seritonin Syndrome (which years ago, I experienced when another doctor prescribed Tramadol again with the Celexa. I only took two of the pills and thought my heart was going to beat of out my chest.
SO I went to a different ER and finally the doctor did blood work and a CT SCAN, and didn’t find anything bad.
SO the ringing in my right(deaf ear) is awful there is no way you can forget about it. I stagger so much it is scary as have almost fallen almost every day.
before I went to the ER the THIRD time I went to a hearing aid place and he checked my hearing and I have NO hearing in that ear. I am so depressed. I still have 13 days until the ENT appointment. I am figuring that I probably won’t get my hearing back and feel if the first ER doctor had taken this more serious there might have been a chance for my hearing to return. now I figure it is just too late. I will be 66 in a couple weeks.
Hi Jane:
Why a doctor would prescribe Nortriptyline for a sudden hearing loss is beyond me. It is a tricyclic antidepressant. The “proper” treatment for sudden hearing loss is Prednisone or Prednisolone.
I take it that you are already taking Citalopram (Celexa) for depression, correct?
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if your Celexa is causing you all these problems. I hear from numerous people who get screaming tinnitus from taking Celexa. Also dizziness and ataxia (staggering gait) are fairly commone side effects of taking Celexa.
But hearing loss by itself can, and often does, result in tinnitus. In fact, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have tinnitus after losing all the hearing in one ear.
Did you have any active virus in your body on or in the week or two before your sudden hearing loss? It could have been a cold virus, or herpes or any other virus. Did you have a flu shot back then? All of these can result in both sudden hearing loss and balance issues.
Did any of your hearing come back? If not, then even with taking Prednisone, it would have been highly unlikely you’d have gotten much if any hearing back. When you have a massive hearing loss, it is rare for much hearing to come back whether you are treated with Prednisone or not.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
Last week on Mon 3/27/17 I woke up with a feeling of my ear being clogged. I let it go until Thursday of that week and went to urgent care who said I fluid in my ear and gave me amoxicillin and flonase. Over this past weekend it got worse and I had ringing in my ear beginning Saturday 4/1. I saw two ENT’s yesterday & had a hearing test and the results are that I have mild hearing loss in my right ear ~30-35 dB, but I am experiencing ringing, ear fullness and an echo when I do hear out of the right ear. Loud noises & crowded places are especially hard to cope with.
That said, yesterday I was prescribed & began prednisone 60mg/day for 5 days then taper after that. The doctor also said that after 3-5 days of the prednisone if I am not noticing any improvement, to come back for a steroid injection in the ear. My questions are: because I am so paranoid about this and worried about treating it before my 2 week window is up (next monday 4/10), should I call the ENT back and ask for the steroid injection on Friday? Do you know of any major risks the injection could pose? Please advise as I am very stressed about my future and the longevity of this.
On April 15 woke with a loud sound in my left ear and hearing loss. I knew it was T as I suffer from T in my right ear since 2008.
Told my wife about it and decided to rest to see if it gets any better with time. By 11.00 a.m. I was back to my usual self and could hear as normal in my left ear.
At about 20.30 that day felt a bit dizzy with aural fullness and the volume on the television just faded away. I went to bed hoping I can sleep it off and will be ok by next morning.
Next morning it was still the same, decided to give it more time and tried not to stress about it.
By Monday it was still the same and decided to go to A&E where they have an ent specialist.
I was seen in a few hours and diagnosed with SSNHL, prescribed steroids for a week and have been asked to come back on Monday 25th.
I have taken 5 doses so far and nothing has changed, in fact hearing in the right ear has gone down.
How long before the steroids start to work if at all? I was banking on my right ear to have some normality in life, but now I am totally panicking. What if I go deaf in both the ears, I have a young family, am a Woking professional at the age of 39. This cannot be happening to me. What are my options.
I know the loss is profound on the left side and now right will be classified as moderate. Will any hearing aids help me ever? I know I need to give it more time but my head is just bursting with so many questions and uncertainties that I am actually doing more harm to my self than healing.
Is there anything I can do or take to give me that extra 1% chance of some/extra recovery.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Regards
Vivek
Hi Vivek:
Did your ENT give you any likely possibilities about what caused your SSHL? From the little you said, my first thought is that you have a viral attack. Do you have any active viruses in your body at this time or in the past two weeks? If so, that would be my prime suspect.
My second possibility would be this is a side effect of taking any one of hundreds of drugs that can damage your ears. Are you taking any drugs or medications? If so which ones?
I think you should have noticed some change by now if the steroids will help. The fact that your other ear is also losing hearing while on the steroids doesn’t sound like the steroids are helping much if at all.
Whatever is damaging your hearing is still continuing to cause more damage.
Hearing aids can certainly help moderate hearing losses, but are not so good with profound losses, but in some cases they can still really help you. It all depends on your discrimination scores. The better your discrimination score for that ear, the better the chance that a hearing aid will help you significantly.
If hearing aids won’t help, all is not lost. Cochlear implants would be the next step. They give wonderful results to most people that have them.
Let me know about the viruses and/or drug questions I have and I may have some suggestions to help you stop this continuing damage.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello,
I have been suffering from SSNHL for 4 days now in my right ear. Audiologist results were profound ssn loss in high frequencies 6k-8k hz, 70-80db. Normal range in lower frequencies, strong tinnitus. I am a healthy 29yo female. Oddly, it came on suddenly when I was out for a run on a windy day with my husband. At the end of the run I noticed it. I did have a cold/sinus congestion about 4 weeks prior, but that had completely cleared by then. I am not on any meds, but I did take 500mg of Aleve 24hrs before onset of the SSNHL for menstrual cramps, could that have caused it? My ENT has me on 7 days of 60mg prednisone, then a 12-day taper. I’m on day 3 with no improvement yet. Also have an MRI scheduled for 8 days from now. Tinnitus is bad. Is there anything else I should be doing now while I’m still in the “golden 2-week” timeframe? Please help, this is very stressful for me.
Hi Danielle:
If your hearing loss was 70-80 dB, that is a severe loss, not a profound loss (which starts at 90 dB).
Did you have any dizziness or balance problems accompanying this sudden hearing loss?
I wouldn’t be surprised if your sudden hearing loss and tinnitus are the direct result of the Naproxen (Aleve) you took. I have heard from a couple of other ladies who took similar doses and had hearing loss and tinnitus after a day or so as a result. So it does happen.
I very much doubt that the MRI will show anything out of the normal.
You probably never want to take Aleve again lest you get more and worse ear problems.
If you want to do more for yourself, I’d read two of my articles–forget that they are about noise damage–and follow the recommendations for antioxidants and minerals.
You can read the two pertinent articles–one at
http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/vitamins-a-c-e-combined-with-magnesium-help-prevent-noise-induced-hearing-loss/
and a more detailed account of NAC in the last half of this article at
http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/loud-music-and-hearing-loss/
Cordially,
Neil
Hello!
I had a stapedectomy on the 27 January which went really well and after 3 weeks I could hear everything even with deep packing still in! When I removed the packing the hearing was perfect and I could hear all the little sounds that I couldn’t remember that they existed! Exactly 4 weeks after the stapedectomy all of sudden my hearing on my operated ear gone ….this happened on a Saturday morning, just awake up with my nose blocked and No sounds at all. I seek an emergency appointment but the doctor couldn’t see anything (I think that she didn’t have a great knowledge about it which is very understandable) and she recommended that I should seek my ENT doctor. I managed an appointment on Tuesday and the doctor said that I had a perforation in my ear drum caused by maybe a cold. He gave me a high dose of steroids with lanzaprazole in conjunction with antibiotics, he also booked an urgent surgery for Friday to repair the ear drum and to place some steroids into the middle ear. Dr was very quick! After 3 weeks of the operation I could only hear a little and when they tried to removed the deep packing they couldn’t remove it as this produced bad vertigo.Doctor suggested another 2 weeks with drops …..after 2 weeks went back and managed to remove the deep packing however my hearing only improved a bit. There was a significant loss with bone conduction around 60-70dB and air conduction 80-90dB . Doctor said i have severe sensorineural hearing loss and I will have support to recover my balance. I feel that something is not right …..i can hear fluid in my ear when I move my head to the operated ear and also feel my ear blocked and a full feeling. I can hear lots of cracking sounds and lots of times during the day it will pop like what’s to open it up and then closes down again. I really feel at times that is something inside that is trying to switch on but can’t! Can you please give me any advise! I really like my doctor and I believe he tried very hard to reverse the loss, however
I really would like an opinion from a different person 😊
Thanks
Nagui
Hi Nagui:
It was great that sure stapedectomy worked so well, at least for a short time. Did you have a bad cold four weeks later when you lost your hearing? If so, two things could have happened at the same time. First, your middle ear clogged up and all the gunk in their built-up pressure and burst your eardrum. That is what your doctor saw, and repaired.
Second, the cold virus could have invaded your inner ear and given you the massive sensorineural hearing loss you have of 80 to 90 dB.
Unfortunately, even if the stapedectomy works 100% now, the sound signal still has to pass through your inner ear where you have the massive hearing loss. Thus, you just won’t hear well anymore.
All the crackling sounds you hear and the feeling of fluid sloshing around in your ear is probably the remnants of your middle ear and Eustachian tube being clogged up. the crackling sounds are the air trying to get through all the gunk in your Eustachian tube and into your middle ear. This happens every time you yawn or swallow.
Another possibility for your massive sensorineural hearing loss is that the drugs your doctor prescribed for your cold in your middle ear caused your sensorineural hearing loss.
Yet another possibility, is that your prosthesis penetrated your oval window and resulted in the severe sensorineural hearing loss.
I don’t understand why you still have such a large conductive loss if the doctor repaired your eardrum and everything is working properly with your stapedectomy.
Thus, there are a number of possibilities as to your continuing hearing loss.
Cordially,
Neil
hello doc Neil,
My husband is diagnosed by SSNHL(60DB loss at 4Khz). He is on steroid(prednisone) for last 8 days and the change he is noticing is the noise has moved slightly up from his inner ear location. He often feels ear fulness which he describes as unbearable but it happens once in a while. What is your thought on the situation? Kindly please help us.
Hi Aditi:
What hearing loss does he have at other frequencies? Or was the hearing loss just at 4 kHz? If it was just at 4 kHz, that is what they commonly call a noise notch that is caused by exposing your ears to excessive sound. Was he around any extra loud sounds in the days just before his SSHL showed up?
Cordially,
Neil
I too have a hearing loss. I cleaned my ears with a qtip and my ear felt plugged so I used ear wax remover and tried to flush my ear. My ear felt muffled and I could not hear anything. Dr had me take mucinex and prednisone. My hearing came back but I still have a humming sometimes fullness in that ear. Went to ent had a hearing test he said it does show some hearing loss. Like it comes and goes. He is having me do a mri. What are your feelings on what it could be. I got scared when he said tumor.
Hi Connie:
What you doctor likely was referring to is an acoustic neuroma . This is a benign tumor that grows around the auditory nerve and slowly “squishes” it causing hearing loss and other ear symptoms. So he wants the MRI to rule this out (or not).
When did you notice you had a hearing loss? Was this loss sudden, or did it come on gradually? Do you have any wax in your ears? Wax can cause a varying hearing loss too if the wax blocks and then unblocks the ear canal.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Doctor,
I am 9 days in to some very strange symptoms. It started with everything sounding like it was coming from an old transistor radio in my right ear, this shifted to my left ear and then was replaced by a constant ringing / hissing at somewhere around 11000KHZ. My doctor said he wasn’t worried and I should just see how I get on! 2 days later I called back and demanded an appointment with an ENT specialist…I am just waiting for the date. Obviously, being 9 days in I am worried about sudden hearing loss it missing the key 2 week window. I have not noticed any hearing loss, but I am overly sensitive to loud noises. I feel a lot of pressure in my head and behind my eyes and have had a constant headache for the last 9 days. Do you have any advice or suggestions please doctor?
Hi Paul:
What happened two weeks ago? Did you expose your ears to any trauma or loud sounds? Did you have a cold or flu, or any other active virus in your body at that time?
While you are waiting for your doctors appointment, it could be a good idea to take zinc, magnesium and N-acetyl-cysteine.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for all the information here. Last Thursday I lost my hearing in my left ear and started suffering from tinnitus and mild vertigo very suddenly (over the space of an hour).
I had a phone consultation with my GP who took it very seriously and she mentioned nerve damage and steroids. However when I went in I saw someone else who told me to take Sudafed and ibuprofen for 48 hours.
At 48 hours I attended an out of hours clinic, who phoned through to ENT and prescribed 50mg predisolone per day for 5 days. I’m to ring my GP tomorrow for an emergency referral to ENT.
I had had a mild sore throat and the chills earlier that week for a couple of days and my family have had colds. I have a sore throat currently and at my first GP visit it was noted that my throat was a bit red. I had not hit my head or been exposed to loud noises.
have no idea currently how ‘profound’ my hearing loss is. My ear feels almost constantly full, tinnitus has so far been mild in the mornings, worseneing as the day goes on. I can’t bear to be in noisy rooms and have an occasional dizzy spell.
I’ve read a lot on he subject and thanks to your advice have just ordered some probiotics to take in addition to my vitamins. When I tried the hum test, I couldn’t hear it at all in my left ear.
I see that the general statistics are 50/50 for return of hearing, however is your opinion that my chances would be more or less than this?
Also, should it be permanent and the tinnitus continue, what are the prerequisites for an implant?
Thank you in advance, sorry my post is quite long.
Hi Alison:
it sure sounds like you had a viral attack on your inner ear resulting in the hearing loss and balance problems. Tinnitus typically accompanies hearing loss as you have found. It sounds like you also have hyperacusis where normal, everyday sounds now sound much too loud.
It’s too bad the ignorant person you went to see didn’t have a clue and put you on Sudafed instead of immediately referring you to an ear specialist because that is who you needed based on the results of your hum test.
My three rules of thumb are: 1. The worse your hearing loss, the less hearing you will get back if you get back any. 2. The sooner hearing begins to return, the more hearing you will typically get back. 3. The hearing you have at the end of 30 days is what you will likely be left with for the rest of your life.
I can’t say what you chances are because I don’t know the answer to how severe your hearing loss is, and whether you have noticed any hearing coming back in the last three days. Once I know those two things, I should be able to give you very rough idea.
As for getting cochlear implants, if your other ear has normal hearing, then you are not eligible. Your better ear has to be pretty severe before you are eligible for an implant.
Let’s wait and see how your hearing does at the end of the month and then it’s time to decide what you need, whether a hearing aid will help you in your bad ear or whether you want to have a CROS aid that pipes a sound from your bad ear to your good side.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Neil,
Thank you for replying. I haven’t noticed any improvement and when using music through headphones to test, I can’t hear anything at all (although I didn’t put the volume up to full in case I made things worse). I hear the odd little ‘fizz’, but the feeling of fullness has never subsided.
I saw my GP today who suggested I have no need to worry about permanent hearing loss and feels that 5 days of predisolone would be more than enough. He did refer me to ENT, but seemed a little bemused by how seriously I was taking it.
I will update once I have some hard figures from ENT and thanks again for your reply.
Kind Regards
Hi Alison:
I think your GP is taking a cavalier attitude towards your hearing loss. Of course, it’s not going to impact him for the rest of his life, but it will impact yours if your hearing doesn’t come back.
I hope you get to see an ENT quickly, so you don’t fritter away your “golden hours” before you get effective treatment.
Keep watching to see whether any hearing begins to return. That’s always a good sign, and the sooner it happens the better.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Neil, It is almost 2 months since I lost my hearing. A 15 day course of steroids and 2 steroid injections didn’t help unfortunately. My first hearing test showed complete hearing loss (110?). My second showed normal hearing in the lowest rangeonly, however I was told they discounted this due to the likelihood that I was feeling the sound rather than hearing it. I plan to see how I get on for a few months and possibly go back if I still feel like I want to discuss assistance devices. (My MRI showed nothing).
My question is about bone conducting headphones actually. Do they work in a simolar way to the bone anchored implant? If so I wanted to try a pair for a while before making any long term decisions.
Thank you
Hi Alison:
Hearing often returns more in the lower frequencies than it does in the higher frequencies, yet it is the higher frequencies you need in order to understand speech.
Yes, bone conduction is bone conduction. So whether they are BAHA hearing aids or other canal-type bone conduction hearing aids or bone conduction earphones, they all work basically the same.
