Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 57 of 105}

sahmof3babies

they do the ear shots in the states. get it done.

but if your going to do it you better hurry. 9 weeks is almost to late. dont walk run.

I have had three doctors tell me . the longer you wait the less chance you have. some say 2 months. some say more important is 3 weeks. personally i have only heard of one healed case after 2 months.
Sorry :( I wish u the best.

hi sahmof3babies..
her is the website from Dr. Wilden: http://www.dr-wilden.de/hp/index.html
there is also some english translation. Please let me know what you think since ENT's don't agree to this kind of treatment. I talked to Dr. Wilden today and he said after looking at my hearing test that I need about 10 treatments. I am still not 100% sure I would spend all that money, what if this is all not true?
Why is he the only Doctor with that procedure? so many questions and no answer.

interesting but surely just hocus pocus. As a biologist (science teacher) I'm certainly not an expert but I do have a rudimentary understanding of respiration occurring in the mitochondria and ATP synthesis but where does light come into this? I would certainly show this to your ENT or specialist before parting with any money. If it really was a long established wonder cure everyone would be doing it!

betty08

i would agree. it mat shed light on the subjest. LOLOLOLOL but it surely wont help anything.

I consider this to be one of the worst ways to take advantage of people. the offer a cure that cost money and gives you nothing but hope that does not exist. if there is someone the gets cured from this then it is nohing more then coinsedence. LOLOL

betty08

go back to the doctor. get your other shots. also get on prednisone. take both. realize your going to feel wierd. that these drugs do have side effects but none are permenant and noe are life threatining so technically you have nothing to loose.

Take a chance. dont try one or 2 things. try them all. whats the alternative. living like this?

heck id shoot my tooes off if it ment me hearing.

maybe its just me but man not having hearing and having tinnitus was the end of my world. i dont know how you guys do it. god bless U

we have no choice and sometimes it does feel like the end of the world. But there are always others worse off so we must count our blessings and in my case, refuse to accept that this condition is idiopathic and keep looking for the cause!!

Well thanks for your honest opinions everybody! I went back to acupuncture today to a Chinese professor (thinking he would do it right) - nitram, I went back to Miami last Thursday to get my second shot but the doctor would not give me a second one after the hearing test was just the same.
JeWel,- you understand that everybody in our situation would try anything and reading the testamonials from people having the low laser therapy done, I had to look into it. I guess I am to trusting and to hopeful. On the other hand, I've talked to a friend of mine in Germany (she is a physician) and she does not believe in steroid shots OR the laser treatment. She told me to have acupuncture at least 5 times and to take some medication for circulation. How should I explain that to my doctor in Florida? Funny how western medicine over there agrees with eastern medicine and not here.
Nice to have this message board though and my best wishes for all of you.

Thanks, betty08. I have contacted Dr. Wilden and hope to hear back soon. How much is it to get treated there? How bad is your hearing loss? I am in the 75-95 dB-range, which is considered completely deaf in the left ear... Only hearing aide for me would be the BAHA, but I am just not ready to get a screw in my head :P

betty08 if he wont do a ear shot then go to another doctor. lie if you have to. tell them you never had one done yet and start over. im not kidding. thats what i would do. i would demand it.

sahmof3babies, - he will contact you. I am still not sure about his treatment, as you can see in this message board, people don't believe it. Let me know when he contacted you. He recommended for my hearing loss a 10 session laser therapy (1 hour long) over a 2 week period. It would cost me 2000 Euro.

nitram, I am confused.... a specialist did not even want me to have the second shot and already 4 weeks past since my hearing loss. I am afraid of steroids and their side effects anyway. There are not many docs which give these shots, I went all the way to Miami - 2 1/2 hours drive. Thanks for the advice though.

betty08, I have not heard back yet but had my dad, a physiologist and biomedical engineer look into this. His specialty is, ironically so, the inner ear. He thinks Dr. Wilden is the biggest hoax who is making a fortune of people with mild hearing loss, since he considers people like me as non-regenerable. If you are interested, I can send you my father's response (very scientific), I would need your e-mail for that (it is in German).

Nitram, I did get the shots, 4 of them, 2 weeks after onset, as well as histamine-infusions. Nothing helped!

