Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 8 of 105}

I finally was able to see the ENT specialist that was recommended earlier to me on this site and I have to say that I was very impressed! He suggested that I have a "wick" inserted in my ear and then on a course of steriod drops a couple times a day for a week. He is not guaranteeing that my hearing will return with this procedure, but it doesn't hurt to try it. I'm very excited as at least he is willing to try something new!

Has anybody else had this procedure done?

Mhoyuk, i am not trying to discourage you but just wanted to mention that this is the treatment i had and it didn't help me at all. I still have 100% loss. My ENT at the time said that i was doing it late in the game (after 2.5 weeks from onset). But it is individual for everyone, so it may help to someone, who knows. I think it is done more often for the patients with Menier's (sp?) desease.

Have you looked into the possibility you mave suffered a perlymphatic fistula?

Most ENT's don't want to consider it but it's a very real cause of some sudden hearing loss and imbalance/vertigo problems.

Hi. I am new here. I had a very similar experience with my right ear. I think mine was an ear trauma at dental treatment (long story..), but basically I accepted the cause as an viral inner ear infection. I have seen several doctors, ENTs and Neuotologists. I saw Dr. Lustig after 3 1/2 weeks, but he did not mention the shot at all. It may have been too late for me. My biggest problem now is that I developed extreme sensitivity on that ear. I have no hearing on my right ear till about 50 db. About 60 db, I only hear rings or gongs like sounds on every syllable. About 70 db, I hear distorted wordings, but it is very very loud to my ear and I cannot tolerate listening to. Anything higher than that, I cannot even imagine the effect of it. I think I have 'Hyperacusis'. Most people who have this disorader usually have hearing. I feel like I had a bad experience one after another. My tinnitus is getting louder and louder. Now I have loud tinnitus on my good left ear. The hearing from the ear is almost 90 % still, but it is now has echoing sounds. I do not really know what to make of all these. Has anyone had similar experiences like mine? Thank you.

Kslm23, I do understand that this might not have any effect on my hearing - but it's worth a try. I have had taken steriods orally and had the injection in the ear and after both times I had a hearing test which showed a slight improvement (hey, something is better than nothing). It is late in the game for me, I lost my hearing 4 months ago, but at least this doctor is willing try something else.

I don't think I have perlymphatic fistula, johnm. I don't have any of the symptoms. I had an MRI done in December and my doctor said that there was nothing that was causing my hearing loss (ie. tumor).

I do have ringing in my right ear, and it gets louder at times but it's not too bad to be honest. I do notice that when it is cold outside my ear tends to hurt and ring more. When I first lost my hearing the ringing was very loud but maybe I've just gotten used to it. Hopefully your tinnitus will get better over time, mstctiger.

Mhoyuk, good that you found a great ENT. My ENT has no clue. My tinnitus is getting worse on both ears now. Sounds are echoing in my head.

hi Mstctiger; i am sorry I do not have anything constructive to add on the tinnitus and hearing loss either

You may want to try the herb mixture I posted some months back...do not know if it will help any

Also, consider starting menieres tretament (presecription) to see if it helps, aggain it likely will not...BUT persoanlly I cannot see it hurting as it sounds like the noise is pretty bad

I feel for you, the tinnitus is very hard to deal with

Even these experts (Lustig)
are in the dark on all of this stuff and their communication sort of sucks
so do not give up on finding a solution

I have been to see Lustig for over a year and I just saw him this weeka nd said hey It loks like I have Lymes disease...He says "Oh yea Lymes can cause hearing loss"
I felt like saying well why the F" didn't you tell me this 14 months ago and I could have started the Lymes treatment then and been a lot better off...
Michael

Michael

Hey Myhoyuk, If it gives you hope and optimism then do it and be positive about it

Its the sprintime (alledgedly) and this is supposed to be the time when hope springs eternal

Michael

Thank you, Michael. I will try some Herbs and supplements. Have you tried the one recommended by homopathy Remedy Finder?

sorry I have not; unfortunately dealing with lymes and related symptoms has meant the heraing goes on the back burner...but am hopeful that tretament for lymes will help hearing (which i understand can
hurt it)
Good Luck
Michael

A bit of an update...I don't think I will be able to have the wick procedure done as I just found out I'm pregnant. As the procedure requires a general anathestic it is too risky for the pregnancy. I called my ENT doc today for advice or alternative way of doing things. I know a few of you have things done (like the steriod injections I belief) while pregnant. What trimester where things done? Or does that matter? I suppose that since it's been over 4 months since I've lost my hearing, not much is really going to make a difference. Would love to hear from those of you who were pregnant and having any treatments.