If you have a sensorineural hearing loss (which it seems you have, then bone conduction won’t really help much because the damage is in your inner ears–and bone conduction aids just bypass the middle ears. Cochlear implants are the only device that bypasses the inner ear damage.
Cordially,
Neil
I was diagnosed with sudden sensonural hearing loss on September 11th 2020. I had a runny nose and sneezing a week prior to my hearing loss. However the night before my hearing loss, I popped(cracked my jaw ) as I suffer from tmj, and popping it occasionally makes it feel less tight. That day, it popped like NEVER before, I even became concerned because it felt different, no pain…but different. The next morning I had NO hearing and very bad vertigo with some slight nausea. On day 4 I went to urgent care, which prescribed Sudafed and nasal drops, said I had allergies. I wasnt comfortable with his diagnosis. Next day I went to an ENT which did some tests on me including a hearing test, which he basically said to me that I have a dead ear, that I wouldn’t even be a good candidate for hearing aids. He put me on aggressive steroids for 2 weeks, said I should start seeing improvement within 5 days…if it did work .
Well two weeks went by and nothing!. I asked him if I can get the intratympanic steroid shot, and he said it wasn’t a good idea. I went to the House Ear Clinic in los angeles, and my doctor there, did the shots once a weeks for 4 weeks. Although my hearing test shows little improvement, I feel like some of my hearing has come back…just slightly. For example, initially I couldn’t hear my finger rub on my ear, or I could hear paper crumble …now I can. The doctors say according to my hearing test results, that there was hardly no improvement. I had an mri after my oral steroids treatment was over. Thank God I didn’t have an acoustic neuroma.
My question is, …if its possible that if I catch another cold or flu/virus…do I have to be concerned that it may happen again…and this time to my good ear?
Im afraid of that. I still don’t know what caused my hearing loss, but I’m scared to loose my good ear too. I wake up in the middle of the night checking to see if I can still hear from my good ear. I’m so happy I came across this page, its been very helpful to me. Thank you for answering everyone’s questions and explaining everything very well.
Hi Erika:
It looks to me like a viral attack on your inner ears caused your hearing loss and that it had nothing to do with you having TMJ.
If you had a severe/profound hearing loss, the chances of much coming back with or without steroids is slim. I normal say you could get 10 or 15 dB back, but that still leaves you with a severe hearing loss.
Theoretically, any virus could attack your good ear and have the same results, but so far, I’ve never heard of it happening. So that should be a little consolation.
However, if it should happen, just switch to Plan B–and get cochlear implants. They work very well for people that lose their hearing suddenly to viruses. So keep that in mind in the unlikely event that it should happen.
Now you don’t have to worry and disrupt your sleep to see if you can still hear. Sweet dreams.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi,
Any help would be greatly appreciated with my situation. I’ve seen 4 ENTs, none have any idea what’s going on. I’ll try and be concise.
April – I used earphones at a low volume (I’ve always been sensitive to loud sounds, always worn earplugs at concerts or I will not go). I removed them and experienced a full feeling in my right ear, loss of high frequency hearing, and everything sounds muffled.
April – a couple of days later – Full loss of hearing in my right ear. I was told don’t worry by my dad who is a doctor, it’s just blocked or something.
April – 4 or 5 days later – Hearing is back to the initial state when loss noticed, fullness remains. A doctor said the Eustachian tube was blocked, everything looked ok apart from a little redness inside. Nasal spray completely removed symptoms for a couple of minutes, but then returned as usual. Tried antihistamines the next visit, eardrops the next, with no effect.
April – 2 weeks later – A high pitched sound starts in my right ear, gradually weakens, until today when I barely notice it.
April – 3 weeks later – Noticed my balance wasn’t as good as before somehow. When I walk, I feel like I’m putting more weight on my left side (I genuinely do not know if I am, but it feels like it in some way). With feet together, eyes closed, I sway slightly (ENT tested this).
May – 4 weeks later – An ENT was visited and sudden hearing loss diagnosed. I took a course of steroids, with no effect. I noticed a fullness feeling in my left ear also.
May – 5 weeks later – I saw another ENT who gave me injections of steroids, with no effect.
August – Wearing high quality earplugs, I went to a concert. I’d estimate around 100db. I had crackling before, but only when hearing very loud high screeching. Now it can be loud voices, music in a bar etc. I’d visited other clubs before, around 90db for an hour or more were fine after this happened. The fullness feeling, which had previously almost disappeared, returns.
August – (I think…) – I first noticed tensing of muscles when I hear certain sounds in my left ear. A doctor said not to worry about it.
September – I had a blood test and came back at 149.8 for CMVG, but nothing has worsened since it occurred, so I haven’t seen anyone about this as one ENT said it wasn’t related.
November – There was much improvement in this crackling, but I saw a performance that was a little loud at uni, and the crackling came back suddenly after maybe 3 minutes. Sometimes it improves a little, other times it’s back to original state.
December – I bent my neck a little looking up while picking something up off the floor while sitting. Had a strong ringing in my left (my normal ear) temporarily. The fullness feeling returned to both ears with more frequency for a few weeks.
I’m so sorry for the length and details. That’s as brief a history covering the main things as I can do! In my right ear I hear only 60db at 8k, between 4-8k my test says I detect around 70db, at 4k 25db, all others below are around 5db. Sounds are a bit muffled, can’t tell direction well, but nerves were tested and are normal.
It has been suggested it may be my neck, as it occurred when using a computer, but most likely it’s an unexplainable reason. An MRI has been recommended, but I don’t want one as it may worsen my ear, as the concert did. It hasn’t worsened in the last 8 months, apart from the concert. I had a referral to get a cervical spine scan done, but the place refused because I’m too young (29). I will try to go see a bone/neck specialist in the future.
Nobody has any ideas about what this could be. The hearing loss isn’t huge, but it’s annoying. At this point, I just want the crackling to go away. Before this time, loud bars, everyday life was almost the same. But now often I hear this sound and feel a little pain, which stops me from going anywhere remotely loud anymore.
Is there anything I can do at all? I hope it can improve like before, but perhaps it is now damaged again or something.
I’d be happy to have any opinion, or thoughts on this, and can answer any questions if you have any.
Thanks.
Hi Nick:
The various symptoms you experience leads me to believe that you are right and that your symptoms are related to your neck.
Exactly why do you think they are related to your neck?
Were you ever in a car accident and had whiplash in the past, or any traumatic head or neck injury–perhaps while at college playing football or whatever?
Your symptoms seem very mild symptoms of Meniere’s disease–you have fluctuating tinnitus, feeling of fullness in your ears, have a fluctuating hearing loss and sometimes feel you have balance problems.
All of these symptoms can originate by the top two vertebrae in your neck being out of proper alignment. Fortunately, there are special chiropractors that specialize in putting these top two vertebrae back into proper alignment. When that happens, the symptoms go away.
I’d suggest you read my comprehensive article on Meniere’s disease and follow through with visiting one of these chiropractors. Find a “Blair” one if you can. Where to find them, etc. is given in links in this article. You can read this article at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/
If what you read ring a bell with your specific situation, then you know what to do.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks so much for the reply. I really appreciate it.
Doing a little reading on Meniere’s, and what you linked, I think this suggestion is really valuable. It is definitely a good description of what’s happened when taking its lack of severity into consideration as you mention.
Regarding my neck, I’ve never had any injuries/trauma/pain at any time from anything, luckily. I rolled a go-kart with a roll-cage, 270 degrees over (perhaps easier to say assuming 12 o’clock is upright, going clockwise around to 9 o’clock, resting on its side), but at a relatively slow speed in soft sand 4ish years ago. That’s all I can think of that might be harmful, though I didn’t feel even slightly uncomfortable with my neck after.
I suggested it may be related to my neck primarily because an ENT suggested offhandedly when I said I didn’t want an MRI, and that it could cause some ear problems. It also makes a little sense to me when considering when/how it occurred/started, and my posture at the time. I initially thought inner ear earphones caused it, as I was wearing them in both cases while using the computer, but it seems more likely to the ENTs I’ve seen that it was posture, or simply the time I noticed it, than the earphones themselves.
I think I slouch with my neck somewhat, and don’t hold my head back and straight, or look to the horizon when I walk. I’d describe it as slightly pushed forward and lowered, eyes down slightly, with my head looking slightly upwards. This went to the extreme recently while picking something up, I did having ringing in my left ear for a period, exactly like in my bad ear. I think there’s potential for a connection, and it’s worth following up with experts. (A ringing has come and gone twice that lasted about 10 seconds each in my good ear, in the first 6ish months, but it wasn’t like my bad ear and left immediately. I don’t feel it was related, since it was so quick and different. But you never know, so thought I’d mention.)
Also, it started initially when I was using my computer for an extended period (2+ hours), and the feeling of fullness in my good ear, in the exact circumstances also. It might be worth mentioning that at the concert I described, I think I was dancing a bit and moving my neck a lot, which could have exacerbated this. Though I wasn’t when the crackling increased again recently, which was definitely due to the volume only as I wasn’t moving, with this new perspective it does seem coincidental that I was moving my neck when the crackling began.
Further to this, my back often cracks when I straighten it fully and put my shoulders back completely just as some people’s knuckles crack. Looking at a diagram of the vertebrae (never looked at one before, so this is just speculation), I would guess that most of this cracking, would be from around T7 to C7, but I have had my neck itself crack at the joints a handful of times at a higher point.
I will discuss your suggestions when I see the ENT for a hearing test/check-up very soon, get a referral, and follow up on it.
Your advice has really helped. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I don’t know what would’ve happened otherwise, but this sounds very relevant and important to get a solid answer for.
On 12-29-17 I fell in a garage, I don’t think I hit my head. (All doctors discount the fall as a cause) The next day I lost all hearing in my left ear and tinnitus. I was treated the same day at the ER with 60mg Prednisone taper. I followed up with Audiologist and ENT and the Test came back with Profound loss 105, 105, 100, 100, 95, 95, 95, 90 thru the frequencies. AC was 101, BC 73, and AI 0.
I have Multiple Sclerosis, so ER wanted me to follow up with Neurologist as well. Saw him on 1-9-18. He suggested a 10% chance of improvement if put on high dose prednisone, so I started taking 500mg on 1-10-18 for 3 days, then down to 50mg for 3 days, then continuing my original taper where I was at 30mg, etc. down to 10mg. 1-12-18 woke up to Benign Positional Vertigo when rolling from left to right side in bed (I’m sure from the fall, although 1st I’ve notices any dizziness). I have been hearing a liquid sound, “Bloop”, intermittently today. Also, heard 1st sounds from my left ear when sticking my finger in it today. It’s possible I had a very small cold a week before this. Can you tell me your opinion? Do you think I will recover enough hearing to get a regular hearing aid instead of a CROS? I would really like to be able to determine where the sound is coming from. Thank you so very much!
Hi Laura:
A fall–even if you don’t hit your head, can still jar your head quite severely and that can result in ear problems. For example, if you have enlarged vestibular aqueducts, that jar could have resulted in the sudden hearing loss your experienced. Hearing may come back in whole or in part, or none at all.
A cold virus could have also caused your hearing loss, totally apart from the fall.
There’s no way I can tell what really happened in your case. But you still have a couple of weeks for your hearing to continue to come back, if it will. Once 30 days has gone by, then my rule of thumb says that the hearing you have then is probably what you’ll be left with in the future.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for having this website. This has been very unsettling. I have learned the most from your responses. I appreciate you taking the time. The ENT didn’t give me much hope of any hearing returning, due to the profound loss. Now I have more facts. My sincere thanks!
Hi Laura:
I tend to agree with your ENT. When you have a sudden profound loss, the chances of much or any hearing coming back is slim. Typically, a bit may come back but not much–as you said previously–maybe 10 dB or so. One of my rules of thumb is that the greater the sudden hearing loss, the less likely much hearing will return. But there are exceptions to this rule. For example, people with LVAS can have massive hearing loss and two weeks later all or most of it comes back–but they are special cases.
Cordially,
Neil
hi doctor,
I am experiencing mild tinnitus since 2001. In 2005 bilateral conductive otosclerosis was being diagnosed with ranging 45-55db both ear.stapedectomy was done in right ear.after operation tinnitus subsided.but after 15days of operation I fall from a vehicle and felt pain in my ear.tinnitus returned.in hearing test it showed 90-100db on operated ear.IN 2007 I had undergone to revision stapedectomy.my hearing restored gradually upto 40db and a lil bit tinnitus remained.however,I was very happy.in 2008, one morning I felt fullness in right ear,a bit loud tinnitus but hearing was intact.I tried to blow air through right ear pressing nose.A loud ‘pot’ kinda sound in right ear as if something bursts in ear and hearing started decreasing and within 4hours I become deaf in my right ear again.there was no pain, loud tinnitus,dizziness.next day doctor gave me steroid for 15days but no improvement at all.doctor told me its SNHL and suggested hearing aid.bt i hv no prob in outside,so i hv avoided hearing aid till today.i am 33 now.yesterday I visited another clinic, diagnosis says I have conductive hearing loss in left ear with 60db and SNHL in right ear with 95db .but in every 2-3 months, I m experiencing loud ‘pot’ sound in right ear,it seems something bursts suddenly in ear like the first time.actually what happens to my ear??
Hi Nurun:
Some people hear a popping sound when they go deaf. What happens to them is that an inner membrane in the inner ear that separates the two fluids in your inner ear–the perilymph from the endolymph–ruptures. The two oppositely-charged fluids essentially short out your cochlear “battery” with a popping sound and that is the last thing they hear.
If the tear in the membrane heals, then slowly hearing can come back. I wonder if this membrane tears and heals repeatedly every few months and that is what you are hearing.
The only other popping sound I can think of offhand is the popping sound when you yawn or swallow and air exchange takes place in your middle ears via your Eustachian tubes–but this popping sound is benign. It is just air getting past gunk in your Eustachian tubes.
Do either of these scenarios seem what you are experiencing?
Cordially,
Neil
Hi I just left an ENT appt as the result of an outer ear infection and a blocked left ear that began 1/21 I also per my GP was sent home with flonase and told to take decongestant and ibuprofen. 1/24 put on Definire Antibiotic. I developed outer ear symthoms ON 1/26 swollen front back of ear and rash behind ear. Told to use Ciprodex drops. Swelling gone next day but Ear still blocked muffled sound but ENT showed no blockage today, no infection, did Test and stated mild/severe left ear sensorineural loss from 2000 to 8000 hz. Given prednazone to start today 5 days then taper dose. Will my hearing return based on what I have described?
Hi, I am desperate and so, so, so scared. It’s 3.5 weeks that I had a cold and suddenly, my left ear went deaf/muffled. Went to primary doc IMMEDIATELY & got ear drops and amoxyicllen. No help at all. Been to 3 ENTs, got nasal spray (Fluinosinide) which did nothing. Two of the docs want me on prednisone & I’m terrified to take that horrible drug. They really think they can restore my hearing with prednisone because it appears to be a blocked eustachian tube along with middle ear fluid. I have to popping & crackling and my ear opens for a second but then returns to deaf/muffled. Please, please give me some hope. I don’t want to live like this, along with relentless hissing. Chiro didn’t help either. PLEASE, say something to me to give me hope for a better future.
Hi Sue:
Take it easy. You don’t have to be so upset about this. If you want to, give me a phone call and I’ll work you through this. My phone number is at the bottom of any page on the website.
How bad is your hearing? What are the figures on your audiogram? Better yet, attach your audiogram to an email and send it to me so I can see exactly what your audiologist found.
I assume that you don’t have any wax in that ear? Sometimes that’s all it is.
I don’t know why your doctor prescribed ear drops and amoxicillin? They don’t work on viruses anyway. Nor the nasal spray. This just gives the appearance of doing something–but as you found out, its not effective at all.
If you had an inner ear (sensorineural) hearing loss, then the Prednisone might help. I don’t see it really helping if you have a clogged Eustachian tube or middle ear.
From what you say, this is not an inner ear condition where there is a high likelihood of permanent hearing loss. To me it sounds more like a middle ear problem, and this is typically temporary until all the gunk in your middle ear and Eustachian tube drains out. This could take a few weeks to 3 months or so. Then your hearing should return to normal.
Cordially,
Neil
How fast did you go deaf?
