Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 84 of 105}

Charlee -

good to talk to somebody that is at about the same time frame as me. My eyes ache all the time, and I kind of feel like I'm drunk.

I noticed with the tinnitus if I just didn't react to it at all, my anxiety level has decreased and now I hear it less.

Danny, I have no hearing in my left ear, had the shots but they didn't help. Although they did help with the dizziness. I had problems with my left eye only and the Doctor didn't think it was connected, but was going to send me for a MRI, but my eye starting getting better and I canceled the MRI. The tinnitus is better than it was, sometimes I have go to a quiet room to calm it down. My biggest problem was the dizziness, which has gotten better but I still have it when turning fast or laying down at night. I was afraid to drive or go someplaces but I am finding the more routine activities I do, the better I am starting to feel. You should have your eyes checked out and maybe you have a little balance problem which might make you feel drunk. I know sometimes now I till have some problems with focusing.

Hey guys-since I lost my hearing in my left ear almost a year and half ago I never had any dizziness or pain. Although as I noted, I strongly think TMJ has something to do with mine, it is ironic that I did have a herpes zoster infection in my right (not left) eye about a month prior to this that was treated and then I had a crown done on both my right & left side. I have wondered about the viral component but even though I received the TM steroid injections within a week, there was no effect. The dental work and TMJ I feel are more likely related. I don't know, if you're like me you can drive yourself batty just trying to figure out what was going on. Like I said though, never any premonition or any signs of ear problems before I went to bed that night and never had any dizziness or pain. It is just truly one of the weirdest things and most people kind of look at you like your crazy when you tell them about it.

EVERYONE- It's too early to really tell but I think I am having success with Famvir (anti-viral) I just stared it yesterday and my tinnitus has already decreased by 80%. This treatment usually takes a couple of weeks to months to work but I am very encouraged. I will keep you posted. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
HOPING.

Hi Suncasa, How is the Famvir helping you now? It is my understanding that after the first couple of weeks nothing is going to work anymore, if you have lost all your hearing? Did a Doctor prescribe this for you? Sorry, maybe you mention that in a older post but I haven't went back to read them all.

Famvir is a drug used to stop the shingles (herpes zoster, chicken pox) virus from replicating. In my case I guess that is what was causing my problems. You should try it. Also there is another forum to check out -http://www.menieres.org/forum/index.php

There is a lot of info on anti-virals on the site. I hope this helps you!

Thanks Suncasa, your right, there is a lot of information on that website.

Hello All, SUNCASA.... You're post has been very enlightening. My one yr. ann. is comming around 9.14.. ihave partial hearing (blocked) and tinnitus which now sounds like bad tv/ radio reception 24/7. Livable yes, bothersom yes. What does your tinnitus sound like ? Also, what about your hearing loss ? Anything return since onset. Will be hanging on waiting and hoping for success with the Famvir. This is the only promising thing I have heard yet !! CUDOS for you! Catch Ya, Trish

Hi all,

I just wanted to update.

Had profound hearing loss about 5 weeks ago.

Since then I have completed 4 weeks of oral steroids and gained back some hearing.

After 2 weeks of oral steroids with limited recovery I began to receive intratympanic shots.

After my first shot my low tones were normal and mid range tones showed some significant improvement, but my hearing loss still sharply increases as the freq. gets higher.

My speech recognition went from a 52 initially to 62 after the first 2 week oral steroids regimen.

After my first shot and my second bout of steroids my SR has gone to 76, which is aidable.

I just received my third shot yesterday, and if my hearing continues to improve at all I will be receiving 3 more shots.

Heres to hoping.

mss- glad to hear of your success.

An update with the Flamvir:

I think it is worth a try for anyone. Though the course of treatment is weeks to months. The drug is pretty safe and I have no side effects at all. It appears that on my 4th day of taking it, my tinnitus is almost gone this morning (rushing wind sound with car horn whistle) though I did have some of the car horn noise last night while trying to sleep- it is incredibly annoying and almost impossible to ignore. I am feeling very hopeful. Another successful user of this medication told me that her improvement was very wavy. Meaning she might think it was getting worse and then it would seem much better. She regained most of her hearing within months. I think my hearing is up some, though it's hard to tell but even if this took the tinnitus away, I would be thrilled. I am also taking good quality supplements, basically John from Ohio's regime for Meniere's. You can google this.

