Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 74 of 105}

Thank you all for the support, it’s helps! I’m 27 years old and yes I had some stress the weak before it happened.

Is it wish to get a direct steroid injection in the ear as soon as possible?

Hey Scorpio, Mark, Sauxic and everyone,

I'm sorry to see another sshl victim, bartbertus. You have come to the right place for support. There are a lot of smart people on this forum who will tell you what they know and say when they don't know something. I will let the people already talking to you continue helping you. I only have a short time on the computer today. My 2 sons and I compete to get on and I often lose, which is fine since they have things they need to do online.

I will say I haven't had the steroid injections but there are people who have had really good results getting the injections right away. I missed that window of time. Also, some people (MarkLM) choose to quit injections when there is no more improvement because they are afraid of losing what hearing they have regained. This is a critical time for you, bartbertus, so ask any questions you have now. Again, there is a good group, who have all been through it themselves, on this forum.

If you have started prednisone in good time you probably will be noticing small but important improvments in your hearing soon. Hopefully you will be one of the lucky people who regains most or even all of their hearing. Many people who have gotten the injections in time fall into this happy group. It's a good idea to make sure you are going to a good specialist such as a neuro otologist because frankly, many ENTs just aren't prepared for the medical emergency that a sshl presents. Like scorpio was saying, all of her 5 ENTs couldn't even come to a consensus about her sshl. It is so rare that many may never have seen an sshl victim before.

If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you that you ended up with stitches and broken finger, Mark? Well, I know scorpio will appreciate knowing that you have flown 4 or 5 times without any trouble. It is unnerving though that she flew the day before her sshl happened. Scorpio, do you fly a lot? It makes it more of a coincidence if you do. Sorry, but I feel a little better to hear that I'm not the only one who gets nervous about things. We now have so much at stake. I hope you feel reassured by other frequent flyers, Scorpio.

Well, I said I had to share the computer. I hope this post finds everyone doing fine despite our various degrees of deafness and tinnitis.

the best, Frogs.

Hello Bartbertus,

You asked about the steroid injections. Although they did not work for me, many people have had success - even more than a month after the hearing loss. I feel that after two weeks on oral steroids, if your hearing has not improved - or only improved a little (like mine), then I would get the steroid injection into the ear. There is little risk, and potentially much to gain. Good luck and stay positive.

And Frogs - regarding my busted fingers, one of the local Mexican technicians I was working with smashed my three middle fingers between some equipment we were working on (Ouch !). It was an accident, and partly my fault for not giving better instructions. He felt horrible. It's healing up nicely and I should be pretty well healed up in 2 - 3 weeks.

Best to all and keep your hands away from moving objects!

Mark

Hi Frogs and everyone

Thanks for your postive replies regarding flying again. MarkLM your words have been re-assuring, as I do think that it was just co-incidence that I lost my hearing the next day.From what I have read too, SSHL is nerve/chemical related and not physical damage like fistula or ear drum damage.
Frogs, I would quite a frequent flyer - maybe up to 10 times a year mainly shorthaul but some longhaul. I have never had any bother with ear popping/pain/deafness either during or immediately after any flight so that reassures me a bit that I should be ok this week. I'm flying on Wednesday and back again on Thursday.
Has anyone tried a hearing aid with severe/profound loss? I suppose its a very individual thing as to whether they help. I think I would only go that route if my hearing started to go in my good ear.

Hello Scorpiok,

I tried a hearing aide and a Baha a few monts ago. For me, the hearing aide was pretty useless. I have some hearing in my bad ear - about 25% speech recognition - but sounds are very alien like. The hearing aide just amplified the aliens, and didn't help me hear any better. The Baha helped a little, especially in quiet environments. It didn't help enough to make me want to get a hole in my head. From what I've read, the more deaf you are in one ear, the better results you will get with the Baha. My 25% hearing may be on the edge of being too good.

Good luck on your flight - it'll be fine !!!

Mark

Hello all,

Just reporting in to say that my hearing improvement - 15-25dB gain in the lower frequencies - did not last. A few days later the loss increased to its former level, and the tinnitus has been worse.

