Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 11 of 105}

TaraJoy - From what I've read there is only a short window of time where taking steroids helps. Problem is, by the time most people get a prescription it's already too late. The side effects of steroids can be pretty awful too (hot flashes, mood swings, hyperactivity, jowls, thickened waistline). It's a moot point for you after 3 weeks anyway - they probably wouldn't even help now. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel - well, a dim one anyway. After about 2 or 3 months you might be able to hear voices again. You still can't tell what they are saying, but they do sound like human voices, so that's nice. And several on this forum are using an ear plug for part of each day, with the idea of giving the bad ear a rest. That's worth a try. And to be a total Pollyanna about this scary thing that's happened to us - if you lie on your 'good ear' you can't hear your husband snore! (I know, I hate Pollyannas, too, but what are we gonna do?)

Good morning all. I am new to this forum but not new to sudden hearing loss. I was diagnosed back in April. I have had steroid treatment as well as steroid injections into my right ear, which is the one affected. My hearing improved slightly but not enough to really make a difference. The ringing in my ear has not stopped and is louder on certain days. It seems as if when I have been in a social situation with a lot of people, the next day the ringing is louder. I had an MRI and it showed fluid in the mastoid cavity. My ENT dr does not think it is related to my hearing loss because it is not near the ear mechanisms at all. Has anyone else had this or heard of this? Thanks.

Cmaccart--how ever did you know that his snoring has been driving me nuts? LOL, thank you for looking at the bright side; you definitly have the right attitude. How long have you been dealing with this? Do you know anything about flying having an effect on this situation? I am going on vacation in a couple of weeks and I suddenly have this fear that flying will cause the same thing to happen to my good ear?

For those with Sudden Hearing Loss, does anyone happen to have a lot of popping of the eustachian tubes and/or a numbness in any part of the outer ear? Every time I pop my eustachian tubes, my left ear (the one with the hearing loss) sounds like it is ungluing itself??

TaraJoy - My sudden hearing loss occurred this past Easter Sunday, of all days. I originally went to the doctor because I, too was worried about an upcoming trip by airplane. It went just fine, though - the flights didn't hurt or change anything (although of course the vacation wasn't as fun as it would have been if I wasn't deaf in one ear!)
To nvega - Yes to the popping - it's all part of the tinnitis, which varies in tone, including popping, clicking, roaring & squeaking throughout the day. Yes to the outer ear numbness, also. I had assumed that was some sort of sensory illusion related to the deafness (you know, like if you can't smell food you can't taste it either.) Not that my information will help you any, but I'm continually surprised by the postings on this message board and how very alike the symptoms are for all of us.

Hi! Good to know about flying. I need to fly 12 hours to see my family this summer. I was worried and very anxious. I probably will need to use good ear plugs. My right ear being hearing lost with super sensitivity, would anyone suggest the window seat? Woder if noiser with engine sounds? Back seats are noiser than front seats? Thank you...

Thanks for the info about flying--one less thing to worry about :) nvega, I haven't had any numbness but the popping thing happens all day in my bad ear. At first I had the feeling like I needed to make it pop and so I was constantly holding my nose and blowing to pop it. It would pop but the feeling of it being full never got relieved and now it just pops on its own all the time. I guess this is all part of whats now become 'normal'. cmaccart: I agree with you about the symptoms in all the postings and thank God for that because I would be freaking out all the time if I didn't see that others are going through the same thing. This website has been so much more informative than my doctor and has really made me feel alot less crazy. I still have to go for an MRI and follow up with the ENT but I am waiting until after my vacation because I am too nervous that I could be in the 1% chance the hearing loss could be caused by a tumor. Other than that I am just taking the suggestions of what I have read on the posts and will try accupuncture, massage and the chiropractor. And of course I will let everyone know if anything should work :) Happy 4th and good luck to everyone

hi tarajoy,
just wanted to let you know
i had the results of my MRI today, and it shows as normal.
also had another hearing test done, and although i'm still in the profound loss range, i do have some low frequencies that i can hear.
i have no word discrimation, so its a bit uselss, but its something. i'm thinking of getting a cross over aid. anyone else have one of these??