Congratulations on your news!!!
I was 19 weeks pregnant when i lost hearing, i've done the wick procedure 2.5 weeks after. It didn't require any general anasthesia - just the local anasthetic drops into the ear similar to what others had for the injection. I think the earlier in pregnancy you use a medication the more adverse affect it could potentially have on the baby because of the ratio between the baby weight and the medication amount. I doubt anything can help after 4 months of hearing loss if you didn't have any improvement so far.

That's so reassuring, kslm23! At least you were able to have the procedure done with local anathetic. I've had slight improvements with each steriod course I've taken (either orally or by injection) so I really would like to have the wick procedure done. The ENT doc has told me that it's not likely to work - but hey, it's better than nothing. And a slight improvement is better than nothing!! Did you notice any difference after the wick procedure? Obviously you were treated much sooner than I have.

Mhoyk, that's the problem, i noticed no difference at all - i still have 100% loss. Worse than that, the hole from the wich still didin't heal and ideally i need to patch it somehow now :(

My ENT doc said that there was a chance that the hole wouldn't close properly but that it could be operated on again and fixed.

I cancelled my procedure today and I can't have anything done until I'm at least 20 wks pregnant - and even then, there is a chance of miscarriage. I asked about having the procedure done by local anathetic or anything else like having the ear injection done again. We'll see what the doc says but for now nothing. Kslm23, at least you tried the procedure and you're not going around thinking "what if". Sorry that it didn't help improve your hearing.

I share everyone's frustration. I've been dealing with a 90% loss in my left ear for over a year now. It happened in a car at freeway speeds and I thought that it was a simple pressure change. When I called my health care provider the following morning with my concerns, they denied me access to an ENT specialist and said I should hold my nose and swallow or chew gum. When I persisted by showing up in their office the next day, they scheduled a hearing test. By the time I got to the ENT it was too late for prednisone. I really struggle in noisy rooms with lots of chatter and other ambient noise. Not only does the ear not pick up sound properly, it distorts conversation/music and competes with my good ear. There are times that it will suddenly change pitch with the ringing and buzzing and I almost expect to swallow and find it normal again. But I'm dealing with the reality that that will probably never happen.

I recently came across this website and wanted to post something that seems quite relevant that happened to myself recently. During both of my pregnancies I experienced sudden hearing loss, on delivery of my first child my hearing returned to normal immediately (2001). However, three years later I experienced the same hearing loss during my second pregnancy (again around month four) but unfortunately my hearing did not return to normal with the birth of my second baby. For the past one and a half years I have undergone a barrage of tests (MRI,CT scan, auto-immune testing and also a course of steriod treatment). None of these showed anything out of the ordinary and the steroid treatment did not help at all. The tinnitus in my right ear had reached an unbearable level in recent weeks and I was about to have hearing aids fitted, but my husband persuaded me to try some accupuncture. I have received two treatments in the past week and have experienced an 75% improvement in my hearing and the tinnitus has gone completely! This has been a very successful treatment in my case and I still have a further six accupuncture sessions to complete in the coming weeks. I guess what I'm trying to say is that in my case the cause of my fluctuating, unilateral hearing loss could not be diagnosed correctly or appear to be treated by Western medicine. In addition it was quite a few months from the onset of the condition (during my pregnancy) and getting treatment for the hearing loss. Sudden Hearing Loss and tinnitus is a very impairing condition to deal with on a daily basis, for the first time this morning in almost a year and a half I was awoken to the sound of my alarm - something I had not been able to hear before these accupuncture treatments. To everyone who is suffering from this condition, don't give up hope and try alternative treatments if all other western medical procedures have failed.