Hi, doctor, and thanks in advice for your comment and for your clarity.
I went through a cervical spine MRI with earplugs but without earpads due to the MRI size (I was told i could only use both hearing protections on a dorsal MRI).
I lost a lot of hearing inmediately, but the truth is, when I have an MRI or when I got allergy, it tends to go away either alone or with a four days decongestant.
As a part of the treatment for the spine, I had paracetamol plus diclofenac ten days, two times a day, and ibuprofen 400 mg two times a day for four days.
15 days after the MRI i found a good specialist who prescribed me 20 mg per day of prednisone for 7 days. He also ordered me an audiogram.
I am now hearing in lower volume, and quality, than I used to.
Do you think I could get a chance of recovering, starting 15 days after the incident?
Thank you so very much,
Pablo.
Hi Pablo:
Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) taken over time can certainly cause hearing loss. I’m not sure that taking it for 10 days would cause hearing loss.
Diclofenac can cause hearing loss and tinnitus to appear much faster–such as the time frame you followed.
Ibuprofen can act even faster. You can have roaring tinnitus just hours after taking one pill.
Taking the Prednisone may help, but I am not too hopeful. Only time will tell.
If you want to try other things at the same time, two good minerals for your ears are magnesium and zinc. The best form of magnesium is Magnesium L-Threonate, while the best form of zinc is Zinc picolinate. If it is not too late already, I’d also suggest N-acetyl-cysteine so your body can make enough glutathione–a powerful antioxidant–to combat the free radicals that drugs cause in your inner ears. Also, taking Vitamin B3 (Nicotinic acid) may help. This is what I’d probably do if I were in your shoes.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
Apologies if this has been covered in comments already, I don’t have time to read them all as I’m off for an emergency audiogram very soon. (I will read them later on) and I’m seeing an ENT tomorrow.
Last week on Thursday (today is Monday morning) I experienced some hearing loss, fullness and a sort of humming and wooshing sound… Friday it was much better, almost gone, then Saturday and Sunday it came back again and I still have it now. Hearing sensitivity has increased as well, the phonopobia I had (more later)… mid to low frequencies appear more effected than high frequencies, and when I talk my voice is really boomy and loud and full of bass in the “bad ear”
A quick background just in case you need to know and hopefully it can help others (and something might jump out at you):
I have had ear issues since last August, which started with Tinnitus during watching a movie in the cinema. I have since been to many audiologists who deem my Tinnitus and other ear issues I developed stress related and the movie was a coincidence, I had a VERY VERY VERY stressful period and it all built up, the amazing audiologist who I last saw was recommended directly from Dr Pawel Jastreboff himself, I emailed him out of desperation.
Anyway, I freaked out and stayed home for 2 weeks in silence, I mean I REALLY freaked out. I then got hyperacusis/sensitivity/TTTS/Phonophobia (startle response to very quiet sounds in quiet situations). Everything, including the Tinnitus, gradually is getting better, very slowly… I did have a set back a month or two again, I got home and was intensely stressing out about something and almost instantly my ear issues got worse, have since settled a bit now – relaxation and meditating definitely helps (just trying to affirm that mine is stress related).
During this time I had 2 bouts of sudden hearing loss/ear fullness etc, both went away within 1-2 days, the first time I took Prednisolone (25mg: 2 tablets daily for 3 days, 1 and a 1/2 tablets for 1 day, 1 tablet for 1 day, 1/2 a tablet for 1 day, then 1/4 for 1 day, then stop. I actually think I took this course of tablets after my hearing returned just for good measure.
My question is in relation to the hearing hum test. As I understand it this test is to determine whether the hearing loss is nerve damage or congestion. If it is nerve damage you will not hear any hum in your “bad ear” and hear the hum in your good ear. The thing with me is I hear it evenly in both ears and I can make the hum appear in either ear at will. I think I’m opening up my Eustachian tubes. I open them, like when you yawn or swallow, except I hold my tubes open (I think this is what I’m doing) then hum….. of course the sound is much louder and boomier than normal. Just to be clear I can make the hum appear in my bad ear and my good ear at any time but only by opening my Eustachian tubes up, if I hum normally I can hear the hum in both ears evenly, maybe slightly better in my good ear.
So if it is the bad and urgent SSNHL should I NOT be able to make the hum appear in the affected ear at all? As if it is nerve damage it makes sense that no sounds would get through no matter what… if I can make the sound appear in the affected ear that is a good sign? It’s just that it seems a bit even if I dont try to make a sound in the affect ear.
Thanks for your time. I just want to say thank you for this resource and your service to us! I have read quite a few articles on this blog in the last year.
Blake
Hi Blake:
The hum test only works if you have one bad ear and one good ear. If both ears are affected, then you won’t notice any difference between ears.
From what you have said, it seems like your problems may be more Eustachian tube problems rather than sensorineural hearing loss. And of course the stress, anxiety, etc. isn’t helping one little bit.
Louder, boomier sounds sure sound like Eustachian tube problems to me. Is your neck tight? If your neck vertebrae are out of proper alignment, that too could affect your Eustachian tubes and cause your other ear problems too. The stress can also tighen your muscles and pull your neck off more–so your ear problems are worse the more stress you are under.
You might want to get your neck checked out by an upper cervical chiroparctor–not a conventional one.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Neil,
Nine months ago while I was away on vacation with my family I got sudden hearing loss. Within 48 hours I went to an ENT who then immediately sent me to a hospital.
When I saw the ENT at the hospital they did a hearing test and because they did not have any MRI machines available they decided to do a CT scan of my inner ears to make sure there was nothing urgent happening. The CT scan came back clean and they gave me 1 or 2 weeks worth of steroids. They have me the option of doing intravenous steroids in hospital and I decided against it.
When I came home to the United States I saw an ENT. They said my hearing improved compared to my previous test and that they would put me on 10 more days of steroids because my “window” is still open.
Fortunately my hearing came back 100%. The ENT then said that if it happens again he wants an MRI but doesn’t feel it is necessary right now as he is more concerned with helping with my allergies and sinuses.
Back story:
Right before my sudden deafness I was very sick with fever for almost 7 days.
I went to the local Dr. and they said it is not the flu but possible sinus infection but can’t be sure. They gave me meds.
Finally once I got better I noticed my hearing was different. I realized this because my ear felt full and wouldn’t pop even after using a neti pot. Also, when I rubbed my fingers together near my ears the tone was different. Also when I hummed, the sound was different. More like a vibration.
The back, back story:
Going back even further I remember that I was feeling a bit dizzy at times in March (deafness happened in August). I went to doctor at that time and they said I had no vertigo and it soon went away.
From time to time I also noticed my hearing in my ear was a bit off but didn’t pay any attention. I may be imagining this now.
I just ignored all of it because at this time I was the most stressed I have ever been. I had to love my family with no place to go and time was ticking. Work was also very hard.
And by the way, I have a history of sinusitis. I was told from an MRI years ago that I have mucus retention cysts in my maxillary glands and have stuffy nose all the time.
And forgot to add that I was rear ended 9 years ago at a high speed. Got tinnitus after that in non-sudden deaf ear.
I also have some blushing from time to time at C-spine c5-c6 I believe with mild arthritis there.
Not sure if any of this actually matters.
I am also still an active individual as a 43 year old male who is working on controlling stress due to being a type A personality.
Thanks for reading,
Anthony
Hi Anthony:
From your description of events, its hard to know whether you had a inner ear infection that caused your hearing loss or not. It’s definitely possible.
However, from some of the other things you mention, I really wonder whether you have the beginnings of Meniere’s disease–the tinnitus, the dizziness, the hearing loss, the blocked feeling in your ear–are all symptoms of Meniere’s. Instead of having them all at the same time, you have them one or two at a time. Two other clues are they occur when you are particularly stressed, and that you were rear-ended quite violently. This means you almost certainly had some degree of whiplash–and that often results in Meniere’s years or decades later.
What I’d do if I were you is go to an upper cervical chiropractor and make sure that your C1 and C2 are in proper alignment before you do anything else.
These special kind of chiropractors specialize in the upper cervical spine (UCS). These people are able to work wonders for certain ailments and they are very gentle–not the bone cracker kind. They focus mostly on your top two vertebra (C1 (Atlas) & C2 (Axis). If this joint is “off” then you could have some of the symptoms you are experiencing.
You can find a chiropractor specializing in UCS by going to the following URL and entering your location. You can also read about the things these special chiropractors can do for you at this same website. Here is the URL.
http://www.upcspine.com/
Choose the “Practitioners” link along the top to find the one closest to you.
There is a lot of good information on UCS chiropractic on this page also.
You can also learn a lot more about Meniere’s and how these chiropractors can help you when medical doctors don’t have a clue. Read my comprehensive article on the subject at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/ . See if this rings a bell with you.
Cordially,
Neil
Meniers’s! Yikes. Sounds aweful. I’m hoping I don’t get this and it also seems that there is actually a hidden gem out there for help.
I have been seeing a neuromuscular therapist since my accident that helped me heal. I will now definitely look into a UCS.
Have you ever heard of Craniosacral therapy?
Thank you.
Hi Anthony:
Having various therapies is good–and it is working–at least in part. But if your C1 and C2 are out, the kinds of therapies you are having won’t put them back in proper alignment. That is why you need to see an upper cervical chiropractor.
There is nothing wrong with Craniosacral therapy, but it won’t fix subluxations, and I think that is what you really need at this point.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
Here is my story…
I was at a horse show sitting quietly when I began to have a very bad headache, went to my car and rested, got home 2 hrs later and took Excedrine Migraine, then to bed. Next morning, some ringing in my left ear, more than normal, back to show and had a dizzy spell that subsided after about 3 min. noticed my hear felt full and muffled, ringing loud. That night it subsided, went to dinner feeling fine, woke up the next day, Sunday, totally deaf in the left ear. Monday went to the Urgent Care, told that I had a poss Sinus infection, put on Keflex and low dose steroid and OTC sinus meds. By Fri no change, so Monday morning I was lucky enough to have a Dr friend call me into an ENT. .. I was diagnosed with SSNHL and given oral and Tympanic steroid injection, 3 injections over 10 days. I went from 80+ db loss to 50-70, I think, something like that. I have done lots of research and like your discussions, thanks. My question is why does the side of my face feel funny and slightly numb, now including my left eye is feeling Weird and numb, no weakness or droop.. Going for an MRI tomorrow, just thought you might have an idea…I’m 55 and don’t think I have had a Stroke…
Ps Tinnitus and Broken Speaker effect is terrible, but as a retired Firefighter and used to fire alarms, I’m able to cope to a degree…
Hi Julie:
What did the MRI show? From all your symptoms, I’m inclined to think you have a vascular problem, possibly a mini-stroke that affected both your ear and your eye and migraine.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello doctor!
Sorry for my english.
When I was a child I was diagnosed with a mild hearing loss, and I’ve had tinnitus since I suffered from an otisis at age 8.
In the last few weeks I’ve experienced a sudden loss of hearing in one hear, at least once a week. This loss went away after a few minutes and my hearing went back to normal.
I was wondering if I need to go to the doctor or if it could just be a case of wax buildup, that can be easily fixed at home like my doctor usually adviced me to do (he told me in the past to use hydrogen peroxide for this issue).
Hi Sara:
When hearing suddenly goes away and then comes back, it may mean that a chunk of wax can be intermittently blocking your ear canal. So cleaning out your ears with hydrogen peroxide, or going to a health care professional to be checked out for wax is probably a good first step. Once you know both your ear canals are clean and free of wax and this happens again, then you know some other factor is involved and you’ll need to see an ear specialist.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Bauman,
I seem to have a similar story as most of the people above and am desperately searching for a glimmer of hope like everyone else.
My story started July 31, so almost 3 weeks ago exactly. Woke up in the middle of the night and my ear felt full and muffled. I’d been battling allergies and congestion issues for a couple of weeks and assumed it was just sinus congestion. I took my decongestant and assumed it would clear once my stuffy nose cleared routinely once my decongestant kicked in. When it didn’t clear that entire morning, I got panicked and called GP. She thought it may be ETD and gave me a steroid injection and asked me to follow up in 2 weeks if not any better. In the meantime, I made an ENT appointment and had Audiogram which determined I had severe hearing loss. I have the tinnitus pretty bad, but the biggest issue is the fullness and pressure in that bad ear. I continue still to hold my nose and blow to pop my ear and sometimes later in the day, I will be successful in getting it to “pop” and it feels wonderful but goes immediately back to being full and this instant relief does not come with restored hearing. I have noticed some slight improvement in general hearing out of the bad ear, slight increase in volume and clarity when holding a phone to my ear.
My question is whether there is any possibility this could be ETD related. Or, does an audiogram showing severe hearing loss pretty much rule that out? Obviously I’m clinging on to hope that its something other than SSHL, especially since I’m at week 3 and if its SSHL, I’m likely past the point of any hope for improvement. Thanks!
Hi Jack:
The first thing you want to know is whether your audiogram shows you have a sensorineural hearing loss or a conductive loss, or a bit of both. A sensorineural hearing loss, which is an inner ear hearing loss, is not affected by your Eustachian tubes.
If your Eustachian tubes are not working correctly, you could have some degree of a conductive loss. Your audiogram and tympanogram should show this, if that was the case.
When you pop your ears, you do not have any better hearing, thus,I suspect that your hearing loss is sensorineural, rather than conductive. It could very well have been caused by a virus that got into your inner ear.
Since you are past week three now since this happened, if it is a sensorineural hearing loss, the chances of you getting any, or much, hearing back is pretty slim in my opinion.
At the same time, you could also have Eustachian tube problems. You haven’t given me enough information so that I can really pinpoint the problem, or problems, you have with your ears.
Cordially,
Neil
hello doc. i caught a cold last year, right ear completely blocked. i went to a doctor immediately and he said my ear drum surely look red with fluid build up. exactly 3 weeks later the fluid drained and the blocked up feeling has gone almost entirely, strangely even after another weeks my hearing hasn’t completely returned and then i found this blog, doing the HUM test and,.. the sound is so obviously louder in my healthy ear. i lost hope when later i found out no doctor actually listened to me, they only see the drum., none considering the possibility of a young man like me get snhl, it’s only for the old. that’s my country’s doctors… listening to music, my number 1 motivation to live now with volume much louder in left ear. however buying high quality expensive headphones surprisingly help more than a little (haha) and that’s how i overcome my depression. it’s been almost a year ever since. now to explain my symptoms, humming is still quite in my right ear but not only the sounds, there’s like no vibration at all in my right side of face/head. a slight movement or swallowing always makes my eustachian tube sounds ‘creaky? ‘ or like sound of bubbles popping. the hum test result and the period of time has passed probably already telling me answer but if some professional like you think there’s a possibility that it’s something else whether it’s an etd or tumor or whatever other than permanent problem then i might still have chance. what do you think?
Hi Zaky:
The best thing to do is have a comprehensive audiological evaluation so you know what is going on with your ears. Over here, that is done by audiologists. This will tell you whether you have a (permanent) sensorineural (inner ear) hearing loss, or a (hopefully temporary) conductive (middle ear) hearing loss that often doctors can successfully treat. You will also find out whether your Eustachian Tubes, middle ear are working properly as shown on a tympanogram.
I think what happened is that back when this first happened, you had a cold and the cold virus got into your ear and caused permanent sensorineural hearing loss.
So get your hearing properly checked out–then you should know if there is anything wrong that can be fixed.
Cordially,
Neil
thanks for the reply doc! . i guess you’re right. but since it’s been a year, there shouldn’t be any virus left, right? I’m pretty comfortable with my current condition but i worried since i already lost some haircells it will get worse like is it the nature of snhl, once it happens it will progress? , should i really have another check (this time properly to audiologist ) or can just maintaining a healthy life prevent it? I’d like to avoid another hospital visit if possible.
last time i had a check in best hospital in my city they used a device that sends sounds to my eardrums to get feedback and the result was normal. in the end the doctor just send me off with a nasal spray confidently said with big smile that my hearing cells were fine.
Hey so I have some hearing loss in my left ear that ear is clogged and my ear drum is swollen they say I have some fluid behind it I went to the ER and they prescribed me amoxicillin and prednisone and some allergy medicine..I’m scared I might loss my hearing I have some tinnitus in that ear that I only notice when its quiet please help with ur feed back.