Thank you sahmof3babies. I just tried to write my e-mail adress here and it wont let me. No email adresses permitted it says. I would like to read the report though.... maybe you could try this: leipzig61 and in the next message I will write the rest :)

bellsouth.net

unnerwegs :-)

Anyone w/SSHL experience it after having taken a floxin antibiotic (Avelox, Cipro, Factive, Floxin, Levaquin, Noroxin, Tequin), even weeks or months afterwards? Trying to see if there's any possible connection.

betty08

yes the steroids have side effects but they are not permenant. they just last a little while and there gone. dr. atkins in kissimee florida by orlando is the bast for ear shots. i would go to him fresh and pretend you never had a ear shot. he is the best. keepinmind that a ear shot is topical meaning is doesnt directly enter the blood streems and prednisone is the weekest steroid they make. do not be afraid of these shots. trust me they are virtuallt harmless and you have nothing to loose. take a chance. do you want to live like this forever.

I took my chance and i can hear again. it works.

Hi all,

I'm one of those that experienced this problem but managed to get my hearing back. I have retained an interest in this subject ever since.

My story is also in this thread; I lost all my hearing in my left ear, went to the ENT about a week or so later, was given a course of prednisone (way below the recommended dosage--an otologist later said that it was not nearly enough to do much good), but still go most of my hearing back 1 month later. I was probably like seattlestan was; I had about 80% of my hearing back after a month or so. Around that time I went to an otologist determined to get the rest of my hearing back. I wanted more steroids and asked for another course of them; this time in the proper dosage. While I can't remember the specific conversation with the doctor, I do remember that he laid out some fairly substantial risks that might be associated with it. He basically said, 'I'll be happy to write you the prescription, I just want you to know that, while unlikely, these things might happen as a result...' and he proceeded to describe a litany of horrible possibilities. It seems that my hip collapsing was one such possibility...

At any rate, I decided not to do that and I asked him about the shot. He basically said that it was probably too late, that he wasn't convinced it would do any good but that, again, he'd be happy to do it as long as I understood that there are certain risks. After hearing his opinion, I felt like he really had a grip on this condition. I chose not to get the shot--he was clearly willing to do it, but he pretty much knew that it wasn't worth it. I drove the 2 hours back home.

Since then, two things happened. First, I got all my hearing back. Second, I started reading all I could about SSHL. Now, I am not a doctor, but I am an academic so I am familiar with research and statistics and problems with studies and so forth. The most recent study, which actually is a quantitative review of prior research on the effect of steroid treatment on SSHL, shows that there is no effect of steroids on reversing hearing loss associated with SSHL. I am inclined to agree with this conclusion. I am not sure (nobody is), but I really don't have much confidence in any of the earlier studies that showed a link between steroid treatment and hearing restoration.

I mention this because I personally believe (and research backs this up)that no treatment for this condition has been shown to really help one way or another. I do not think that it is worth 'doing whatever it takes' to get shots in the ear or risking your health to take a massive dose of prednisone. This is easy for me to say; I got my hearing back. Truth be told, if I get a relapse (ala seattlestan), I might just do these things myself. However, I believe that I would know that it would just be so that I could tell myself that tried everything. I would like to think that I would consider an alternative hypothesis--that all these steroids might interfere with, rather than help, with some sort of miraculous self-healing process. After all, most of these cases heal on their own, right (i.e., it is felt that most 'spontaneously recover' so they never see the doctor)? Whose to say that all these steroids, etc. aren't interfering with this natural process?

I just wanted to chime in with my two cents. And by the way, my hearing did not return to 'normal' for about 4 months after my hearing loss. I suffer no ill effects today and I wish you all the very best. I agree with nitrams on one thing; like him, when I was going through my hearing loss I would have shot myself in the foot to get my hearing back. I really am pulling for all of you; I think that is why those of us who have been through it and have been fortunate to recover keep checking this board after all this time. Our hearts break for all of you. Good luck!!

Just to make sure my question was not misunderstood regarding SSHL & taking a floxin antibiotic (Avelox, Cipro, Factive, Floxin, Levaquin, Noroxin, Tequin). Has anyone ever taken one of those antibiotics totally unrelated to and before ever having experienced SSHL and then, out of the blue weeks, even months after finishing the floxin dose, had SSHL? I have read so much about serious, delayed adverse reactions to that antibiotic, particularly nerve, vessel and tendon related, am wondering if there is a connection between having taken that and later having SSHL, since my husband is in this category.