For those who have had sudden hearing loss (along with tinnitus) and who posted their message in 2004 or 2005, I have one simple question: Have you had any improvement? Or have you sought new treatments that have either cured or alleviated the problem? Thank you, JJMOR, for telling us about your success. I've had sudden hearing loss, with tinnitus, probably due to a viral infection. It started a little over two months ago, and I'm desperately seeking alternative treatments, since modern medicine has closed all the doors for me.
Thank you.
Norma

I did seem to have some hearing return after having treatments (steriods taken orally and by injection) but not a huge difference. Now that I'm pregnant I think whatever improvement there was doesn't exist anymore. I don't notice loud noises in my right ear, or stratching sounds. I think a lot of it has to do with how tired I am too. My tinnitus is really bad when I'm exhausted and improves with some rest.

Very interested in trying acupuncture though. I did it before I lost my hearing and need to find a new acupuncturist as I didn't really like the person I saw before.

Hi, JJJMOR. Thank you for sharing your great news! No medicine or doctor worked for me in last 4,5 months, and I was about looking into massage or chiropractic. At this point, I will try anything... Good luck, everyone! mstctiger

I lost all hearing in my left ear on 5/9/2006. The seriousness of my condition didn't really hit me until I saw both my Primary Care Physician and an Audiologist and ENT on the very next day. By the second day I was on anti-biotics, Prednisone (60 mg), and perscription anti-histamine/decongestant.

The etiology (root cause) of my condition is unknown. When Tuesday rolled around and I made the appnt to see my doctor I put together an event log ranging back to the Friday prior. In that event log I noted all medications I had been taking (Aspirin, advil, Diclofenac) what I ate and how I felt.

Friday night and Saturday may have been the onset of my condition when I developed a headache and began vomitting. Saturday morning I felt lousy until about 12 noon when I was able to shower and join the world. That's when the stuffiness appeared.

It just got worse and worse until within a 72 hour period my hearing had left me.

When I saw the ENT the prognosis was not good; Profound Hearing Loss. chances for recovery slim. The thing I had going for me, however, was that I started treatment earyly (within 7 days of occurrance). Any chance for recovery is enhanced by being agressive and starting early. Still this news stunned me and I went home and shared a tear or two with my supportive wife. She's a real darling. Might not be able to get through this without her.

The Prednisone and anti-biotic are wrecking havoc in my stocmach. And then there are all the expected side effects. But if the treament works this is a small price to pay. This is day 3 of treatment.

I read a little about the direct injection of steroids into the ear but that subject never came up in my visit with the ENT.

I have an appnt next Monday for an MRI, my blood test should be available Tuesday, and I see the ENT again on Wednesday. I guess I find out more then.

My sister is very up on homeopathic and holistic approches to help. She's also very proactive in looking into my condition because with an idipathic condition like ours you have got to keep all options on the table.

One of the feelings I had to ward off was thinking that this was something I did to myself via the meds I was taking or through alcohol. The meds, primarily NSAIDS, are known in rare cases to be ototoxic; that is toxic to the ear. My ENT told me to immediately stop taking the Diclofenac which I was taking for a rolled ankle and a sore bach.

The first couple of days were met with strong feelings of lonliness and 'why me'. That's natural but you have to fight through and take solice and confort in family and friends, all of which have been very supportive.

Well, this battle has only just begun for me. And if at some point it turns out that my hearing is forever gone in that ear, well, I'll just have to deal with it. My new motto is 'If this is the worse that happens to me, then I'm doing OK'.

One final word before I go, at least now I have an excuse for only hearing half of what my wife says. Speak to the hand Sweetie 'cause the ear's not listeing.

Good byem good luck and rememering, try to stay postive, and never give in.

God Bless to all

If you make an Arborivital Tincture --- NOT a standard tincture --- of Agraphis Nutans --Bluebell -- now is a good time to do it - it will help.


ARBORIVITAL TINCTURES

These are prepared as follows.