I did the hum test and I hear it louder in the clogged ear.. I just want to know if u think my hearing will get back to normal.. I’m taking prednisone and amoxicillin and allergy meds they say I have a swollen ear drum with fluid behind it my voice seems louder in this ear too I would love to hear your feedback.
Hi Bre:
If you just have a middle ear infection, things should get back to normal when the infection goes and all the gunk/fluid drains from your middle ear. Your hum test indicates that you have a middle ear problem which means your hearing should return as your ear clears up. It just may take a bit of time–from 2 weeks to 3 months.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor,
How wonderful of you to reply to all of these worried people. My story began 5 years ago after I had a bad bout of strep. I went travel regardless and went into this 4D movie.i just remember ho much it hurt my ears and a sharp pain. The movie was 10 mins and when I came out I couldn’t hear very well out of my right ear but both were ringing. 9 doctors later and an ENT said I lost partial hearing in that ear. I had an CT scan and the only thing that showed was chronic acute sinusitis. About a month ago I bought these heating buds for music. I never used to put things in my ears after the hearing loss because my ears were sensitive. I tried these and I will admit love loud music. I used them and when I would tap on the bud to change the tune my it would make me feel almost dizzy. I continued to used them and then my tinnitus went up and my ear were very sensitive to noise also I would get waves of dizziness. That calmed down and went away. I went to the dentist 3 days ago and when I came out noticed my hearimg sid wasn’t working. I changed the wire and battery and it turns out my ear is not working, the only blessing is my T went down. I forgot to mention when this first came on I rushed to the doctor and asked them to put me on prednisone and he declined saying that because I already had hearing loss it would eventually get worse. I am saddened by this further decline in my right ear hearing. I can still hear a bit but I am afraid it was giving me the grand finale. I can hear it clicking once in awhile and when I tilt my head my T changes. I wonder if I will regain even a bit of my hearing. I am angry at myself for playing my music too loud. Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Hannah:
Going back 5 years, I think your ears suffered acoustic shock syndrome from the side effects you listed. Your ears recovered from that to some degree, but you caused some underlying permanent damage at the same time.
Wearing the ear buds turned up loud just exacerbated the situation–the tinnitus, dizziness and more hearing loss, although fortunately it has gone away somewhat–but your ears are still very vulnerable.
Your doctor should have given you the Prednisone in the hope that it might help, but that is not a given. What did your dentist do–just standard drilling and filling, or did you have ultrasonic cleaning done or what? Your hearing shouldn’t have dropped significantly just from standard drilling and filling.
You need to protect your ears from loud sounds in the future and hope you can preserve what little sound you now hear in that ear.
It’s ok to give yourself a swift kick in the pants for acting so stupidly–just once, but continually beating yourself up is not productive. The damage is done. Now you need to focus your energies on preserving your existing hearing and learning how to successfully live with a hearing loss.
Note, wearing earbuds or listening to music is not bad–AS LONG AS YOU KEEP THE VOLUME DOWN to a reasonable level. A reasonable level is the same level as you hear people talking. Music does not have to be loud to be enjoyable. But too many people become addicted to loud music. You need to break this addiction and learn to enjoy music at a sensible level that does not further damage your ears.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your reply I truly appreciate it. It was the support I needed. It was a cleaning with high pressure water? I think it maybe just the icing on the cake. I pushed them to hard all these years. I will take your advice and pull myself together I have so much to be grateful for. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Yours gratefully,
Hannah
Hello, im wondering if you can help me. Long post incoming.
November 12th i seemed like i started getting an allergy/hayfever symptoms. Just before i put my head on the pillow i started seeing the room spin. The next few days i could see the room spin slightly, when i would lie down. That subsided after a few days, but after that i could feel this constant head pressure and dizziness. Also, if i hear a loud sound, crackling would happen in my left ear for half a second. If i hum right now, when i STOP humming, i will hear a crackling in my left ear for half a second.
2 months later these are my still my current symptoms: CONSTANT 24/7 head pressure, slight dizziness, and crackling in the left ear if i hear a loud noise or hum (i can trigger the crackling whenever i want, it reacts to sounds). Also, id say both of my ears have been popping BY THEMSELVES pretty frequently. Around once every 2 days. Sometimes every day.
Ive been to an ENT who looked in my ear once and said everything looks fine and sent me to an audiologist. I went to the audiologist and every test came back normal. No hearing loss in either ear, balance is supposedly fine, and apparently there isnt any fluid behind the ear.
I also had an MRI which came back normal. Blood test results were near perfect. Had an ECT heart test, all normal.
I have tried antihistimines, nasal sprays, decongestants, sinus nasal pumps, ibuprofen, a steroid nasal spray, stemetil, amoxicillin and augumentin. Nothing works. I have not had a second of relief in 2 months.
ENT said my ears looked fine, and the audiology tests came back normal, but a GP said it looks like i have a slightly deflated ear drum, and another said i have fluid behind the ear drum. So i dont know whats going on?
In a nutshell: Constant head pressure, dizziness and crackling in left ear that i can trigger at any time, and both ears pop by themselves once every 1-2ish days. Happened after a VERY mild allergy. These are my only symptoms. Its been 2 months now. I hope you can help me.
P.s. i did the hum test but as i dont have any hearing loss whatsoever, i can hear the hum equally in both ears. It did trigger crackling in my left ear when i stopped humming, though 😀
If you require any further information just let me know.
Hi Dr. Neil,
Thank you for all the information and advice you offer.
Some backgroung. I had a mild cold in February last year which I got over very quickly. After 2 weeks I had pressure in my head, dizziness, deafness, fullness in my left ear which lasted for a good 3 weeks. GP only prescribed steroid nasal spray and told me to be patient. I went in private to see an ENT specialist…by that time my ears were clear, no fluid was present behind my ears (left mainly but also right one a bit) but still had slight dizziness and presure feeling in ear with ocasional cracking sounds and could not pop my ear at all no matter how much I tried. Had a hearing test which showed SSRHL of 40 DB in left ear. ENT said all was clear and that he can do nothing and I should just wait for it to pass. I got very concerned with all the strange symptoms and went to have an MRI in private which showed all was fine, no bening tumor was present. Saw second ENT who did a nose endoscopy and said ears, throat look fine but I have a severely deviated septum on the left side. Prescribed Awamys steroid spray 2/day. By now my hearing was better, pressure subsided but was still not able to pop my ears at all. It all went away in the next 4 months and was probably a virus. At 6 months follow up had a 20 Db hearing loss in the same ear and was told that probably I was born with it or always had it. I am 36. Fast forward at the end of the year, a sour throat became a 2’nd sinusitis with face pain,mainly but not very bad. GP prescribed 1 week of doxyciline and after 14 days left part of my face, cheek was still in pain andwent to ENT in private again(another one) who did an endoscopy and saw a nasty infection inside my left sinus. 2 week course clarythromicin 500 twice day.
Now…my problem. In the last 3 months had difficulty breathing, like I can’t expand my chest to take enough air in+heaviness on my chest. In ER they didn’t find anything, GP send for lung clot test-clear, spirometry, asthma, heart issues-all clear but my breathing was getting worse. Suggested I try omeprazole for 1 week and see how I feel. Just took half dose for 3 days after reading side effects and not feeling that I have any reflux whatsoever. After about 3 weeks repeated all tests abroad, in private, as my breathing was getting worse. Gastroendoscopy revealed the sphincter which closes my stomach was inflamed, stage 1 out of 4(being the worse) and was started on Nexium for 4 weeks and Motilium for 14 days. I am on my 14th day on Nexium and slightly feel that my left ear is getting a bit clogged. I am taking Awamys again in the last 4 days. Stopped Motilium already but I am concerned about another 2 weeks on Nexium after reading the info on your website. Chest and breathing are getting better, some days worse then better and I am very careful with my diet, which was always clean. I want to take them for a month but Iam afraid about the damage they might do to my ears which have remained quite sensitive and with a slight disfunction (i think).
I appologize for my English, I am not a native speaker. And for my long post as well. I would really appreciate your opinion on my situation. Was diagnosed with GERD although I have no other symptoms specific to GERD but mostly with oesophagitis.
Apologies for taking out of your time. Thank you for this blog.
Hi Doc,
Hello, one night I felt like I was getting sick (allergy symptoms, runny/blocked nose). Woke up the next morning and those symptoms were gone and left with a constant head pressure and dizziness. My only other symptoms which appeared a couple days later is that my ears are weird. So my left ear crackles after I hear a sound, I can trigger the crackle any time I want by literally clicking my fingers right next to my left ear. Even if i rub actual ear on my face, after i stop rubbing it, i’ll hear something deep inside crackle. It’s always AFTER a sound or rub, not during it. My right ear doesn’t do this. My right ear has been very sensitive. It pops by itself, every day, and feels like it stays open for hours upon hours (this sometimes happens with my left ear, too). When they feel “Open” and i take a big sniff in, it feels like my inner ears are squeezing tightly inward, if I was blow out of my nose hard, it feels like it’s being pushed outward.
I’ve been to an audiologist, had an MRI, blood test, all came back normal. ENT just said it was stress, because he couldn’t find anything. I’ve tried nasal sprays, antibiotics, antihistamines, stemetil, nothing relieves my symptoms.It’s been over 3 months. No one seems to know what it is. I’m scared i’ll have to live with it forever. The ear issues aren’t the worst thing, it’s the head pressure and dizziness (not vertigo) that I want gone. But my only other symptoms is ear stuff, so it’s got to be connected/related, right? How would I go about treating this issue? I don’t know what to do anymore. Thanks.
Hi Aaron:
It’s possible you have tonic tensor tympani syndrome (TTTS). You can read my article on the subject at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/do-i-have-tonic-tensor-tympani-syndrome-ttts/ . You may also find that your upper two vertebrae (C1 and C2) are out of proper alignment and are causing this pressure and dizziness. (see the addendum at the bottom of the above article). To find an upper cervical spine chiropractor, to to http://www.upcspine.com/ and click on “practitioners”.
This is what I’d do if I had your symptoms and since nothing else seems to work. With proper treatment, these symptoms should all go away. You don’t have to live with them all your life.
Cordially,
Neil
I am going for a cervical neck MRI soon. Would this show if my C1 and C2 Vertibrae are misaligned?
I haven’t been in any situations that would cause misalignment though.
Thanks.
Hi Aaron:
I really don’t know. I’ve had people go for a cervical MRI and the radiologist gave them a clean bill of health in regard to their neck alignment, however, when they went to an upper cervical chiropractor for precision x-rays, they found their neck was off by several degrees. So if I were wanting to know if my neck was in proper alignment, I’d forget the MRI and go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor.
You may not think you’ve been in any situations that might have caused neck misalignments, but you’d be surprised–and such situations are easy to forget.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr. Bauman, I was on a one-week vacation in southeast Florida the week of Christmas, during which I came down with a cold – what seemed like sinusitis mainly – not flu as far as I can remember – no real symptoms other than constantly running nose and a hell of a lot of mucus constantly needing to be ‘blown out’ ..post nasal drip… I didn’t notice anything affecting my ears. On the flight home, upon landing my ears popped – but this time for the first time, it was a painful sensation where both ears felt highly pressurized. This condition cleared in my right ear with yawning, jaw movement etc…but the left ear remained muffled with a closed off sensation. I saw my doctor about 7 days later having not had the left ear ever ‘open up’ — and he observed the ear drum not vibrating normally and advised I do swallowing and chewing exercises, steam inhalation etc…suggesting this was likely some residual effect of the cold. Two weeks later it had not resolved. I saw my ENT. He said I could do a Myringotomy then or a course of Prednisone – I opted for the steroid, combined with daily Nasocort which I already take routinely for dust allergy. I came back to him for a follow-up about 15 days later. The meds had no effect. I decided to have a Myringotomy during that visit as he suggested it could equalize the pressure imbalance. That had no effect. I am now about 6 weeks out from the initial ‘closure’ of the ears on the plane… The right ear is normal. Full frequency range. The left ear remains muffled. I am at a ‘loss’ not just of my high frequencies in the left ear, but as to what has occurred, and whether this is ETD or not? I have in the interim, btw – been using the OtoVent balloon thing daily as well as mucinex 400g generic every 4-6 hours – that has not resolved the condition. I am a voice actor and do recording work by profession so good hearing and audio accuracy is a rather big deal for me. I’ve tried the hum test and i can’t say i feel a significant difference between one ear over the other…i can just tell you that if i close off my left ear I hear fairly normal frequency range out of my right ear…whereas if i close off my right ear it’s more of my ‘head voice’ and less of the ‘outer room ambience — if that makes sense. Would really appreciate and welcome any thoughts on the situation – and hope you can give me some good news as far as whether this still might be an ETD thing where mucus or whatever is congesting the eustachian tube — even tho the Otovent hasn’t worked .. Thanks so much! Mike in Michigan
Hi Mike:
You don’t mention going to an audiologist and having your hearing tested–full audiological evaluation–to see what might turn up.
If you had done this and had tympanometry done before the Myringotomy, then you could have determined whether your ear was physically clogged, or whether the sensation was due to hearing loss.
I think you need to still have a complete audiological evaluation and see what shows up–whether you have some conductive loss in your bad ear, any sensorineural hearing loss, etc., etc.
Then you’d have a better idea how to proceed.
Cordially,
Neil
Three weeks ago it happened to me. Fortunately I knew two others who told me to get to an ENT immediately which I did. He quickly determined it wasn’t fluid but SSHL and put me on a high start, tapered prednisone ten day. After ten days I recovered fully. And the hum test worked just as this article said.
Hello Dr. Neil,
On Feb 12 I had a runny nose and itchy throat. Feb 13 my body ached tremendously all day and my right ear developed a humming like a plane and felt stuffed up towards the end of the day that bothered me noise wide when I stood up or moved. I saw my ENT the next day, my hearing for right ear was at a 25-30 & got prescribed Prendisone for 2 weeks: I went for a checkup a few days later the following week 18th my ear still felt a bit stuffed up it was time for my follow up which showed hearing was back to normal. I was a day short of finishing the Prendisone when I woke up with my ear buzzing and fully stuffed again last Thursday Feb 28th. I was able to get seen today Mar. 6th and now my hearing is 30-40. They gave me a steroid shot in my ear and a follow up on Friday (because I fly out for a week on Sat).
What do you think? Do you think I had s virus or its middle ear?
The doctor has said Ménière’s from day one even though I don’t have vertigo but now changed and said I have a type of Meinere’s.
Hi Naomi:
The easy way to figure out whether it was a virus or middle ear congestion is to do the hum test. That should tell you.
Why did your doctor think you had Meniere’s? Meniere’s is usually a diagnosis of last resort after ruling out all other things.
There are basically two sub-versions of Meniere’s besides the full-blown Meniere’s. One is cochlear hydrops which affects your hearing and tinnitus, and the other is vestibular hydrops that affects your balance (and can give you vertigo). Another name for Meniere’s is endolymphatic hydrops.
If you really do have Meniere’s or some version of it, the cure is actually very simple. You can learn all about it in my article on the subject at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/ .
Cordially,
Neil
When I hummed it was louder in my healthy ear.
They thought Ménière because I had some hearing loss and tinnitus. Thats it!
Yesterday they changed and said cochlear hydrops.
The steroid shot helped and I can hear now and the buzxing noise went away. Hoping I’m good now!!
Every once in a while I hear a crackling sound in my ear, no pain, no hearing loss. I went to an ENT because I figured that is what my regular Dr. would so anyway. With that being said, they gave me a hearing test, my hearing is perfect in both ears, my eardrums are clear and no wax or fluid. Yet he wants to send me for an MRI to make sure no acoustic nueroma, I am very nervous and dont understand why being there is no hearing loss at all. Should I go?? Please advise, it would mean alot. Thank you
Hi Tina:
How often is “once in a while” every hour, or day or week or what? Is this crackling sound associated with yawning or chewing/swallowing?
I’ve never heard of crackling sounds being associated with an acoustic neuroma. You would more likely experience tinnitus and hearing loss and/or balance problems from an acoustic neuroma. So personally, I wouldn’t bother with an MRI at this point.
I’m more interested in the answers to my questions in order to figure out what is going on.
Cordially,
Neil
2 weeks ago at 2:00am in the morning, I woke with horrendous noises in my head. It felt like head was going to explode. I had numerous loud noises in both ears. This continued for about 3 hours and gradually subsided.