Hi, I continue to read these threads with great interest. I have had no improvement in the SSHL - 8mths now. I continue to live in hope. I did come across an excellent article on this subject....extremely objective. This is the link blank">http://audiology.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial....

Has anyone heard of microvascular compression syndrome? it seems that my MRI shows a vascular loop in the internal auditory canal and while this is not uncommon it has on very RARE occassions been responsible for SSHL, and it is operable and some hearing can be restored and tinnitus and imbalnce stopped or reduced. I believe many sufferers of SSHL may actually have this and that we are not idiopathic at all we are simply under investigated. I have a consultation with a specialist on this in two weeks so will keep you posted.

Here is a good link about vascular compression and SSHL

www.utdallas.edu/~amoller/publications/394.pdf

good luck jewel41!!!

Michael,
I am so pleased to find this page and hear about all you have tried with your hearing loss.

2 weeks ago I lost my hearing after about 2 months of viral infections. I fisrt had the shingles on my back and stomach, then a bad flu with a 104 fever lasting 3 days and about 10 days of flu symptoms. Once recovered from all of the above I started to feel a little dizzt, then one afternoon I lost my hearing. I could not figure it out, I had gone in the pool for like 5 minutes and figured that had something to do with it. On the 4th day I started to get nervious and went to my primary doctor, who did not find this to be serious enough to see me immediatly, so I went to a reputable walk in clinic. They felt it was due to clogged sinuses and put me on various nose sprays, zpac, sudafed,and claridan d...NO LUCK...about 5 days later they called me to see if I had improved which I had not..I went back they did a hearing test wich I failed and told me that my ears were so clean they could not figure it out and I neede to go to an ENT ASAP....so I started calling around..most would not give me an appt, I had to wait 4 weeks...my uncle recommended me to Dr. Widen who saw me at 9am the next morning, prior to my visit to him I went to my primary Dr who was almost annoyed that I wanted to go to an ENT and told me my hearing loss was unknown, but not due to nerves...he also let me know previously in the week another girl came in with the same thing as me, and for some STRANGE reason we both lost our hearing and nothing could probably be done..I got the referral, went to Dr Widen,after the audio test I was told I had 100% hearing loss (I am on day 12), he gave me the shot, oral steriods, and anti viral med...Dr. Widen was the only Dr who thought that my previos illnesses could have contributed to my hearing loss..the other Drs thought I was an idiot....I am going back in a week to see him

I had the shot and have taken 4 doses of the oral steriods, I went from hearing NOTHING to now that ANNOYING ringing noise, and a small amt of sound if someone whispers in my ear.

After that long drawn out story my questions for you are, Am I being hopeful or do you think I am on the roadd to recovery? I also was interested in the accupuncture...I already take all the herbs/vitamins you suggeested..do you know of someone in th Ft Lauderdale, Miami or Boca area for accupuncture, I know you are in California, but I figured I would ask

Thanks for all the info I have already read from you and plenty others..it is well appreciated!!!!

For those of you who are just getting this sudden hearing loss...go with your gut and see an ENT immediatly....on my 5th day in I knew in my heart their was something seriously wrong with me and what the Drs were saying was not right..Ihad 'clean' ears, no wax, no fluid and never had an ear infection in my life but unfortunatly I had wrongly trusted the judegement of regular Drs. who actually may have hurt me worse then helped me..


Good Luck To Everyone and Thanks Again for all the Info it has been a HUGE help!!!!!!!

After all I've read, I am of the belief that some people recover their hearing (at different levels)after SSHL and some don't - whether they have the treatments or not. So, how does anyone know if the treatments (oral steroids & shots) help? My husband was hit with this malady about 6 wks ago, has taken the oral prednisone and had 2 of the 3 shots (gets the 3rd tomorrow). So far, nothing. Perhaps the doctors are totally clueless, and these 'treatments' are just their way of making you think they're doing something? ALL prescription meds have adverse side effects, and it seems to me anything that's injected that close to your brain can't be a good thing! There's got to be some natural approach that is at least as, if not more, beneficial than this. Many of these SSHL attacks could have been triggered by taking or using an ototoxic medication in the first place.