Hey What,
I am so happy to hear that your results were normal. It still really sucks that you can't hear but at least you can feel relieved that it's not caused by a more serious problem. Thanks for letting me know, really gives me hope :)

To TaraJoy - I'm assuming you've never had an MRI before (most haven't). Some people make a big scary deal about it because it's a little claustrophobic in there, but it's really not all that bad, and only takes a half hour or so. Just lie there, concentrate on relaxing, and pretend you're in the tanning booth. Be sure you're not wearing anything with metal on it (zippers, buttons, etc.) And like I'm sure the doctor told you, if it was a tumor that would be very, very rare. Getting an MRI is just something 'we've all had to do' (all us folks with sudden hearing loss, that is). Basically, another dead end.
to What? - Getting a hearing aid was my first thought, also. I asked the ENT about it and he said it would have to be two hearing aids (something about sound conduction to the good ear) so most people don't go that route because wearaing two is so inconvenient. A neighbor of mine has two hearing aids and he has a heck of a time with moisture getting behind the hearing aids, then he has to take days off work because of extreme vertigo caused by the moisture problem. Seems like hearing aids are a much bigger inconvenience than, for example, contact lenses. If you get any more information about the idea of hearing aids for us, please post it. Thanks.

Hi! For MRI, make sure to bring your own form ear plugs for both ears. Some of the technicians provide plugs, but some don't. People get hypersensitive hearing disorder after MRI. When I had mine, I was so anxious that even antianxiety pills did not work. I had someone holding my legs and calm me down. I would look for open end machine next time...

My MRI experience was fine.
I just tried to relax, pretend i was in the bahamas.
It was overly pleasant, but
Ive definitely had worse experiences...like a bikini
wax for example!!!

My MRI experience was fine.
I just tried to relax, pretend i was in the bahamas.
It wasnt overly pleasant, but
Ive definitely had worse experiences...like a bikini
wax for example!!!

mstctigr: I guess everyone's MRI experience IS different. I'm sorry if I offended anyone by saying that having an MRI isn't a big deal. Everybody's 'big deals' are different, after all. I didn't mind the MRI - but I won't go near a spider! I've heard that open end MRI machines aren't very common yet; that you have to reserve space far in advance. But then, that would vary depending on where you live.

true, my MRI was open-ended, i image one that wasnt would be a bit scarry.

has anyone tried ginko biloba for the ringing? i stopped taking it last week and have noticed a big difference, so i'm going to start again. i basically have a dial tone sound at a high pitch, pretty constant now, the bells and jingle sounds have stopped for the most part.

OK, I'm going to try ginkgo biloba next. The side effects seem to have to do with it being a blood thinner, and sometimes nausea. At this point I feel like anything is worth a try!

interesting, i havent heard of it being toxic...i'll have to look that up and see where the idea of it being toxic stems from.
im taking quite a high dose of ginko gold. and i have
zero side effects.
( 4 pills at day at 60mg)
it was also recommended to me that i take Serrapeptase
i'd be interested to hear what the chinese dr. says about this one. its an anti-inflamatory that comes from silk worms (ick).
http://www.trans4mind.com/nutrition/serrapeptase.html
heres a link about it

Why would an anti-inflammatory that comes from silk worms be any different from a regular anti-inflammatory (Tylenol, etc.)? Just curious. How long have you been taking ginkgo biloba? Has your tinnitis quieted down any? Can you tell so far if the ginkgo has helped with the tinnitis (or if it's just getting better as time goes on)?

good question. I wasnt sure if the ginko was helping or not. i finished the bottle and hadnt planned on buying another one, but then realized that my ear was becoming more sensitive and the ringing was louder, so I've started again,.
the serrapeptase is all natural, so the claim is that it doesnt have any of the side effects that tylenol or any other anti inflammatory might have, and its not a chemical.