The next day I was fine. Until again at 2:am on following night, I awoke with loud, loud noises of tinnitus with severe virtigo. I somehow managed to get to my GP with being sick and basically being supported by my husband as the virtigo was causing me to be barely able to walk.
I also earlier discovered that I had lost all hearing in my right hear. This happened the previous day, as I thought that my hearing aid was faulty. I have hearing aid in my left ear, which was the worst one for hearing loss.
My Dr thought it was
Ménière ‘s Disease. She said it was an emergency because of my sudden ear loss and said I needed to see a Consultant.
There were three hospitals I could go to. One had a waiting list of 52 weeks. One was 49 weeks and the third was
28 weeks.
I could not wait that long so we paid to see a private Consultan. He diagnosed
Labrynthitis. He sent me for a hearing test and my results were left ear 50 % hearing and zero hear in right ear. This was one week after first symptoms and prescribed me with Steroids.
My tinnitus is very bad. I have numerous loud noises altogether in my right ear. I hear a man singing , dripping water, engine noise, tin cans rolling down hill. Clicking and tapping like morse code. In my left ear I have swishing noise which comes and goes. I also have eye problems.
I have been unable to sleep and now have sleeping medication. I am due to have an MRI and I am getting stressed by the noise of the process which might cause more problems with my tinnitus.
Would it be possible to have a Cat Scan instead?
Sorry about my long post, but I would be grateful for your comments.
Hi Elaine:
I’m curious–did you have a cold, flu or any other active virus in your body in the week or so before you had the hearing loss and vertigo? The symptoms you describe sound more like a viral attack than anything.
Why did your doctor think you had Meniere’s? What you describe doesn’t really sound like Meniere’s to me.
Your eye problems are likely related to your balance system–your vestibulo-ocular reflex system may be damaged.
You seem to have a combination of tinnitus and Musical Ear syndrome sounds.
I wouldn’t worry about an MRI noise causing your tinnitus to get worse. First, you can’t hear anything in your right ear so the MRI sounds shouldn’t bother it. And second, you already have a significant hearing loss in your left ear. So all I’d do is make sure you wear ear protectors during the MRI and you should be ok. Don’t have them use headphones and pipe in music–as that can be too loud and compound the sounds of the MRI machine. Just straight ear protectors are best.
And I doubt the MRI will show up anything from what you have described if you have told me the whole story.
Cordially,
Neil
Neil many thanks for your quick reply. I have no idea why the Dr said I had Meneire’s disease. About six weeks earlier I had a chest infection. My main problem at the moment is being unable to sleep , even thou I have been prescribed sleep medication. My tinnitus is extremely loud , but my balance is now improving.
Your comments have given me confidence to have the MRI.
Thank You.
Hello,
About 3 months ago I had a really bad ear infection which has caused about 80% hearing loss in my ear. At the time of the infection I was given several rounds of steroids and antibiotics. A tube was placed in my ear as well. I recently had an MRI and my ENT said it was normal. He also said it could take up to a year for my hearing to come back. Is this true? I constantly hear cracking in my bad ear and my hearing seems like it sometimes is getting better, but then seems like its still bad. Do you think it can come back within a year or am I stuck with this forever?
Hi Mel:
What I’d do is go to an audiologist, not an ENT, and have a complete audiological evaluation. Then you should know the answers to you questions. For example, if you have a sensorineural hearing loss, that is probably permanent. If you have a conductive loss, that is likely temporary. You could have some of both, what they call a mixed loss. If that is the case, you could expect to get the conductive component back, but not the sensorineural component.
The fact that your ear crackles indicates that you have at least some conductive loss. This is due to air bubbles in your Eustachian tube/middle ear pushing past the gunk there. When the gunk drains out (and this can take a few months) then you won’t hear the crackling sounds anymore and your hearing then should be as good as it gets. At that point, any hearing loss should only be sensorineural.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for the response. How do they test for conductive and sensorineural loss? Also, I was wondering if you knew of any foundations or companies that donate new hearing aids to be people? I heard they can be very expensive.
Hi Mel:
When you go to an audidologist and ask for a complete audiometric evaluation, among the tests they do is a pure tone air conduction test and a similar bone conduction test. The air conduction testing is done wearing headphones, while the bone conduction testing is done with a bone conduction transducer (vibrator) held tightly behind your ear on the mastoid bone.
If the results are the same but show a hearing loss, then you have a sensorineural hearing loss. However if the results are different (what they call the air-bone gap) indicates that you have a conductive hearing loss. Of course, you could have both kinds to some degree or other.
As far as donating free hearing aids, Starkey’s “Hear Now” foundation is probably the top one, but you have to take a means test–reveal your income from all sources and your assets. In addition you have to pay a $250.00 application fee ($125.00 for each ear), plus do a number of other things. To learn more about the process or to get the application form go to https://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/hear-now.
If you are not eligible for the Hear Now hearing aids, you can save a bundle of bucks by getting your hearing aids from Costco, for example. They carry top brands and you can get them at a fraction of the cost you’ll pay elsewhere.
Two service clubs that also help people needing hearing aids are the Lions and Sertoma Clubs.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
I’ll try to condense this as much as possible. March 5th hit with severe vertigo—went to Urgent Care and given Prednisone (4 mg 7 day pack) and decongestant. Was told water in ear. Vertigo for 2 days. Back to Urgent Care March 9th stating ear still clogged, was told to use Flonase. At this point, I had no idea I couldn’t hear at all out of left ear. Just thought I had wax. Finally went to ENT on March 14 where I found out I was profoundly deaf in left ear—no word recognition at all. Was put on steroids 20mg for 10 days (3x day and tapered off) plus steroid injection in ear. MRI showed nothing. Had a total of 4 injections in ear (weekly) and improved slightly each week. I’m now in the moderate to severe range—word recognition at about 80. After the 4th shot, there was no improvement the following week so he discontinued shots. Now I just wait and come back in 6 weeks and probably start talking a hearing aid. Should I pursue any other avenues? Should I ask for one more shot just in case it might do anything? Just not sure how short the window is for improvement.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Wendi
Hi Wendi:
One of my rules of thumb is that the hearing you have at the end of 30 days is what you will have going forward. Since the steroid injections stopped working around then, I suspect that any further injections won’t help. The exception to the 30 day limit is if your hearing is still coming back at the end of 30 days, then continue treatment until it stops improving.
Another of my rules of thumb is that the worse your sudden hearing loss, the less chances you will get it back, or put another way, if you have a severe or worse hearing loss like you had, then you could expect to get back maybe 10 or 20 dB of hearing–like you have, but you won’t get the rest back.
So, based on the above, you are following exactly what I’d expect to happen. Further treatment is more or less like flogging a dead horse. It doesn’t get you anywhere.
I know you didn’t want to hear that, but I believe in telling the truth as best I know.
You never said the cause of your sudden hearing loss. But if it was from a “weird” cause, there still might be hope–but I think you have the “typical” sudden hearing loss.
Once you ear stabilizes and you are used to the new normal, then its a good idea to try a hearing aid and see how well it works for you.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for the quick response. I kind of expected your answer but was being hopeful. It’s not the worst thing. I have some back and other than I can’t switch ears when I’m on the phone, its not awful. There was no cause for the loss…ideopathic. The noise is starting to settle down and my balance is back. He wanted me to wait a little bit for an aid (I guess thinking I’d appreciate it more after a few weeks). Hopeful that will help in busy rooms and such. Thanks again for your reply. Working on a “new normal”!
Hey Dr Neil,
Wanted to ask a question in regards to my hearing troubles.
A month ago woke up to a blocked sensation of the left ear. Was sick at the time so the sensation of the blocked feeling was probably due to a cold of somesort.
Went to an ENT to get my hearing tested and evaluated. Audiogram came back clear with no signs of hearing loss with all frequencies falling in the normal ranges and in fact the left ear was better than the right ear in terms of hearing results.
ENT prescribed me Predisone and some antibiotics to take as a precaution. Didn’t end up taking the full dose listed as I didn’t notice any problems associated with my hearing.
A month has passed since then and my hearing has seemed to have gotten worse. Did the hum test and the right ear which is the one that didnt have any issues is the side I can hear more on. Earphones and phone calls are much clearer on my right ear than on my left.
I have tinnitus in my left ear and obviously a cracking sensation and fullness sensation in my left ear but the hearing loss still remains there.
Went to a doctor recently and he has just labelled this as a eustachian tube blockage.
Any chance that my hearing loss is just conducive based even though all the tests (hum test) have shown otherwise? I have had some moderate hearing gains when popping my ear but nothing substantial.
Thank you for all the information. It’s been very helpful. I was diagnosed with SSHL in mid-April within 2 days of losing most of my hearing in my left ear. I immediately started oral steroids, had inner ear steroid shots and did hyperbaric tank oxygen treatments daily for 4 weeks. I recovered a slight amount of hearing but will still need hearing aids. Apparently the only type that will work is the CROS type. I’ve read that going to a CROS system immediately can be detrimental to any potential recovery in the “bad” ear. I am doing ok with just hearing on one side but it is frustrating in noisy rooms! It’s been 3 months so I’m ready to go for the aids. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Hi Teresa:
I’m not sure what you mean “that going to a CROS system immediately can be detrimental to any potential recovery”. Were you referring to Constraint-Induced Sound Therapy? (You can seem my article on the subject at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/constraint-induced-sound-therapy-for-sudden-sensorineural-hearing-loss/ .
In your case, far too much time has gone by for this therapy to work.
Normally, I suggest you don’t get a hearing aid right away in order to let your ear recover what it will and your hearing stabilizes at whatever level it will. Then you know how powerful an aid you’ll need. This usually happens in a month or so. So at 3 months, I don’t see and reason to wait. Get a CROS aid if it will help you. Some people don’t like CROS aids and do quite well by just using their good ear. It’s up to you.
Whether you wear a CROS aid or not, you will still have a lot of difficulty locating sounds as you have lost your stereo direction-finding ability.
I’m assuming that your bad ear has a profound loss? Or has almost zero word recognition? Right? Otherwise, you should be able to use a regular hearing aid and not need a CROS one.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks very much. Yes the hearing loss is in the severe/profound range not 100% sure about word recognition. At what level of loss can you wear a regular hearing aid? I was referring to the CROS hearing aids which I had read somewhere that using them would limit any potential improvement in the bad ear but as you said at 3 months there is probably little chance of much more improvement. I’m doing ok with one ear but I was so used to having really good hearing I’m hopeful the aids will help get me closer to “normal”. I still get a buzzing noise in the ear which I keep thinking will lead to improvement! Fortunately my work environment is a small office but stores and restaurants are posing quite a challenge! I am also lucky that my insurance will cover most of the cost. Thank you again.
Hi Teresa:
If you get a power aid, you may still get some help even if you have a profound hearing loss. What is important is whether you have useable hearing or if all your ear hears is garble. That is why you want to know your word recognition scores if they can test you. If your hearing is too bad, they can’t do that test.
If you don’t have useable hearing in your bad ear, then a CROS aid would bring the sounds from your deaf side to your good ear. This will allow you to hear better from your deaf side but won’t give you directional hearing like you used to have. Nor will you be able to function like normal in noisy places. For that, you need to good ears to pick out the speech you want to hear out of the noise.
Recognize that will always be a problem so sit/stand/walk so that the people you want to hear are on your good side. That alone will make life easier.
The buzzing noise in your bad ear (tinnitus) is the result of your hearing loss. It is not a sign that your hearing may improve. Learn to ignore it and focus instead on what you want to hear.
I suggest you try out a CROS aid and see how you like it. Some people love theirs and other won’t wear theirs. You may find it really helps you in certain situations and not in others. If that is the case, wear it when it helps and take it off when it doesn’t help. In noisy places wearing it may make things worse. So take it off then.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Doctor,
For 8 years ago I experienced a sudden attack of vertigo like symptoms, a feeling of imbalance. WE were vacationing in Florida so I had to wait a few days before seeing a doctor in our home state. I was tested for “ear crystals” and it was negative. I had to wait another year to get in to see the Neurologist they did some tests and said it was not physical but caused otherwise. They referred me to a physical therapist for rehabilitation. She thought it was 3-PD, caused by post tramatic fall in past. But I have pursued psychological EMDR without positive results. I have done BAUD therapy, I experienced two weeks of symptom free, but my sense of unbalance returned.
All this and my sister today reported to me she is experiencing some dizziness.
My long list of testing include: AT Mayo testing revealed a right ear moderate sensorineural hearing loss at 6-8 kHz. So, I wonder is it my ear all along that has been keeping me off balance? I thought I covered this base of possibility when I went to see the top Neurologist who specializes in “dizziness”. Can you reply
Hi Madonna:
When you had that first Sutton attack of vertical like symptoms eight years ago, where you want any drugs or medications? So many of them can cause vertigo, but few doctors think of that.
Just having your upper cervical spine out of proper alignment can also cause vertigo. This could have happened from a car accident or falling or anything that causes you to read the jerk your neck somehow. If this is your problem, you would do well to have an upper cervical spine chiropractor check your C1 and C2 vertebrae and make sure they are in proper alignment.
If your balance system in your inner ears is damaged, the person to see would be an audiologist that works in a balance clinic. They should be able to test your balance function for each ear and tell you whether that is likely your problem.
So there are three common causes of balance problems. If you were on any drugs or medications, I can tell you whether they were likely the culprit.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Doctor, I came down with a virus on Oct. 25 and on Oct 29th lost my voice. Along with voice loss, hearing in right ear greatly diminished. On Nov 1 while blowing nose.loud schreeching sound in rat ET..and after much ear aching. Voice returned Nov. 3rd along with severe vertigo if I moved my head wrong or quickly on right side. Went to urgent care Nov. 4th and practitioner looked in ears and said I had ear infection now in right ear due to gunk sitting too long. I can hear from it, but diminished and still have the sensation of not hearing myself well on that side when I talk. I was prescribed Amixicillan and sent home told hearing and vertigo would be fine when infection clears. Should I go on steroids? I’m 65 with not strong bones so avoid steroids but don’t want permanent vertigo or hearing loss. Thank you, M.J.
Hi MJ:
It looks like the cold virus got into your middle ear and caused infection and hence the plugged up middle ear and Eustachian tube. This gives you a degree of conductive hearing loss while it is plugged up, but things should return to normal once the Amoxicillin kills the infection and the gunk drains out.
The vertigo is caused by the virus also getting into your inner ear–and affecting the balance part. This should also go away assuming the virus does no permanent damage.
I don’t see why you’d need to take steroids. There is no guarantee they will help, and in your case, you know they will hurt. Personally, I think I’d forego the steroids and see what happens. Or you could ask for intratympanic steroid injections–where they inject the steroids through your eardrum into your middle ear. This way the steroids get to where they need to be without affecting the rest of your body like oral steroids do. See what your doctor says.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, I am scared and worried and can’t get in to a eat and nose specialist till Jan 15th. It’s been 5 weeks dealing with this ear issue. I went to urgent care first with what I thought was a ear infection, they diagnosed me with ear infection and strep and put me on Zithromax. Finished that script no signs of relief on my ear so I went to my family doctor. He stated that he did not believe I had strep and I did have a ear infection and prescribed amoxicillin. At the office I had drainage in my ear and pointed out to my doctor he said he didn’t see anything. Ugggh take the entire script still no relief he prescribed yet another more aggressive script he claims took for 10 days and suggested Flonase. Still no relief and now he says I need to go to specialist which I’m scheduled for on Jan 15th. My concern is hearing loss. My symptoms as I write this are Constance ringing, popping in my ear when I yawn or swallow, drainage when I wake up in the morning that smells and slight yellow. It feels like when I blow my nose there is flap that opens and closes. Please give me your thoughts and I pray waiting till the 15th won’t cause mire issues.
Hi Stephanie:
If you haven’t had hearing loss after 5 weeks of taking antibiotics (which themselves could have caused hearing loss and tinnitus, etc.) somehow I don’t think you are in immediate danger of getting hearing loss–although you may have had some and not been aware of it.
Hopefully, things won’t get worse before you see your ENT. Too bad you can’t get in sooner, or see someone that knows what to do.
Cordially,
Neil
It seems like you have an ear/sinus infection somewhere that the drugs are not working on.