A] The selected plant must be growing in the soil of the planet earth – not a pot--.The reason for this is that only in this way is it in connection with all the energies of the earth, which include gravity.
B] The living plant with its connection to the roots at all times, is bent over so that the flower with buds and stalk are in a small screw top container. This is then lightly bruised between the thumb and finger. Bruised without destroying any part of the plant, this is solely to allow the alcohol easy access to the interior of the plant.
C] A sunny day is necessary as this is part of the energy we are drawing into the remedy. When the plant is thus set up then it is submerged in alcohol/rectified spirit. It is then left for 60 minutes , simply topping up as there is evaporation.
D] At the end of this time put the lid on – you have your tincture.
E] To use it you need a small eye dropper bottle , into which you put a small quantity.


D] GET ONE DROP ONLY IN THE DROPPER AND PUT IT ON THE TONGUE. THIS IS A DOSE , AND IT SHOULD NOT BE REPEATED FOR 3/4 WEEKS.

.
ARBORiVITAL MEDICINE
AN INQUIRY INTO THE CURATIVE POWERS OP SOME OF OUR COMMON FIELD AND GARDEN PLANTS. JUDGED OF BY THE DISEASES OF THE EAR

And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations - Rev xxii,

By Robert T. Cooper .mA. mD. London
Physician Diseases of the Ear. London Homeopathic Hospital

The title chosen for this paper is one that requires explanation. The term Arborivital is given for two reasons firstly, from my conviction that all vegetation in living or rather growing vegetation are to he found forces sufficient to cope with all diseases or to express the same truth in wider or more general language, to vegetation, king of which is the Tree directed by the hand of man, are we to look for the removal of all kinds of calamity amongst animal life, king of which is Man, agreeably with the Biblical dictum; the Tree of the field is man's life, Deut. xx., v 19c. And, secondly, because the term Arborivital implies to some extent the existence of a living force - so to speak -- in plants, the laws of which in its behavior upon human disease tissue. It is my object to ascertain, and which I aim at ascertaining as far as possible apart from any medicinal force, that is fairly attributable to the irritating particles of which the plant is composed, or to the existence of a chemical active principle, or to a force engendered by the well known succession or trituration.
The assumption upon which I start is that we must seek to utilize the growth force of plants as being a force, which if more studied and more sought after in the preparation of herbal remedies will inevitably improve our therapeutic system. Of course any sphere of practice leads me to deal principally with the diseases of the ear.
Ear diseases are capable of being included in two great groups, fairly recognizable by the symptoms, Deafness and Tinnitus [and discharges], Ear diseases do not show the varied and complicated symptoms that other organs show.
Starting as I do with the assumption that the Growth Force is THE force whose laws should be determined, it follows that the effect of every plant, upon diseased states, should be investigated – quite independently of anything at present known of them. Our scheme of investigation, which assumes an all-powerful growth, force in every plant and tries to discover its laws.
Lycopodium owes its efficiency to trituration and succussion, so that it and others like it come under the category of dried substances. An Arborivital preparation of lycopodium WOULD BE FROM THE STEM, LEAVES AND LEAF STALK of the GROWING fern.
The single dose answering all that can be expected from medicines. Take the typical case by Hahnemann.
A washerwoman about 40, was unable to work for 3 weeks, on Sept 1st 1815.On any movement she has a shooting in the left side. When she lies down she is well. Cannot sleep after 3 o/c at night. Likes food but when she eats feels sick. Water collect sin her mouth and runs out. Eructations after every meal. Temper is disposed to anger. Pain makes her sweat.
Hahnemann said, “ I gave her one of the strongest of homeopathic doses, a full drop of the pure juice of bryonia root. And bade her return in 48 hours. “ She did not return as she was no longer sick.
The idea with which in this investigation, I start is that we are surrounded by thousands of remedial agents, Ones that, with a little patience one can discover the remedial actions and that every medical practitioner ought to be the preparer of the greater portion of his own medicaments. I limit myself to the small dose, one drop at a time; the resulting disturbance cannot possibly be such as to leave harmful consequences.