I'm not looking for sympathy, just adding some information to the pool. I'll keep you posted.

Best,
Ted

Just a personal update:
Had another audiogram 3 weeks after my second trans-tympanic steroid injection. left ear (sshl) is almost normal at the lower frequencies. improved but not great on the high end. Significant improvement from totally dead ear in the beginning. I believe at this time that the steroid injection had the most impact, and urge others who still have time, to get it done. My doctor said that the sooner the better from onset, but can be effective up to 5 weeks after SSHL onset. It makes a difference.

Ted - sorry to hear about the reversal. My hearing recovery gain was really only in the lower frequencies - with a little in the mid-frequencies also. Basically, a steep downward curve for me. Hopefully you'll get the hearing back again -- permanently. And here is some sympathy - the tinittus sucks and is often the part that bothers me the most. I'm really sorry about that.

And ChicagoEd - Great news on your recovery. I too was totally deaf in my left ear at first, and having a little hearing back is SO MUCH better than none. Sounds like you are doing relatively well compared to many of us. Although the shots didn't help me, stories like yours continue to make me think that the shots are often the very best treatment.

Mark

Mark, thanks for the kind words and encouragement. The periodic changes suggest Meniere's rather than SSNHL, though I lack some classic Meniere's symptoms. So I'm looking into that diagnosis.

ChicagoEd, Congrats! Fantastic! I'm with MarkLM; getting a little back is far, far better than none. Shots didn't help me either, but I would encourage anyone facing this problem to get them as soon after onset as medically advisable.

One more thing, apropos of my earlier, somewhat gloomy post about what the standard hearing test doesn't reflect. One of my informal tests is what I can hear over the phone. On-hold music, especially, is a useful test. Different phones sound differently, of course, and different on-hold music systems do, too. So I've standardized on my office phone and my ISP's on-hold music! By that test, my hearing has improved a bit, fairly permanently, it seems (knock on wood). Distortions of the voice that I was hearing earlier on have become less pronounced, and the music doesn't sound quite so alien as it used to. So I do think I've had some subtle improvement, but it isn't something the test would reveal.

I send my wishes to all of you for a quick and full recovery, and for peace of mind if the recovery doesn't appear.

Best,
Ted

Hi, Scorpiouk and Mark!

Regarding the Baha...my doctor told me if you have ANY hearing AT ALL, the Baha is not effective. I am utterly and profoundly deaf in my L ear. The first time I tried the Baha in the audiologist's office, she sort of 'snuck it in.' By that, I mean it was on my head on a metal band, but I really didn't know exactly what that band was about since I also had other apparatus on my head/ears. At one point during the hearing test, she talked (for lack of a more scientific term) into the Baha 'equipment' and I almost jumped out of the chair--I got very choked up immediately when for just a second I thought my hearing had come back! It sounded so 'normal' that it made me realize how very much I miss my hearing. It was absolutely amazing--but again, I'm profoundly deaf on that side. I've had subsequent hearing tests and again, they have snuck the Baha in--each time it is like an electric shock to me because it's just as though all of this never happened.

I'm scheduled for my surgery in April, but have now decided to wait until the end of summer. It takes 3-8 weeks to heal, during which time you cannot get it wet. That effectively wipes out most of summer swimming for me. We have a pool and are the 'hang out house' for our huge family, especially our grandchildren. I fought with myself because I really want to 'hear' sounds from that side again. Then again, I've waited 5 months already so it can wait a while longer. Summer's a tough time to not be able to get part of your head wet!

As far as Bahas being covered under insurance, it is considered a hearing aid and some plans cover and some plans don't. I have managed the health plans for my company for 20+ years and we had many years when hearing aids weren't covered. However, as our employees population is aging, more and more are needing this benefit, so we added it and have no plans to drop it. We're definitely blessed--my husband got his first hearing aid last year and now here I am...who knew??

Hope and best wishes to all.

Hi sweetsoundoffrogs,

Yes, my Cindy is shy of strangers and hates rug rats! I hope you have many more years to share with Coal.