Hello. I’m a 49 year old female. On 12-21 I woke up with very mild congestion in right ear and have not been sick. On 12-22 both ears felt full and left ear felt like whooshing/wind rushing through it. On afternoon of 12/23 left ear in particular was still having tinnitus noises and right ear a little full. Could hear more out of right ear. Left ear hearing was diminished and still the tinnitus. I called the Dr and got amoxicillin and Sudafed. Started taking those the evening of 12/23. Right ear was completely unstuffed after a dose. Woke up on 12/24 to louder tinnitus in left ear and could not hear at all in left ear. Called ENT and got emergency appointment. Left ear hearing level in dB was 75@250 Hertz, 80@500 Hertz, 80@1000 Hertz, 75@2000 Hertz, 65@4000 Hertz, and 45 @8000 Hertz. Speech audiometry in left ear was 65 dB for SRT and 35 dB for SRT masking. Word recognition score in left ear was 8% @ 95dB. WRS masking was 65 dB. The comments also say “VT=vibrotactile. I’m not sure what all of this means but I am on Prednisone for 10 days and had an MRI on 12/27. I don’t return to the ENT until 1/8 for follow up and hearing test. I’m scared, frustrated, and just want my hearing to come back in my left ear. I have been on the Prednisone and haven’t noticed a huge difference after 5 days other than maybe the tinnitus being lower in volume unless I am in a loud place. I can hear the TV in left ear if I turn it up very very loudly and hold my right ear shut. Any thoughts on any of this? I keep reading that only about 30% of people regain their hearing. Just additional info is I have celiac disease and iron deficiency anemia.
I also forgot to mention that on the first day 12-21 when I had the fullness and congestion in my right ear, I had taken the first dose of Vitamin D3 for the first time ever (50,000 units).
Thanks in advance!
Hi Tricia:
You said you woke up with a bit of congestion in your right ear. Then later you say you took Vitamin D3 on the same day. I just want to be sure that the congestion preceded taking the Vitamin D3–correct?
How did you take the Vitamin D3–pills or injection?
Do you know the exact form of the Vitamin D you took? There are several forms such as Alfacalcidol, Calcitriol, Cholecalciferol, Dihydrotachysterol, Ergocalciferol, and Paricalcitol. Some of these can cause hearing loss so I think it important to know which one you took.
Taking Vitamin D3 doesn’t have to mess up your ears. I take 10,000 IU daily without any problems.
Did you have any active virus in your body, for example, herpes, since you said you didn’t have a cold virus?
The Amoxicillin could have caused the hearing loss you experienced on the 24th.
I find it sort of interesting that you said you couldn’t hear anything out of your left ear, yet your audiogram shows that you can–and that you have roughly the same hearing loss as I have and I can certainly hear some things–not much mind you, but I’d never say I couldn’t hear anything. And both my ears are about the same.
Sometimes Prednisone helps recover lost hearing and sometimes it doesn’t. If after 10 days of Prednisone little or no hearing has come back, the chances of it ever coming back is quite slim. However, if hearing is coming back more each day, that is a good sign that you may get most of your hearing back.
There is a link between being iron-deficient and hearing loss. It is thought to be because the iron in red blood cells carries the oxygen, so if you are iron deficient, not enough oxygen gets to your inner ears and you don’t hear well. If this is your case, getting your iron levels back to normal could result in your hearing returning.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
Which Vitamin D is the least ototoxic?
Best,
Steph
Hi Steph:
I’d take a natural vitamin D rather than a synthetic–D vs DL. Personally, I take vitamin D3. I haven’t had problems with my ears and I take relatively higd doses (10,000 IU per day).
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks so much for your quick response. I woke up 12/21 with right ear stuffiness/congestion before taking the D3 supplement which is oral capsule. All it says is Vitamin D3 50,000 unit capsule. It does not give me the name/type.
I have celiac disease which I know is autoimmune. However, what I eat and drink is very automated and under control. The only thing different I took that morning was the D3 and two vitamin B12 over the counter supplements. I see a hematologist regularly. My vitamin B12 was on low normal side and D was low on 12/18 which is why they wanted me to start supplementing.
I did not have any type of virus that I know of before all of this. I had not been sick, fevered, or any sore throat. I am a teacher so could I have had something and not realized? I guess it’s possible. Could that have happened?
My iron deficiency anemia is under the care of my hemotologist. I actually just got another iron infusion on 12/26 which I am hoping will help my ear problem in this left ear with more red blood cells. I get the second infusion on 1/8.
The only things I can hear out of my left ear is the tinnitus constant buzzing, ringing, static. I cannot make out words at all. If I am running water and close my right ear, I can hear the water but the tinnitus gets worse. I cannot hear anyone talking out of my phone in my left ear. I only hear “bzzz bzzzz bzzz” and know they are saying something but no clue what. Sounds like a bad radio connection. My left ear also feels like it is completely plugged and numb. The ENT found no fluid, wax, or anything in either ear. If I had to put a % on it, I would say I feel about a 5%-10 % improvement in the volume level of the tinnitus since being on the Prednisone but not much change in what I am hearing out of left ear. As the day goes on, the tinnitus gets worse. When I first wake up it is barely there but I still can’t hear out of left ear.
Right now my right ear even feels a little stuffy again but neither ear hurts.
Is it strange for this to have started in right ear and moved to hearing loss in left ear?
ENT will probably want to do a steroid injection in my left ear at next appointment on 1/8. Thoughts on this?
Also I have no vertigo or dizziness. This goodness.
Any additional thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!
Tricia
Hi Tricia:
The way you describe your experiences, it almost sounds like a viral attack on your inner ear. Did you by any chance have any vaccinations in the past month–flu shot, etc?
Regarding having a steroid injection, I’m not convinced it will do much. By the time the doctor does it, 18 days will have passed–so it is getting close to the limit for having any/much effectiveness. Furthermore, the steroids you are already taking haven’t helped much–hardly any hearing returning–so it doesn’t seem likely that further steroids will work in your case.
I have some rules of thumb regarding cases such as yours.
1. The worse the sudden hearing loss, the less likelihood of hearing returning–and you have had a massive hearing loss. So in cases like yours you can expect a 10 or 15 dB improvement, but not hearing returning to normal or even anywhere near normal.
2. The sooner hearing begins to return, the more likely much of it will return–and you are not seeing much returning yet. You don’t notice more and more hearing as each day goes by. You got the Prednisone in a timely manner so if it was going to work, it should have done a lot by now.
So, I’m not hopeful of your getting back much hearing if it was a viral attack–I know you don’t want to hear this, but I feel it is realistic knowing what I know. You can try an intratympanic injection, but I don’t feel it will make a significant difference–but the choice is up to you.
Cordially,
Neil
I had a flu shot in mid September but nothing else since. Would it be worth asking for anti-viral meds at this point or is it too late? Today less fullness in the ear initially but as I wake up and do things, the fullness returns, and the tinnitus comes back.
Hi Tricia:
Anti-virals only seem to be effective the first very few days after the virus damages your ears. After that, it seems that the damage is already done and becomes permanent. So you’d want the anti-virals the same day or the next day after the hearing loss for them to do any real good. Thus, I doubt it will do much or anything now.
Cordially,
Neil
I had a sinus infection. It was between my eyes and heavy in my nose. I blew my nose and felt my ear immediately clog. I went to an ENT five days later. He is unsure if I will ever we get my hearing back? How can this be? I have a sinus infection and blow my nose and five days later he tells me I may need to wear a hearing aid. I am so scared. My Hearing test showed a slight drop in the right ear. Is there hope for me? My name is Wendy. I am only 50 years old. I am very active and I am a schoolteacher. I don’t want this to interfere with my every day life. I left the office crying. I was put on an antibiotic but I went off of it because I started the prednisone. Prednisone is a very scary drive as well. Any thoughts on this?Mwsad@optomline.net
Hi Wendy:
There is no need to get upset. There is an easy way to tell whether you’ll likely get your hearing back. A hearing test will show whether you have a conductive loss (from all the gunk in your middle ear and Eustachian tube) or a sensorineural hearing loss (in you inner ear). If your hearing loss is conductive, you can expect to get it all back when your sinus problems resolve and your ears/Eustachian tubes drain.
Blowing your nose hard opened your Eustachian tubes and all the mucous and gunk in the back of your throat was forced up your Eustachian tubes clogging them up and giving you an instant conductive loss.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi about 6 months ago my right ear started making a popping/ clicking/ spasm sound with loud noises. I have been to an ENT twice and was blown off both times. Only to be told it will eventually go away. Now and high pitch noises, my own voice and even when I just touch or scratch behind my ear or touch the outside of my ear canal I hear a spasm sound if that makes sense. Nothing makes it better, sometimes it’s like I can feel the noise in my ear drum? ENT did do gearing and pressure test. Everything was fine. Background in this ear is I have had tubes and this ear drum has ruptured 10+ years ago. I do have chronic tense muscles in my neck that do cause headaches. I have ciprodex drops that I have considered using. Just in hopes the dexmethasone would possibly help. Any thoughts?
Hi Kelsey:
Is what are you saying–that 6 months ago you exposed your ears to loud sounds–and ever since then you are hearing these popping/clicking/spasming sounds/feelings. And since then, every time you expose your ears to loud sounds, this flares up again?
Tell me more about these loud sound experiences–specifically what kinds of loud sounds cause this?
Is your eardrum healed up–no holes in it?
Whyever would you want to take Ciprodex. Cipro is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic and is quite ototoxic. I’d never use it except as a last resort–matter of life and death.
Anyway, I think I know exactly what you problem is, but want more information from you to be sure so answer my questions and add any other pertinent information you think might be relevant.
Cordially,
Neil
I was not exposed to loud noises. This started out of the blue one day 6 months ago. The noise I hear occurs after a loud sound, certain high pitches, and when I speak. It occurs every single day. It does not however happen when I am in a car or if I close off my ear with say a cotton ball. The sound I hear is something I can feel in my ear as well almost like a spasm.
My ear drum is healed as that incident occurred 10+ years ago.
Thank you for your thoughts on ciprodex I am just at a loss of what to do.
Thanks for your time.
Hi Kelsey:
Things just don’t come “out of the blue”. They may seem like they do, but they don’t. I’m trying to find out what happened so I can help you. Think back to the week before this began. What had happened in that week. Were you depressed or anxious or stressed? Was there a sudden loud sound you have forgotten like a truck blasting his air horn, or siren, a gunshot, a door slamming, a car backfired, etc, etc. Did you take at drugs or medications? Did you have trauma or injury to any part of your body? So what was out of the ordinary back then?
Cordially,
Neil
My private consultant thinks I have etd gave me nose drops and nose spray but not working got an echo and fullness in ear the echo comes and goes every day and it makes me feel lonely and not enjoying my family should I go back to my consultant but still have a week of spray left
Hi Isabel:
Your doctor assumed you had ETD, but since the spray and nose drops aren’t working, perhaps his assumption that your Eustachian tubes are clogged is wrong. Do you have congestion from having a cold or virus? If not, then maybe something else is causing your problems.
Can you go to a different doctor to get another opinion. For example, if your Eustachian tube is not clogged, but is not functioning properly, the cause could be that your trigeminal nerve isn’t working properly and thus not properly controlling your Eustachian tube. The cause could be that your neck vertebrae are not in proper alignment. If this is the case, then seeing a cervical chiropractor would be what I would do.
Cordially,
Neil
No medications then nor now. I had a cold when it started I can remember that because the first ENT said she thought it was from that. As for loud sounds, I was surely exposed around the time it started. Nothing memorable though. I have four small children and I am an ER nurse, loud noises are apart of my day to day. I do have anxiety, and some stress.
Hi Kelsey:
If you have 4 young children that is enough to have unexpected yells, screams and other such things in your ears, not to mention all the racket at work at times. I’d say you have experienced acoustic shock disorder. It is particularly induced when you have sudden unexpected loud sounds around you.
When that happens, your tensor tympani muscles can spasm (The symptoms of acoustic shock injury may be attributed to an excessive startle reflex of the tensor tympani muscle.), you can experience loudness hyperacusis (where sounds are now either too loud or too sharp or both). You can have a bunch of other symptoms as well such as ear pain and balance issues.
Anxiety also plays a large part in how bad it is and how long it lasts.
Typically, you need to give your ears a rest while they recover. And protect your ears as much as you can from sudden loud sounds. But at the same time, you have to be careful not to overprotect your ears or you can make the hyperacusis worse.
Cordially,
Neil
That makes sense! It does seem as though sounds are too sharp now that you mention that. I will try protecting my ear more and work in the anxiety. Thank you for your response and your time. I appreciate it.
Hi, would you have any advice for me please: This was from my Ent specialist in Dec, there has been no change and nothing on mri.
I am afraid she seems to have suffered from the sudden
deafness syndrome. It all started about ten days ago when she tripped over the dog and as she
was lifting herself up, having not hit her head, her ears felt quite blocked and she felt a little bit
off balance. She went to bed and again the next day the blocked feeling in the ears persisted and
her balance if anything was a little worse. Saw a doctor the next day who diagnosed ear infection and prescribed augmentin and prenidsone. By the following Friday she definitely was worse and it is then that
she realised that the hearing in her left ear was poor because she couldn’t hear anything on the
telephone. Went back to the doctor who said did a test with a metal object and told me I had lost my hearing and was now deaf in that ear, prescibed more prednisone but unfortunately there hasn’t been any
improvement in her hearing and in fact even the blocked feeling remains. She has also
developed quite marked tinnitus which is louder in the left ear.
I do note a past history of epilepsy although it is well controlled.
Examination was unremarkable with the ear canals, tympanic membranes and middle ears all
being quite healthy. Pure tone audiometry shows essentially normal hearing in the right ear but
no useful hearing at all in the left and speech scores are zero. Middle ear function is normal.
I have explained the rationale of the sudden deafness syndrome, either on a viral or vascular
basis but also arranged for an MRI scan to rule out the remote possibility of a vestibular
schwannoma. I have suggested she complete ten days of Prednisone at 40 mgs a day but there is
no point in prolonging the course and we will just have to wait to see what happens, although I
have been a little pessimistic about the degree of recovery.
Sorry should also comment that it is now March, I saw the specialist again at the end of Jan, did another auditory test, no change still deaf in left
Hi Carolyn:
Since this was all precipitated by tripping and falling, I don’t buy into your doctors diagnoses of ear infections or viral attacks. You have to look at things that could be caused by the jerking/falling/sudden stopping from the tripping over the dog.
It is possible that it was a vascular problem, but I somehow doubt it.
What I think may have happened is that you put your neck out of proper alignment and it pinched your auditory nerve causing the hearing loss and balance issues. What I’d suggest is that you go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him specifically check that your C1 and C2 vertebrae (top two in your neck) for proper alignment. This may be you problem. If the nerve is pinched, when the upper cervical chiropractor gets your vertebrae properly aligned, this will take pressure off the nerve and it may begin to work properly again–and there is a chance your hearing may return. (No guarantees because there may have been damage in you inner ear by this time, but it is worth a try.)
Be sure you go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor, not a conventional one. You are lucky that there is one in NZ. You can find him at http://www.upcspine.com/prac3.asp?rid=5&r=New%20Zealand&sid=62&s=North%20Island&cid=8&c=NEW%20ZEALAND .
That is what I’d do as a first step. You want to rule this out before looking any further. At least this is what I’d do in your shoes.
Cordially,
Neil
thank you Neil, greatly appreciated
Good Afternoon Dr.,
I am reaching out with a question about a recent experience that I have had with my left ear. I recently suffered from Shingles that affected the right side of my neck, my right shoulder and behind my right ear. I was prescribed 7 days of Valtrex and a subsequent 3 days (10 days total). I finished this dose last Thursday (4/23) and the symptoms of the Shingles improved significantly.
However, I woke up last (4/22) Wednesday morning feeling dizzy and my left ear felt plugged. I could hear pulsing sounds like a heart beat that would come and go throughout the day in the ear. The dizziness dissipated pretty quickly and didn’t return. The pulsing dissipated on the Friday evening (4/24). It wasn’t a heartbeat, though. It just sounded like it. I went to my doctor the following day after the symptoms appeared (4/23) who inspected the ear and noted that it was nothing to do with Shingles as it happened to opposite ear AND she said that it looks as though there is some fluid behind my ear drum. She didn’t perform a hearing test, just simply looked into the ear. She told me to take Flonase, Claritan, and a decongestant and said it should improve in 10 days. I have been doing this now for 5 days and the feeling is still present. The heart beat tinnitus sound is no longer present, but the ear feels completely plugged. I used a hearing test app on my iPhone and my left ear (the plugged one) apparently hears better than my right one. I’m not sure if this kind of app tests for SSHL though. I am terrified that I have SSHL and that I have been misdiagnosed by my doctor. I called my doctor and requested an ENT referral to be safe and she asked that I wait until Friday before she would do this.