Anyway talk to your docs about it. It could help you! Recommended dosage is 250 mg 3x day for 10 days to 2 weeks then 250 2x day after that but ask your doctor. I actually took 500 mg 3 x day for 4 days and now am reducing to 250 mg 3 x day. I was originally prescribed the dose given for shingles, but this stuff can be damaging to the kidneys if taken in high dose for extended periods of time.

Good luck everyone. I am keeping my fingers crossed.





Anway

Also Charlie- There have been studies done that if your loss is from this virus, you can still be helped 1-10 years after the loss. So it is not too late for you. You have to have a doctor's prescription though. Good luck.

Hi all,
I have just 'celebrated' my second anniversary - no change once the fullness receded. Tinnitus is terrible - however, I have a found few websites that have tinnitus sound files ...it is good to be able to share with others what the tinnitus sounds like. Finally, here is a great quote from the U2 song Breathe that describes tinnitus-
'The roar that lies on the other side of silence'. Maybe Bono is on the forum!!!!!!

I have been wearing the night bite plane a week and no recovery of any hearing although I'm not really expecting to. I have noted a change in the tinnitus as it seems to be like a louder 'white noise' with maybe someone trying to plug in an amplifier occasionally. As I said before once I woke up with the complete deafness I have not in 15 months ever regained any hearing although I have had the changes in the noises in my head. It can really become depressing when the noise seems to be so loud without relief but I guess it says something about the human spirit when you can manage to carry on and get your mind on something else. I'm wondering if the BAHA has any effect on the tinnitus. Oh well, so many questions, so few answers. I am glad for those of you who have had some regaining of hearing as that is certainly good news. This is all such a mystery though but unfortunately isn't prevalant enough it seems to warrant more aggressive research from the medical community.

This is my update, yes it has been a while since I posted, yes you will see many typo's and bad grammer.

My hearing is 100% and tinnitus does flare up once in a while. About once a month my left or right ear will ring but it only last a minute and then its gone, it like something triggers it, but its gone quick, also when i got off of boats or long car drives, I feel a little dizzy but if I take a valium it goes away. wierd but it works. SO yes it is true. People can get thier hearing back and im very lucky, I still cry about this from time to time, especially if someone asks me about it and yes im scared that it might come back some day, but for now I think the lord for the secand chance he has given me, the support I received from people. I feel great and I need to loose some weight. LOLOL

I also wanted you guys to know that I was going threw old records and noticed that when was diagnosed with SSNHL it 09/11/06 scary huh?

I had full loss of hearing in left ear,tinnitus in both ears, and some vertigo. 'If you did read some of my past posts then you know that I could not handle the this and was very suicidal.'

I did my own research because most ear doctors dumb. So if you want to know then I will tell you what I did to get my hearing back.

First you must understand your ears. people think they can hear but no one does, you actually feel. what I mean is your innner cochlea of your ear is filled with tons of little hairs that pass vibrations threw your ear to your brain. so you feel me instead of hear me. If your inner cochlea swells or flares up then your hairs can not get oxygen, blood flow, fluids or vitamins and nutrients they need to survive and they do eventually die. if this happens then you will not be able to hear ever again and this is called 'SSNHL' just so you know, if these hairs die. you do not get new ones back, if they are gone thats it. so they idea is to reduce what ever caused the swelling before they die, usually you have 3 to 4 weeks to fix and thats it. 'i've heard of cases where hearing has come back after 4 weeks , even some get it back 2 months later but its real rare.

Do not listen to ear doctors, they will have you beleive all kinds of junk. here is the real truth and stats.

1. only 20%-30% percent get thier hearing back. This is caused by people taking thier time to get recovered or by doing the wrong things or nothing at all.

2. you have very little precious time to fix this, do not take this lightly, it is most definitly a emergency. 1 month is all you got it. do it al and do it yesterday.

3. get a antibiotic.

4. Prednisone 60mg a day for a minimum of 12 days. this is a must. some doctors will give you less. dont listen to them. go with what works 60mg a day for 12 day. go little longer if you can get away with it.

5. decadron ear shots. you need one shot a week for 3 weeks. some doctors dont like decadron because decadron must be cold and anything cold that hits your ears makes you spin like crazy but good news it only last a few minutes. make sure your laying down when they give you the shot. if not then its all fo nothing. yes decadron is a steroid and yes its ok to do the decadron and the prednisone at the same time.

6. walgreens just became your fiend and yes you will need walgreens or a vitmin store. take liquid vitimins not pills, you need a ton of vitamins to get nutrients to those ears. I suggest.