Cindy understands some words I say, tuna, eat, go out, etc., but most of all, she trusts me to the nth degree! She always cuddles up at night.

On March 4th afternoon,I was working on my laptop and got my hearing loss.I felt it come back to normal.I was wrong :).
The next day, I went to ENT specialist and she prescribed Prednisone for 14 days.No improvement.Went to another ENT specialist today and he gave me steriod injection.I dont know if this is going to help me as my oral steriods were not of much help..

Hi Scorpio, Mark, Brokenear and everyone,

After catching up reading posts I have 5 posts I want to respond to! My posts get too long so I will try to be to the point. First, Scorpio, today is Thurs. so you should be almost done facing the fear, like me at the dentist (everytime really.) I just know that you are fine. But, let us know. I figure I have years of anxiety about losing my good ear ahead of me in one situation or another. But, I also hope that I will get better at adjusting to things.

Mark, so your fingers got crushed. I bet it seems like nothing compared to the hearing loss, although fingers can really hurt..a lot of nerves in the hands. They must have been pretty badly smashed to be another 3 wk.s healing. I got my thumb pulled backwards and had to wear a cast for 5 wk.s. I became good at eating and everything left handed. I bet the man who smashed your fingers did feel bad.

I'm glad you are okay, Mark. I should start juggling again, speaking of hands and moving. It would probably help my brain adjust. It's just that I used to listen to music when I would juggle, for an hour at a time, very regularly. My hands still recall physically because they are weirdly fast at catching a dropped object. You said you don't enjoy music as much anymore. I still love music (l. ear at least) but it makes me very aware of the hearing loss, like there's a big fuzzy ear muff on the right, it's difficult.

Ted, I too used the phone as a controlled means of measurement of my hearing..but then I quit because my Neuro otologist said I was just picking up sound through bone conduction with my very sharp hearing ear. I don't know if he's right though because I couldn't hear anything over the phone right after my hearing loss. Then, I accidentally put the phone to my right ear one day about 3 wk.s later (first wk. of Aug.) and could hear the dial tone..tiny sounding but I could hear it. If I turn the phone on it's loudest setting I can understand what is being said and hear music but I alway assume now that it's only a perception because of what the otolgist said. He said my left ear (the good one) has a very low hearing threshhold (5 decibals) and nothing gets past it. But it FEELS like I'm hearing with my deaf right ear when I do the phone test. I would like to know if I am hearing. You are right that the tests in place to measure hearing seem crude. They don't test above 8 kHz for starts.

Well, I still have stuff to say to brokenear and Mimiof4 but this is long enough and my youngest wants on the computer. So, I will post more later. Thank you for your replies everyone. And, even though I don't write to everyone(impossible)I read everyone's posts and so appreciate the support of this forum.

Frogs.

Hi Frogs, MarkLM and everyone, Flight went fine - no problems. I was tense on take off and landing, but no problem with either good ear or bad ear. I was chewing gum just incase. It was only a short flight either way - 40 mins from Belfast to Edinburgh at about 16,000 ft. But I am so relieved that I had no problems. Its a fear that has been overcome now, as I lost my hearing a day after flying last November.
MarkLM - yes you are right - the announcements on the speaker were piercing.... starngely enough on my deaf ear.. it seemed to resonate my tinitus and made me jump and think ouch!

Mimiof4 - I have got so used to only hearing from my right that when I do pick up a hi-pitched sound on my left - it makes me jump - it sounds odd. I now can't really remember what its like to hear normally on my left - it nearly seems normal to hear only on my right.I do however miss listening to music in stereo. No more ipod or surround sound enjoyment.

To bartbertus:Did you had any steriod injections and if yes,did they help you ??

Hi again,

Mimiof4, your description of having the baha snuck up onto you is actually heartbreaking. I try not to think too much about how sad I am not to hear with one ear, and so part of my brain. It sounds as if you need to get a baha! I remember when the audiogram technician put some equipment on my mastoid bone when testing when I first lost my right ear. I felt as if I were hearing again and felt a huge feeling of relief sweep over me. But, I guess, according to testing I couldn't have been hearing more than part of what I felt like I was hearing. The experience of even feeling as if you are hearing with your deaf ear again is a real reminder of how much you've lost. Again, something I try not to focus on or I might lose it, truly!