Does this sound like SSHL to you?
The symptoms are as follows:
1. It came on overnight
2. I woke up dizzy
3. The ear feels plugged/full
4. If I try and pop the ears, only the right one pops, the left crackles a little but doesn’t pop and clear.
5. It came on while suffering shingles, but on the opposite side.
6. Doctor believes it is allergies as my throat was red and so was the inside of my nose based on her findings.
7. Hearing ability doesn’t appear to be all that different in the affected ear to the non effected one, it just feels uncomfortable and plugged. (The only way I can describe it is the presence of something being wrong. In the same way if one eye was clear and one was blurry.. you just know something isn’t right with it.)
Does this sound like a cause for concern? How would the symptoms differ if it were SSHL?
Hi Timothy:
It’s good that the Valacyclovir (Valtrex) helped your shingles.
There are at least a couple of possibilities for your dizziness, tinnitus and feeling of fullness in your ear. One could be that the shingles virus (Varicella zoster—the same virus that causes chickenpox) got into your inner ear and caused these symptoms. It may not be a likely since it was on the opposite side, but such things can happen.
A second possibility, and one I feel is more likely, is that you are experiencing side effects from the Valtrex. Dizziness is a reported side effect–thousands of people reporting it to the FDA. In addition, tinnitus has been reported by hundreds of people, while fewer report their ear feels blocked.
I don’t know why you are worried about having sudden sensorineural hearing loss when your testing shows that you don’t have any hearing loss. That alone should tell you it isn’t SSNL.
It is possible that it could be the result of allergies although I rather doubt it. My money is on the side effects of the Valtrex based on what you have told me.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you, Doctor. I stopped taking the Valtrex on Thursday of last week and only had the dizziness in the morning the ear issue began. The dizzyness has resolved now, but the fullness remains. Interestingly, I woke up this morning with my left ear feeling better, but fullness now in the right ear. Again, I did the test on my iphone and it doesn’t appear the right ear has lost any hearing. I am not sure what is causing these strange symptoms. Could the Valtrex still be causing this even though I finished it last week? Thank you so much for getting back to me so promptly.
Hi Timothy:
It can take a while for a drug to get out of your system–depending on its half-life and other factors. I’d just give it time before you get too worried. See how things are in a couple of weeks.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman,
I experienced SSHL this past January 2020. At the ER that night I received Decadron, and 2 days later followed up with an ENT during which a myringotomy tube was placed. I began a Prednisone taper, followed by two consecutive intratympanic injections of Dexamethasone over two weeks. My word recognition score improved from baseline of 23% to 36% but after the third injection (5 weeks post SSHL onset) no more improvement was noted.
I have experienced some natural improvement in hearing since then but have also had two minor episodes of further hearing loss (but never complete loss as in January). The ENT refused to give another injection, said there is really nothing to be done, and it could be my perception of hearing loss. Meaning the severe tinnitus only sounds as if I’ve suffered more hearing loss, but really I haven’t. I was given Ciprodex and told to keep the faith and follow up in July. The tinnitus and muffled sensation continue to get worse and I feel as if I lose more hearing every week. I am being treated for generalized systemic edema as well as hypotension, and I suspect the recent tinnitus/hearing loss issues and the initial SSHL are related to these conditions. I have not yet used the Ciprodex, although some days I get very desperate and think about using a little bit. Since the ENT refuses to do any more injections, I figure I may as well risk a couple drops just to see if it works.
Thank you for such an informative blog.
Mel
Hi Mel:
What happened back in January to cause the SSHL? Any ideas? Were you on any medications at the time? Did you change any dose? Did you have any flu, cold, virus, etc. active in your body at that time?
Why did the doctor put a tube in your ear? Did you have a middle ear infection?
How bad was the SSHL? You say total hearing loss, but that doesn’t happen. You still have some hearing, although you may think you lost it all. Numbers of people have said they lost all hearing in one or both ears, then when I see their audiograms, I see they still have better hearing than I do. I’d like to know the loss in dB by test frequency so I understand exactly what you experienced. I take it, that it was in only one ear, correct?
Do you still have a middle ear infection? I assume that is what the ciprodex is for? Personally, I wouldn’t take anything with Ciprofloxacin (or any of the Fluoroquinolones for that matter) unless it was a really serious condition that other drugs wouldn’t touch.
If you have hypotension, then you may not have enough blood flow to your inner ears and that could cause hearing loss.
Tinnitus almost always accompanies hearing loss, so I’m not surprised that you have tinnitus now.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman,
Thank you for replying; I truly appreciate your time.
The night before the SSHL episode, I had an argument during which I became more upset than I usually do. The ENT thinks this was likely the culprit, ruling out the other known causes based on my history. The hearing loss was in my right ear and progressed over roughly six hours. I realized it was an emergency after googling symptoms and taking the hum test (in my case I used a smart phone set to vibrate on my forehead) and went to the ER straight away.
Whether or not I had true hearing loss, all I know is my perception was that I could not discern anything in my affected ear for about 36 hours. After a few days on Decadron I noticed improvement, and then I was started on Prednisone and noticed even more of an improvement over the two week period.
The tube was for injections of Dexamethasone. After the third injection didn’t elicit any improvement in hearing, that is when the ENT prescribed Ciprodex. There was never an infection, and I was reluctant to use the drops after doing research, even more so after reading your concerns about Ciprodex! I could not find one single case where Ciprodex had clinical significance in SSHL.
Unfortunately, I still have issues with the affected ear. Just this past several days I’ve experienced a dramatic decrease in perceived hearing and I feel it’s due to generalized edema that I’ve been battling for a few weeks now. In addition to the tinnitus, I also have new symptoms of pain (mild earache) and vertigo that sometimes is so extreme I get nauseated.
Thank you again for your time; I’m grateful for your insight.
Hi Mel:
I’ve never heard of an argument by itself causing hearing loss, whether real or perceived. But if the person you were arguing with yelled in your ear, that could have caused your symptoms due to acoustic shock. Is that what might have happened?
Have you had your hearing tested since this “dramatic decrease in perceived hearing”? That’s on e thing I’d do to find out whether it is a real hearing loss or not–and what kind, sensorineural or conductive.
If you have acoustic shock disorder, you can develop ear pain later and other symptoms such as dizziness and vertigo. Also, your hearing can sound muffled even though you don’t test to having a hearing loss, but be a perceived loss, not a real loss.
Does the above seem to fit your situation?
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman,
Please accept apologies for such a delayed reply from me! After all of my misery in dealing with this hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo, I finally received a diagnosis last week of Meniere’s. I was referred to a specialist, Dr. Alejandro Rivas in Cleveland, and he knew right away from my symptoms/history that it’s Meniere’s.
Although I have a diagnosis, there isn’t much in the way of treatment. I take Meclizine for vertigo, and am considering Lipo-Flavanoids for the tinnitus. Dr. Rivas offered an intratympanic injection of Dexamethasone, but I declined for the time being. I suppose I feel better having a diagnosis. The hearing loss I fully accept, but really truly could do without the vertigo. I still was not given a definitive explanation for the cause. I have a history of head trauma (car accident 20 years ago) and I plan on mentioning this to Dr. Rivas next visit. The reason my original ENT and I thought my argument the night before the SSHL incident might have induced hearing loss was due to blood pressure elevation. I wonder now if my past head trauma is actually the true culprit.
Thank you for all of your insight; it’s very much appreciated.
Hi Mel:
If you really have Meniere’s disease, you are in luck because there IS a simple treatment that gets rid of it–but all the ear specialists seem to remain in ignorance of it.
And the good news is that the vertigo is the easiest of the Meniere’s symptoms to get rid of.
One very common cause of Meniere’s is head trauma from a car accident–whiplash. And the average time for Meniere’s to appear is in the neighborhood of 25 years later. So everything you say leads me to believe that if you go to an upper cervical chiropractor, you can be freed from your Meniere’s symptoms.
Read my article on the subject at https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/
Cordially,
Neil
HI Dr Bauman
At the end of February , I sneezed really hard. It hurt my head and neck. A few days later my ear was blocked, and my Dr said it was ETD, and gave me a prednisone taper and antibiotic. Seemed to help slightly , but noticed I still could not hear well in my left ear and the hum test verified that to me. I also had a bout of vertigo in early April, and that left me feeling slightly nauseas and dizzy since , but not as bad as I was. Went to ENT, and he said I had slight high decible hearing loss in left ear and was likely due to a virus, and that I would get used to it. Do you think that sneeze could have damaged something in my ear ? It was fine until that happened. Then it clogged up and things went from there. Thank you.
Hi Tina:
It is possible that a virus did cause your problems as your ENT suggests, but I think there is a more likely scenario.
When you sneeze violently, you jerk your muscles and those connected to your neck vertebrae can pull your vertebrae out of proper alignment. When your top two vertebrae are out of proper alignment, they can pinch the nerves that control your ears. If the vestibular (balance) part of the vestibulocochlear nerve is pinched, it can result in your having vertigo, dizziness and balance problems. If the cochlear part of this nerve is pinched you can have hearing loss and tinnitus problems. And if the 5th cranial nerve is pinched, you can have Eustachian tube problems.
What I’d do in your place is go to a upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him carefully align your neck vertebrae–and these problems sound almost instantly go away–as long as the treatment holds. You may have to go back several times before your neck stays in proper alignment.
You can find various upper cervical chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ and click on the “Practitioners” tab to find one near you.
If you want to understand how this all works, read my comprehensive article on Meniere’s disease and read between the lines for what has happened to you. The same principle is involved. The link to this article is https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Doctor Neil – maybe you’ll be able to help what could be the cause of my problems. On 15th February this year, I woke up with a little muffled right ear. When my daughter started talking to me, with her words I heard beeping sound in the right ear. I’ve checked my ear with frequency sweep on youtube with headphones and I’ve noticed that all frequencies between 1-1,5khz were not audible (i heard only one frequency beep between those frequencies). One day later I went to the hospital and on the audiogram, there was a 30db drop at 1khz. After a week on acetylsalicylic acid 1x150mg and betahistine 2x24mg, those frequencies were 90% back but then, I started to suffer from hi-frequency tinnitus (and it’s with me to this day but a little quieter now). I had a stressful time at work before this incident and also I had a dental treatment a week earlier, scaling cleaning 3 weeks earlier and a tetanus vaccine two weeks earlier. From this time I’ve tried not to stress, drink a lot of water, and took betahistine to this day but unfortunately, the incident happened again 3 weeks ago, this time on 200-400hz. I took medicines right away and three days later frequencies were back. I’ve had a head MRI, USG Doppler of carotid arteries, Auditory brainstem response, and everything seems to be ok. What other tests can I do to find out where these incidents come from? I’m a musician so it’s really scary for me. I will be grateful for your help.
Hi Pawel:
You never mentioned whether you had any active viruses in your body in the two weeks before this happened the first time, and the second time. It almost sounds like a viral attack.
Another possibility is that you have autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED).
I assume that you look after your ears and don’t expose them to loud music? Or if you do, you wear ear protectors?
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. I have been dealing with congested ears (they seem to switch back and forth between the other). I also have been getting dizzy (not vertigo). Sometimes my left ear gets almost completely clogged for a few days hearing is very low and muffled. Then out of nowhere its fine?! The right ear is usually clogged. My allergy test showed significant allergies to trees, grass and dust. I’m hoping it’s all that it is. I also get tension and muscle pain in the back of my neck that usually works itself out with massage. Wondering if they are related or just extreme stress and anxiety? I get right knots in the back of my neck. What are your thoughts? Dr’s say etd and bad allergies causing the ear symptoms. I’m worried of an acoustic neuroma or ? I’ve been under extreme stress lately. The ear problems started in early April in my right ear, woke up completely clogged and vertigo. That only lasted 1 day and has not happened since, just a lightheaded. Vague type of dizziness. I have anxiety disorder so I know that can exacerbate symptoms.
I was reading your reply about the pinched neck nerves and was like WOW. My dizziness is almost always worse when my neck hurts!! Dr said there is no fluid in either ear, but definitely pressure. A deep neck massage sometimes temporarily makes me dizzy.
Update: had an audio gram today and it showed no worrisome findings, nerves in ear working correctly. He said that means no acoustic neuroma?! I hope so, maybe I can put at least that part of it to rest!
Thoughts? Thank you
Hi Brandon:
Your symptoms are not like those for an acoustic neuroma so you don’t have to worry in that respect.
From everything you have said, all your symptoms could be explained by your C1 and C2 vertebrae being out of proper alignment. So the thing I’d do if I were you would be to go to an upper cervical chiropractor and get your neck properly aligned. I think all your symptoms will then go away. You may need several treatments until the treatment “holds” as it is easy to go out again until your ligaments, tendons, muscles, bones get used to being in proper alignment again.
You can find these specialized kinds of chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ and click on Practitioners.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi. I Am a healthy active 45 yo woman. I woke up in the middle of the night and my right ear has a slight ringing and is not hearing well at all. Maybe 10 percent? Sounds and Feels like I have an ear plug in. I have no cold, or sickness, or congestion. (I just got a canker sore in my mouth earlier today.) I haven’t been swimming. I did borrow my sons ear buds yesterday for an work appt but volume was low. The only new thing is that I arrived to the Colorado mountains about 30 hours ago. I’m at Altitude of 10,000 vs home altitude of 1000. We have been very active hiking since we arrived. So, I’m a little nervous for my hearing. I haven’t ever experienced something like this. And so sudden! I’ve yawned and chewed and plugged my nose and blown slightly. No hint at it opening. It does click inside when I swallow hard but that’s not near my plugged feeling. When I hum it sounds normal to me in both ears. The feeling is more outward of my ear and there is no pain. Can altitude cause sudden plugged ear? Will my hearing come back? Do I need to see someone? I’m in a very small mountain town for the next two days before I go home. I’m feeling a bit nervous because this is so sudden and out of the blue. You don’t realize how much you rely on hearing. Is there reason to be concerned?
Hi Jen:
You can have sudden hearing loss from such benign things as having too much wax in your ear canals that suddenly shifts and blocks your ear canal. So that’s something simple to check and have it removed if it is the cause.
A canker sore indicates a virus active in your body and could be a cause. I don’t know how likely it is in your case, but it is a possibility.
The faint tinnitus is probably just a secondary effect of the hearing loss so I wouldn’t worry about it at this point.
I don’t see that just being at 10,000 feet ASL is a factor in sudden hearing loss unless your inner ears aren’t getting enough oxygen. But if you can hike all day, I don’t see that being a problem. Now, if you were totally wiped out at that altitude, then there might be a connection.
I’d get your ears checked for wax as a first step.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman,
I am a 37yo male that experienced ear fullness at the start of the year, my GP provided a referral to an ENT in March but due to delays caused by COVID only managed to see an audiologist / ENT in July.
Initially the ear felt blocked and experienced some tinnitus and also high frequency sounds when placing a finger up to my ear canal. I did some flying earlier in the year and even though the ear felt blocked, flying did not cause discomfort – though holding my nose and blowing could not clear the ‘blockage’.
Audiology completed in July indicated 40dB loss in my right ear at *low frequencies* and pointed to an inner ear issue with a normal tympanogram. The ENT prescribed prednisone, blood tests and a MRI. Bloods and MRI were clear. Interestingly, I completed an employment medical for unrelated reasons in December which included a basic audiological assessment ( I recall mentioning the feeling of a blocked ear to the nurse at the time). The testing indicated 30dB loss at 8000hz (yet now – my sensitivity in my right ear appears lost in lower frequencies)
I have had 2 x dexamethasone injections over 2 weeks and am scheduled for more audiology tests next week but I suspect no change.
I have been monitoring my hearing using an app and good set of headphones since receiving the referral and waiting out COVID lockdown, appreciate that this is not good test and very subjective, but swapping the headphones around between ears does show consistent results with the bad ear (though realise that levels would be relative not absolute). Testing with the “Hearing Test” app seems to indicate that the loss seems to change and is not consistent (my experience backs this up and some days are worse than others).