A question for 'What?' - Do you take your 240mg. of ginkgo biloba all at once, throughout the day, am & pm, with or without food? I bought a bottle of it (120mg capsules) - it's even rather cheap - but I wasn't sure how much or when to take it.

JJMOR: I noticed that you had success with an accupuncturist. where are you located? I am in San Francisco. Could you please give me the contact info for your accupuncturist.

Thanks so much,

Karen

you're supposed to take
the ginko with food.
so i have been taking 2 capsults in the morning, 2 in the evening. i would say
its probably better to spread them out more than that if you can remember to do that, but i havent noticed any adverse side effects. ive taken 4 pills all at once and its been fine

Hi, karen. I live in SF Bay area, too. I am thinking of trying accupancture thru my HMO (w/discount). I hear it is really hard to find a good one.
Hi, Engelchen, I had a panic attack at mri, too. It was awful. At ER, when doctor told me to do MRI, I persistantly asked for sedative injected thru IV. That one was successful. Hi, Cmaccart, I took Ginko 3 times daily for 3 months, but it did not do anything for me. I hope it works for you! Just to share my med history, I tried, B12, Mag, Cal, Tinnitus med(both chinese and western), but nothing helped. Sleeping good 8 hours every day was the only thinking me, so started taking Ativan and Benedrel to help me just to do that. Then, I started having echoing and motor sounds on back of my head. I stopped taking Ativan because I found out that it increases tinnitus. Echoing stopped. Really strange about all the side effects from medication. Take care, everyone

So, to add my story to the mix: I lost my hearing suddenly while driving to work almost three weeks ago. No prior sickeness, though I did have a traumatic emotional event three days prior and am fairly convinced they are connected. Dizziness and nausea set in three days after the hearing loss. I got on oral prednisone the day of the dizzyness. It has now been two weeks of oral prednisone and no improvement. The formal audio test shows a 100% loss of hearing in the left ear. The ENTs at Kaiser said there is nothing more to be done. I saw Dr. Lustig on Thursday and he said I could do the injections if I wanted, but he wasn't optimistic since the loss is so profound. He said he wouldn't recommend it if it were his sister or mother.

I have seen an accunpunturist (once), homeopath, a chiropractic neurologist (Dr. Azzolino) and am now considering seeing a cranial osteopath.

Two Questions to all of you:

1. Do you think it is worth it to do the predisone injections? (I would have to pay out of pocket and I am also concerned about the eardrum not healing)

2. I live in San Francisco. Can anyone recommend any alternative healers? Cranial ostepaths? Accupuncturists? Others? The chiropractic neurlogist I am seeing has a chiropracter in his office (Franco Garritano). Should I see him, or seek out the very best accupunturist in SF who has experience with this exact thing? And who would that be?

Karen

Karens - I have an appointment with a neurologist later this morning. I don't have any hopes about that - it's just a referral from my dr. I tried acupuncture twice - didn't help at all. The acupuncturist said I'd have to have it done twice a week for 2 months to 'see results'. At an uninsured cost of $50/treatment I can't afford that anyway. By the way, it hurt! But others on this site have had better experiences with acupuncture, so I'd suggest trying it - nothing to lose if your insurance will cover it. Oh - the acupuncturist also sold me $40 worth of herbs that were so stinky I couldn't boil the stuff in my kitchen. (I felt like an idiot for buying them, but maybe the herbs will kill the woodchuck that's been destroying my yard?) I have been seeing a chiropractor twice a week, and I do recommend that. Hasn't helped with the hearing loss, but at least it's relaxing and feels good. I'd guess the manipulations she does on my neck, head & face are similar to what a 'cranial osteopath' would do. Also, you'll note by the many postings that we all have remarkably similar symptoms & experiences, as well as similar frustrations with the medical profession and their 'there's nothing I can do' attitude about the condition!

Ok, stupid question time. How many of you on this message board use an electric toothbrush? If so, how often per day? There has to be a correlation of some kind among all of us. If we eliminate enough possibilities, maybe we'll come up with an 'ah-ha moment'. Any other ideas for things we might have in common?