What cannot be made up to me is the loss of my own singing voice. I was the kid who got stuck singing a solo at the school christmas program, about every other year since first grade. I was not at all proud of this but red-faced embarrassed. But, as an adult I began to enjoy singing again, especially recent years. Some music is just so soaringly beautiful and I am less self conscious than when a kid. It still seems pretentious to sing in public but I loved singing in the kitchen and my kids would go quiet when I sang. Well, now I only hear my voice with half my head when I sing, pretty horrible. I really know what you are describing when you say you got choked up to feel as if you are hearing again. I'm glad the baha works so well for you, Mimi! That's really good news. Well, I will sign off and write brokenear next time I get on the computer. There are so many nice sshl sufferers. It almost seems to be a prerequisite to sshl (half kidding)! Take care all.

Frogs.

Hey Scorpio!,

I just saw your post. I'm really glad your flights went fine! I had my fingers crossed for you but I felt like you were going to be fine. As Mark said, it's people with Meniere's, problems with the round or oval windows, eardrum and other structural problems who have to be concerned when flying moreso than straighforward nerve deaf people. Your posting your whole experience with flight anxiety after sshl helps people reading this forum who are facing the same. And, Scorpio, I have to say I think it's cool reading your posts coming from a part of the world I'd really like to visit someday. The farthest I've been from the U.S. is Hawaii. I guess sshl is rare enough that there aren't any U.K. forums like this one? Okay, happy you are fine and bye for now, Scorpio.

Frogs.

To scorpiouk,

I have profound hearing loss in my SSHL left ear, and I tried a BTE open fit aid. At first, all I could hear was noise, not speech, but after 3 months I can now recognize speech. I think my brain has learned a new way of interpreting the sounds. Sometimes it helps to plug my ear when it is quiet, but I have to unplug it in noisy places.

Hi Frogs and evryone

Yes glad to have that flight over. Just the dentist to face next....
I haven't found any UK forums. I have found the odd thread in general deafness forums, but is really not discussed much - probabaly because it is so rare. What is irritating is that most people assume becuase you have one good ear then it shouldn't be a problem. I was at a meeting in Edinburgh on Thursday and was able to sit at the back of large, but quiet room and hear the speaker at the front ok. But once I was at coffee break with everyone talking around me, I could hardly hear the people beside me or infront of me. They probably thought it was odd that I could hear the speaker from the back of a large room, but hardly hear those beside me in the noisey coffee break.
Brokenear, thats useful to know that a hearing aid has helped profound deafness to a degree, as I was told by some ENT doctors that a hearing aid would be a waste as they won't help profound deafness! I can make out hi frequency parts of speech on the phone, especially electronic speech - its like a distant tinny sound, but Ican just about make out some of it.

Frogs, I alays think that the USA is so big and got so much beautiful scenary that it would take a lifetime to see it all. My equivalent of doing that is travelling in Europe. I have been on holiday in USA quite a few times and think it has amazing scenary. I love Utah/Nevada/Arizona/California. I also love Las Vegas - thats where I will be in June - as well as the Utah NP. I was nervous about the altitude changes with the mountains, but after my flight I'm not bothered about it now. I now keep a supply of prednisone with me at all times when I travel, just incase!

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd announce that today marks 3/4 of a year since my SSHL left ear (6/23/08). My hearing loss remains the same, but as I reported above, my hearing aid assisted SSHL ear is comprehending more and more speech each day. I'm amazed at how my brain is adapting. I've tested by putting an ear plug in my right ear to be sure it was not just my imagination.

Of course I still 'enjoy' silence to all but the loudest of sounds and tinnitus when I remove my hearing aid.

Hi everybody Scorpio, brokenear,

The U.S. is so big and beautiful and I love the desert S.W. too, Scorpio. My mom lives in Tucson, Arizona and I love to visit her and see roadrunners and havolina pigs etc.. So, different from the temperate rainforest of the N.W. where I live. But, Europe has a special historical feel to it as it's where many Americans' ancestors come from. I know the year some of my Norwegian ancestors sailed over in the 19th century. Europe is really diverse and seems so exotic to me!