There is one symptom that my ENT can explain – after I received the referral from my GP and attempted again to unblock by holding my nose and blowing and a popping noise was hear as though I had unblocked my ear, though no change in my hearing sensitivity. Since then I can hold my nose and only applying slight pressure can feel the ear ‘unblock’, the thing is I can do this consistently time after time. Eg, can unblock my ear and straight away do it again with the same feeling of a distinct pop.
The loss of hearing I can live with – could be much worse, I have ongoing tinnitus but find this manageable. But what I can’t understand is why I am experiencing this popping sound when if this was related to SSNHL – surely that would be contained in the inner ear and would not cause a popping sound. You mentioned above a ruptured membrane between the perilymph/endolymph could cause similar symptoms (though I suspect with severe hearing loss).
So in my case, hearing loss is affecting low frequencies more than high and I have an ‘ability’ to keep popping my ear.
Do you know of any condition that may cause this?
PS – I have experienced no dizziness symptoms
Daniel
Hi Daniel:
Before I can tell you much, I need to know your history–ear fullness just doesn’t come on out of the blue–there is a cause. So let’s focus on the possible causes. What happened at the beginning of the year that might have brought this on. Did you have a cold or other virus active in your body at that time? Did you expose your ears to loud sounds? or to just a sudden loud sound? What changed in your life back then? Were you taking any drugs or medications? Was your back or neck “tight” or “out”?
Are you saying that when you pop your ears, you don’t hear any differently?
How long does the unblocked sensation last before your ears feel clogged again?
How long is the shortest time between pops. Can you do it continuously–like one pop a second or what?
Based on your own testing, is your hearing loss “shifting” from high frequency loss to low frequency loss or mid frequency loss? If so, how much hearing loss (30 dB?). How often does it do this? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? or what?
Answer all my questions and add anything else you might find relevant. Maybe something will “pop” up.
So far, from what you have said, I don’t have a clue why this is happening to you. Hopefully, more information will narrow it down.
Cordially,
Neil
Last Saturday night, I was watching tv and I heard some bass from either a neighbor’s apt or from a passing boat. I’m sensitive to bass–it really unnerves me. So after a few minutes, I decided to go to my bedroom to get away from it. Then suddenly my head felt/sounded big and empty (like pressure in a way) with occasional ringing in my ears and I could no longer hear in my right ear. I didn’t have any allergy or cold congestion happening to cause an ear to clog. I visited an ENT on Monday, who put me on prednisone, ordered lab tests, and an MRI. He indicated, as you have in previous comments, that because my loss is so severe, it isn’t likely to return. My MRI is in a week and my next doctor appointment is a week after that. Should I take zinc, magnesium, and n-acetyl-cysteine in the meantime? Also, to further complicate matters, my hearing in my other ear isn’t great due to issues from childhood that resulted in a surgery to repair my eardrum and my ear canal growing too small afterwards. I teach—is it ok to use a sound amplifier in my working ear to get by until I have other options? Should I be concerned about not seeing a doctor again until Oct. 30? Also, in the past day or two I have heard small squeaks and crackles in my SSHL ear; does that mean anything? I am on day two of the prednisone. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Hi Stephanie:
Sorry to be so late in answering you, but I’m slowly working through the backlog. I just get more emails and comments that I’m able to deal with at times.
in addition to the Prednisone your Dr. puts you on, it’s never a bad idea to take NAC at levels of around 2000 mg per day or less for a week or two plus zinc and magnesium.
It’s never wrong to use a sound amplifier as long as you keep the level down to an average of 70 decibels or less.
How is your ear doing now, since it is about a month later? Did your doctor come up with an idea of what caused her sudden hearing loss?
Cordially,
Neil
Hello!
On Dec 18, 2020 I went to the ER with severe dizziness, unbalanced feeling, numbness on right side of face, fullness in ear, and hearing loss in my right ear. After ruling out a stroke, my MRI and CT scans came back clear. I started prednisone right away for just over 2 weeks. My audiology test came back with profound hearing loss. I have regained most my balance, (the floor no longer feels squishy) but I get a bit unsteady every once in while. The fullness has mostly subsided but feels more intense in the car for some reason! I still have tinnitus and my latest audiology exam showed severe hearing loss.
I am hearing crackling noises in the right ear often and the tinnitus changes tone throughout the day. Is this normal to hear? The only other thing I hear is when sounds are very loud, I hear what can only be decribed as Charlie Browns teacher. Waa-waa-waaaa-Waa
I wasn’t ill before the event. I had a COVID exposure but tested negative. I am losing hope that any more hearing will be recovered this late but the crackling is curious. Could some of the crackling be fluid or middle ear infection?
Thanks for any suggestions or thoughts!
Best,
Cassie R
Hi Cassie:
What you experienced seems to me more like a viral attack on your ear. The other likely possibility is that your C1 and C2 vertebrae are out of proper alignment and “pinched” the Vestibulocochlear nerve controlling your hearing and balance.
If it was the former, then there is nothing much you can do now as the virus is past and the damage is done.
If it was the latter, then going to an upper cervical spine chiropractor may help–especially if one is well-versed in successfully treating people with Meniere’ disease.
The crackling noises are due to your Eustachian tube not working correctly now.
Tinnitus sounds can change throughout the day, they can come an go, and tinnitus can switch ears, from one to the other to both, to just in your head. Some people have much more variable tinnitus than other people do.
I agree that there isn’t much hope that any more hearing will come back.
Crackling sounds can be from a middle ear infection if your middle ear/Eustachian tube is filled with gunk and the air pushing through it when you yawn or swallow sounds to you like crackling.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
January of this year I experienced three days where my left ear was plugged and I could not pop it. I assumed it was a sinus issue since this has happened in the past. It went down and I would get a fullness feeling in my left year. Voices sounded muffled if someone were standing behind me. I was able to pop my ear but it made a crackling noise, the pressure would be gone and within seconds it would build back up again. I have noticed that when I wake up in the morning there wouldn’t be any pressure and it would happen build up throughout the day.
I decided to try ear wax remover with no luck, and I would have a hard time trying to get the medicine and water out of my ear, it was trapped. I noticed that when I would hiccup or yawn I would get a sharp pain in my ear. Went to urgent care and the Doctor prescribed 120MG of Sudogest twice daily. Almost two week into taking Sudogest I started getting a loud ringing in my left year. I decided to only take a half dose of the Sudogest, but that did not change anything. I made an appointment with an ENT and said my ears looked fine and wants to do a hearing test which is another three weeks to get an appointment.
I was in a car accident in October and my ENT believes that it would not be the cause as I would have experienced it right away. I did have an MRI of my neck which showed some old bulging discs. I have been doing some research on my own and discovered SSHL and one of the prescriptions I was taking was 45MG of generic sildenafil is a side effect. My ENT did a tuning fork test and it did seem louder in my good ear. I have been doing the humming test recently and notice sometimes it sounds louder in my good ear then other times of the day it sounds balanced. If it does sound louder in my good ear than my bad ear during the humming test I will pop my ears and it will sound louder in my bad ear, than my good ear. I am wondering if it is SSHL or ETD? Or something else all together. I’m afraid that if it is SSHL that too much time may have passed.
Hi Ryan:
I doubt the Pseudoephedrine (SudoGest) caused your tinnitus (although it is a possibility).
Based on your symptoms–your hum test being variable depending on the time of day, etc., your pressure feeling going away overnight, your being in an auto accident a few months ago, etc.–I think that your basic problem is that you got whiplash and as a result, your C1 and C2 are out of proper alignment, thus pinching your vestibulocochlear nerve resulting in your various symptoms.
If I were in your shoes, I’d go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor as my first line of attack. Since these special kind of chiropractors specialize in the upper cervical spine (UCS), they are able to work wonders for certain ear problems.
You can find a chiropractor specializing in UCS by going to the following URL and entering your location. You can also read about the things these special chiropractors can do for you at this same website. Here is the URL.
http://www.upcspine.com/
Choose the “Practitioners” link along the top to find the one closest to you.
There is a lot of good information on UCS chiropractic on this page also.
Personally, I think your ENT is misinformed as ear problems resulting from whiplash from car accidents can occur up to 25 or more years later. They do NOT have to appear right away.
Sildenafil can also cause hearing loss and tinnitus and may be adding to the problem, but I really think getting your C1 and C2 checked out by an upper cervical chiropractor (not a conventional chiropractor) would be the first step I’d take.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor,
History:
– Mid-August: I had a bad cold. Lots of blowing my nose. This evolved into a sinus infection in late August, for which I saw an ENT. The ENT cleaned wax out of my ear and prescribed antibiotics. The sinus infection resolved shortly thereafter in early September and I felt completely normal.
– Mid-September (2 weeks later): I went to a gun range for the first time. I was wearing protective equipment. There were no symptoms after this trip.
– 4 days later: I went to a show that played loud music, though I didn’t think it was painfully loud. Several others were there with me, nobody complained. The next day I woke up with sounds muffled in my right ear, vertigo, and tinnitus. Certain sounds like water coming out of a tap sounded sharp and harsh. In the following days other symptoms developed, i.e. pulsatile tinnitus, whooshing sounds that get better/worse based on the angle of my head (turning my right ear towards the floor made it worse, turning it towards the ceiling made it better), and distortion of my voice.
– 6 days after first symptoms (late-September): I saw an ENT. Audiogram showed high frequency hearing loss — drop off beyond 4kHz reaching “severe” hearing loss by 8kHz. ENT prescribed a course of 60mg daily Prednisone with taper.
– Over the next 2 weeks: Pulsatile tinnitus and whooshing sounds disappeared. However, hearing has not improved and tinnitus is still there. It seems to be triggered by certain sounds too.
– Late October: It’s now been 1 month since onset of first symptoms, and not much has improved since my steroid taper. Still have the same hearing loss past 4kHz (had an audiogram done again today), and tinnitus is still present. When I speak or hum things sound pretty even across both ears, though there is a reverberation in my right ear which makes my voice sound weird. Others’ voices sound normal. When I hum the weird reverberation/echo comes in and out, and when I move my head in a circle there are certain points where it is clearly better. Voices from the outside sound the same, but sounds in general sound worse due to my high frequency loss.
What seems to have happened here? There doesn’t seem to be any ear drum issue or pressure in my ear. Could it still be fluid from my previous sinus infection? I hesitate to blame the gun range since I went several days before symptoms, and the show the night before didn’t seem unreasonably loud either.
I’d really like to get my hearing back, or at least make these other symptoms (tinnitus, weirdness for my own voice) go away. Would intratympanic steroid injection or hyberbaric oxygen therapy help at this point?
P.S.
It’s incredible that you are taking the time to reply to folks here–you’re bringing clarity and peace of mind to a lot of people. Thank you so much.
Hi Shreyas:
From what you have said, I think you had an existing high-frequency loss to some degree before all the incidents you mention. They could have all caused an increase in the hearing loss.
However, I think the show you attended caused most of your problems. Even though you didn’t think it was dangerously loud, it really did a number on your ears–the proof that it WAS dangerously loud.
What you describe is a classic case of acoustic shock–hearing loss/muffled hearing, tinnitus, loudness hyperacusis and vertigo.
I’m afraid your high frequency hearing loss is permanent. Not much you can do about it apart from getting hearing aids if your audiologist recommends it. Pursuing intratympanic steroids, hyperbaric oxygen, etc. is probably a waste of time at this date. To be effective you really have to do them in the first two weeks. They may even help a bit up to 30 days later, but after a month, what hearing you have is likely what you’ll have going forward.
The tinnitus is probably permanent too as tinnitus almost always accompanies hearing loss. However, there are things you can do so it doesn’t bother you even though it is there.
You have some loudness hyperacusis that give you the sharper sounds/distortion. It should fade away in the coming months.
You need to protect your ears from louder sounds as they heal–which will take a few months yet. And going forward, you need to wear ear protectors when you go to shows, discos, concerts, etc. or you are just going to get the same side effects again–and they can get worse the more times you abuse your ears. A safe limit for louder sounds is around 75 dB.
Cordially,
Neil
I had a MRI and already have tinnitus . Went to dr 3 days later was afraid of I had gotten more damage . They only gave me ear plugs . S.Dr gave me pk of smaller steroids the kind you take all day then go down everyday for 5 days. I had to stop after 3 the buzzing . After that it went back down but now two weeks later my left ear is worse. Around ac unit . Noises seem to amplify it. But I’m under a lot of stress from other medical problem too. Should I go back and get more prednisone steroids or a steroid shot. Is it just 2 week window or one month till nothing will help ? Also could I have an infection just starting. I’m confused .
One more thing II been taking a few valium a week again cause of my nerves that MRI shook me up from loudness and being afraid of more hearing loss.
Hi Connie:
The first thing you need to do is calm down as your symptoms are made worse by anxiety and worry.
Did I understand that you were given ear plugs to wear during the MRI, or by the doctor after the MRI?
If you were wearing ear protectors correctly during the MRI, it shouldn’t have bothered your ears. If you didn’t, you have obviously suffered acoustic trauma which can include tinnitus, hyperacusis and hearing loss. Often the hyperacusis component doesn’t show up right away but waits a couple of weeks. This is where some/all everyday sounds begin to sound louder and often sharper than normal.
If other sounds make your tinnitus louder, then you have reactive tinnitus which is a marriage of tinnitus and loudness hyperacusis. It is definitely made worse by stress, anxiety and worry. So one of the best ways to deal with it is to get your stress under control. When you do this, you should find this reactive tinnitus fading away. This can take several months, depending on your stress levels and how well you deal with it.
I doubt the steroids or other drugs will do much of anything to really help you.
Cordially,
Neil
One more thing II been taking a few valium a week again cause of my nerves that MRI shook me up from loudness and being afraid of more hearing loss.
Hello Dr. Bauman,
On June 13, 2023 I woke up after a bout of coughing the night before with hardly any hearing in both ears. I went to my GP and was told I had double ear infections and was given antibiotics. The antibiotics seemed to clear up the virus I had been suffering with, but did nothing to improve my hearing. I went back and was told I probably had swollen Estuation tubes and to give it time.
It was NOT improving so I got an appointment with an Audiologist and took a hearing test. I was shocked when he said, “Well, you have profound hearing loss in both ears and would be a great candidate for hearing aids.”
I have moderate to severe damage in BOTH ears and my graphs for each ear are almost identical. I’ve done a couple rounds of steroids with no improvement.
My question is, with it being equal in both ears, do you think the virus likely caused it? Most everyone I’ve read about with SSHL, it’s just in one ear. I ordered hearing aids yesterday and am hopeful they will help me. I’m mourning the loss of music in my life as most of it just sounds off and annoying.
I’m curious if you think there are any other treatments I should try and what you think about bilateral SSHL being caused by a virus.
Thank you!
Hi Jeanne:
What antibiotics did you take to clear up the virus? I’m curious as antibiotics do not affect viruses. You’d need an antiviral for that. Antibiotics typically kill bacterial infections which can be secondary in your ears to a viral attack.
If you have mild to severe damage in both ears, you do not have a profound loss. Technically, profound hearing loss is the next level down from severe hearing loss.
I assume you have a sensorineural hearing loss, not a conductive one which you would have had if your Eustachian tubes were clogged up.
If this hearing loss occurred overnight, I’d expect it to be either a viral attack or a micro blood clot. However, the probability of having blood clots in both ears at the same time is highly unlikely. This leaves a viral attack as the most likely possibility. It is true that often a virus attacks just one ear, or one ear worse than the other, but sometimes viral attacks occur in both ears at the same time leaving you with similar hearing losses. I think this is likely what happened in your case.
Did you have any dizziness at the time, or other balance problems–even for a few hours or days? If so, that is also quite common in the case of viral attacks.
When you have a hearing loss, you may find that some sounds are distorted as you no longer hear them properly or at all–and thus you hear distorted sound. You may find that hearing aids really help you with this, but they may may not because they cannot make your brain interpret sounds correctly.
As for treatments, I’d say it is much too late now–90 days later. Effective treatments should be done in the first 2 or 3 days and are less and less effective as time goes by. My rule of thumb is that after 30 days, the hearing you have then is what you will have going forward.
I hope your new hearing aids will really help you. Just be aware that it takes about 90 days for your brain to adjust to your new hearing aids so sounds may improve with time as your brain adjusts.
Cordially,
Neil