This case is in every way characteristic of the , remedy a tendency to free discharge from mucous membranes, relaxed condition of the system generally and a proness to take cold on exposure to cold winds. Its action certainly reminds us of scilla maratima, next to which is usually described in works on botany both being of the same natural order, the liliaceae.
I have seen however, sufficient of the action of the remedy to convince me that there are strong points of difference between the two, and that in the bluebell of the wood we have a remedy for children, which in some points is of extreme importance
Another case we may mention is that of a girl 5 1/2 years for whom, on the 10th of September 1892, agraphis nutans was prescribed. She had a sore throat a week ago leaving profuse discharge from the left ear with deafness, the child's general condition being feeble. improvement in every way was recorded, child in every way stronger and better, ear discharge much less and deafness apparently gone.
In the case of a girl of 12 where post nasal growths and enlarged tonsils had followed upon diptheria some six years previously, a single dose of agraphis nutans was followed by a lessening of the symptoms, viz, talking in the sleep, mouth open, fulness of the tonsils, twitchings of the nose, loss of smell, recurring colds in the head, and improvement has continued under the same given at intervals of several weeks.
A governess of 30 admitted the 10th September, 1892, very deaf in both ears for five years. with hissing tinnitus,cause unknown, very nervous and weak, easily tired, constant headache across the forehead and bridge of the nose ,aggravated by high winds [has just returned from a sea voyage which in every way made her ears worse], dry feeling and burning in the throat, monthly pperiod followed by profuse leucorrhea, no pain or backache. Repeat agraphis nutans. Ist October1892, hearing much improved, tinnitus less, head lighter,deafness appears much less and the creaking in her head , as if a bell was ringing is much less.
At the same time the force associated with the material particles of the plant, the original growth force, derived from potentization by means of exposure of the living plant in spirit will represent as nearly as possible, each of them a definite power, which inn contrast. with ordinary homeopathic preparations , is in Agraphus Nutans ,vel Hyacinthus Nutans,vel Hyacinthus Non Scriptus, the common bluebell of the woods, natural order Liliacae . Tincture made with rectified spirit and juice of the budding stalk and young leaves March 1892 .
This remedy, which was one of the first, that engaged my attention and which has continued to interest me more and more every day, posesses an action that seems in every way definite and distinct.
The plant itself has at all times been a favorite; one of our earliest spring flowers, it brightens and lends colour all the early year to our shaded woods. The bluebell shades itself in shrubberies and while nestling close to the wood-anemone takes care to be well shaded by the smaller hazel twigs, beneath which it is so often found , from the cold easterly breezes.
Its action as a remedy finds remarkable illustration in the case of a little girl five years of age living at Brixton, who was admitted under me at the L. H Hospital June 11, 1892, with deafness and otorrhea of both cars, dating twelve months back. and a history of three bad attacks of bronchitis; one at a year old, one at two years and a third at three. Her eyes and nose discharged profusely and had to be bathed every morning. The little girl has always been subject to cough and for four or five months has been bringing up dark grey mucus. Bowels, are regular appetite poor, and perspires much in bed.
Agraphis Nutans. June 25 1892, altogether better but has a hacking cough with beady phlegm first thing in the morning, discharge much less from both eyes and nose: August 6th, 1892. - Once during the interval a discharge vaginal in situation and catamenial in appearance, was noticed but did not continue. In every possible way the child has improved ; hearing much better the eye and nose no longer require bathing, and though the discharge is still seen it is very much less.
I treated a little deaf mute three years old that dribbled from the corners of the mouth. A few weeks after a dose of Agraphis, I found that the dribbling had entirely ceased and the general condition, including the hearing had improved. The action of Agraphis is not direct but secondary, acting upon the glands connected with the orbit, the nasal cavities, the pharyngeal and buccal mucous, hence it is for mutism, not so much deaf mutism that I would recommend it. In addition to this Agraphis acts on the head, clearing and strengthening the memory, often removing tinnitus.