About the whole dentist thing, I don't think I will ever be entirely at ease at the dentist but one thing I found that is interesting from research I have done (out of terror of the dentist's office) is that apparently local anesthetic may help to alleviate some tinnitis. I still decided against local anesthetic but it probably wouldn't have hurt me at all. The procedure was to repair a cleanly broken tooth so it didn't hurt that much. The dentist was very nice..using hand tools so he could work on me w/out anesthetic. So, good luck with the dentist, Scorpio! It will likely go just like flying..no problem.

Hi brokenear, I have been wanting to write you for awhile but I get busy and my posts are too long also, lol. It is very interesting that your brain is adapting to your hearing aid so well. Our brains are really flexible. I don't know very much about hearing aids but it's good to have the real life info. you are sharing with us in case I think of trying a hearing aid. YOu said that you think the noise of the old fashioned computers of the 60's and 70's may have contributed to some of your hearing loss? Wow! you sure are ahead of the curve working with computers back then. You sound like my dad. He bought the first Texas Instruments calculator that came on the market back in the 70's. It was huge I recall.

My cat Coal is doing his job keeping my spirits up. He walks about a block with me to a creek I like to visit to listen to frogs and relax. Cats will go for walks with you just like dogs. You just have to understand their natural wariness and pace yourself so that they can run from car to car. I hope your Cindy is well, brokenear. She's a female version of Coal for sure.

Sincerely, Frogs

P. S. brokenear,

When I wrote 'from car to car' I meant parked cars of course. The walk we go on is not a regular road but parking area for the apt.s I live at. I wouldn't put poor Coal at risk walking on a regular road. The creek is worth the short walk. There are even beaver living in it but you have to visit the creek at night to see them. Frogs.

Frogs,
I truly empathize with singing issues. I have fronted a band for about 30years. When I lost the hearing in my left ear, I was so depressed that I might not be able to continue doing something I so loved to do. I had one rehearsal (with just my keyboard player), and wore an in the ear monitor. It actually worked ok, but it seemed like I had to really concentrate like never before. I'm in an oldies/Motown/Soul band now, and in a live performance situation, you MUST be able to hear your voice over the band thats behind you. After the first shot, and the return of some hearing, I was elated to hear myself staying on key. We have added 2 more monitors on stage for me, and since my high frequency hearing is still way below normal, I adjust the equalizer to almost no low end, and turn the volume way up on my microphone (in the monitors only). Seems to work. But I really have to concentrate still to stay on key. I hope that everyone afflicted will find a way to overcome this problem. Let's all keep hope, and keep each other aware of everything new and promising in this regard.

Ed

To Everyone,
Here is my update.
After my two weeks of Prednisone ,there was no improvement.My ENT adviced me intratympanic shots and he gave me on the same day about 16 days from onset of my SSHL.Today is my 22 day and there is no improvement and got my second shot.
I started taking vitamins tablets,Vitamin E and ginkgo biloba(Chinese herb) daily which might make a different.

Thanks to everyone sharing the information as it helped me lot in understanding my situation.


Suna

Hello Everyone,

I just found this forum and have been reading a lot this afternoon I first wanted to say thank you to everyone for the support you are given each other. I am a recent victim of SSHL although I already have a moderate to serve hearing loss in both ears. I do wear hearing aids in both ears. I did have a question I didn't see in any posts. I was given a script to take Prednisone 40mg for 5 days when I went to the Urgent care about 48hrs after I noticed my L ear went dead. My hearing restored back to about 75% on the 4th day however later that evening I had another reoccurrence and ear went dead again. I did see my ENT doc and he feels the nerves are inflamed (from sinus cold/infection) and a higher dosage of the Prednisone should work since it worked at the lower dosage. Has anyone experienced a reoccurrence after the 4th or 5th day? The other question I can’t seem to find an answer to is will the Prednisone work again being I restarted again on the 6th day?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Eddie