Many times additional alcohol has been freely added from time to time to prevent evaporation. All I aim at in the preperation is to secure and preserve the growth force , and to prepare the tincture in such a way as to leave little doubt about its presence. For this reason I advocate the preparation of Arborivital tinctures in the field from the living plant, the preparer carrying with him a container into which the budding stalk and youmg leaves of the plant are placed fresh as they grow, and upon these simply crushed between finger and thumb should be poured rectified spirit. But more than this, In order the efficacy of the tincture and to secure with certainty the power of the growth-force I am in the habit of plunging the living stalk while yet connected with theplant into the spirit, and allowing the strongest sunlight that usually plays upon it in its native habitat to fall upon the phial filled with the spirit the stalk being at tile same time immersed in it.
Thus our tinctures are presumably potentised and each potentisation will represent five minutes exposure. When the branches are thus subjected to the spirit and the ssunlight for an hour I find that the branch and its leaves have in most cases withered; at the termination and therefore, of each twelfth potency a fresh branch or stalk are subjected to the same process.
Thus: Plantago lanceolata A will be plantago lanceolata 12th arborivital mother tincture. The12th I have used that thus the remedy has has a more certain curative influence
To say that such preparations are stronger than others as has been claimed for the homeopathic dilutions, would require a definition of the word stronger and I therefore avoid this statement purposely , all I commit myself to is that tinctures thus potentized represent powers different from those prepared in the ordinary way, and that their curative properties are as far as I can judge from clinical experience , more certain. The arborivital tincture will therefore, be potentised directly from plants as they grow, and are hence to coin a word, termed heliosthens and a drop of a high heliosthen say 12, will mean a drop of as definite material strength as it as it is possible to obtain from a plant by the action of rectified spirit uponn it, plus any strength communicated to it by our method of potentising and which of necessity is of purely hypothetical quantity. At the same time the force cannot be doubted

tell do not ask youer ent about the inner 3ear steriod shots; they should be done in the first week if possible;'

These ent's are for the most part moron's and i do not think any homepathic treatment will help; its an idiopathic cause meaning no one knows particularly your ent, he/she knows less than you (if you have spent a few hours on the internet, you have more knowledge than she/he)

DEMAND that they refer you to a university reserach medical/center nearby...where are you..east coast of the us

its worth the treatment; the oral prednisone rarely help especially if your loss is at the profound level which mine was as well...antibiotics also seem of limited use

The steriod shots to the inner ear seem to be the thing that jump starts your hearing...i got about 15-20% back which is enough that i can hear a little bit with a very good hearing aid..

seriously demand your ENT find a Dr who does these shots

Michael

I dunno if this post was for any particular purpose... other than to demonstrate
that you could cut and paste an immense volume of useless information

It is almost like the 'luck of the draw' if you hearing comes back or even improves. I was thinking that my hearing was improving (had gradual improvement over several months) but now that I am pregnant, I find that my hearing is completely gone. I've heard stories where women's hearing has come back while pregnant. Or even in the news this week, researchers say that drinking red wine or taking aspirin helps improve hearing (okay, albeit old age hearing loss).

Michael, I hope things are going well with your Lyme's treatment. I'm going to try acupuncture in the following weeks - also having it done for other reasons - but thought I would give it a try about my ear since I can't do much more at this point. Just trying to stay open-minded about it and not expecting any miracles.

hi Myhoyuk
sorry to hear about your continued hearing loss; I believe you said some months ago that prior to the onset of the hearing loss you had some tick bites that were reddish and inflamed; this could be lymes. Lustig (who I saw a few months ago) confirmed that lyme and or mold could cause hearing loss
I had been taking cholestyramine (spelling)
[for lymes and mold] which seemed to create more ringing/aching around my affected ear.(making me thing that something was working to alleviate the loss) I had to stop the lymes treatment though as parasites are creating more problems and can accerbate the lymes/mold (both create neuro-toxins..that could affect inner ear )

My lymes dr says he has quite a few poatients who he is tretaing for lymes that have experineced hearing loss and stand alone tinnitus

I know each of our causes may be different but wanted to share.

Dr Shoemaker is one of the pioneers on lymes and mold toxins. It is interesting that
many of us in the Bay area have experienced our haring loss in the late fall/early winter (I believe)

Good luck all
Michael