Lipo-Flavonoids from walgreens pill form.

Peter gillham's natural vitality- organic life vitamins in liquid form

'Clear tinnitus' pills form sold at walgreens.

7. work out, do something take a walk. get the blod flowing.

the idea behind all of this is to get the swelling down, steriods is used in cancer and lupus patients all the time for these same reasons, get the swelling down plus get the vitamins and oxygen to your ears before the hairs die.

keep in mind all is not lost, they just completed a Cochlear Implant Surgery and it worked. so soon we can all hear,

heres is a you tube 8 pasrt series of the implant being done in tampa florida. be warned its a little gross but vert informative. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i3.ytimg.com/v....


love you guys, i pray you all will be safe and ok and for now im ok. myay god bless.

nitrams

sorry i sent the wrong link. the 8 part series on the first implant link is here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt27XDkz5eU&feature=PlayL...

I just read luv2ridegal's post and realized I had missed my 1 year anniversary on 9/4! Oh well, I went to see the A's get trounced by the Mariners that night and took a 14 y.o. kid to his first major league game. He was able to repeat to me what the announcers said, since my wife was taking a day off from repeating everything into my good ear. My hearing improved a few encouraging percentage points in October of 2008 while initially on the steroids and anti-virals, but seems to have become permanent and stationary at less than 10% in the right ear. I guess I am not one of the success stories. Went out last week and bought a ton on earplugs and will just keep running the subtitles on the TV. I haven't seen a movie in a theater for over a year because of this ailment. Those subtitles have become addictive, but I wish they would hire better typists/spellers/listeners to do the work. If the damn tinnitis and hyper-accussus would just take a holiday, I'd feel a lot happier.

Sandmanranch - It's interesting you said you saw some improvement in October (from the meds) and then it went back down again. That is what happened to me. Once all the steroids (both oral and intratympanic) were out of my system, the hearing dropped back down - in fact it is lower than when I first went in to the doctor. I'm hopeful that it has stabilized now (hard to tell until my next appointment) as it is partial and the hardest part is the hyperaccusiveness. I'm luckily able go to the movies or be in loud(ish) places if I put cotton in that ear. Anyway glad you had fun at the game - sorry it's the anniversary!!

Hi, I just joined this forum. I lost the hearing in my right ear about 12 years ago,. Then in April of this year I had surgery, came out of the surgery with terrible roaring in both ears, very nauseous. Spent three days in hospital. Roaring went away. In May, I had dizzy spell, roaring started, could hear my own voice echoing, and then people talking sounded like static on the radio. They treated me with prednisone and my hearing returned to normal in about two weeks. On August 20, I got up in the morning to the same thing. Called doctor, they put me immediately on 60 mg. of prednisone and then in four days started the injections directly in to the ear. It has been a month now and only slight improvement. The doctor talked yesterday about trying anti-virals. Has anyone regained their hearing about this long a time? I would appreciate any feedback.

Start the antivirals! You're lucky your doc will prescribe them. I can't get mine to prescribe them. But if you have endolymphatic hydrops or meniere's there is research showing it could have a viral origin. And your symptoms sure sound like they could be that - I'm sure it's what your doctor is thinking about.

Here's one thread about it in a Meniere's forum. The article talks about vertigo, but lots of people on that site have had their hearing improve drastically with antivirals. One guy had this happen after 20 years of suffering.
http://www.menieres.org/forum/index.php/topic,21685.0.html

Please let us know if you try it and if it helps!

Shortcake. Thank you so much for replying. Yes I am lucky in that I have a very young forward thinking Doc who is looking into all kinds of possibilities. First ENT I had said you need to prepare yourself that this is what you life will be from now on. After the prednisone, she wasn't interested in pursuing anything else. I praise God that my new doctor is so forward thinking. Again thanks for replying. I've been on this site several times and it has been so very helpful to me. Keep trying different ENT's maybe you'll be lucky to find one.

Jakeabe - yeah, I'm going to try to convince my doc one more time and then I'm going to try to find a different one who will let me try them. I thought things were improving with l-lysine (an OTC supplement that is known to fight the herpes virus that some people think causes this) but then the last few days have been worse again. I'm going to stay on the l-lysine also, as I hear it can take months to work (I've only been on it about a month).

Coming up on my 3 month anniversary. Hearing didn't get any better, but that's OK. Life goes on. I still have the Tinnitus really bad. Hoping the volume gets turned down just a little.

Hi Danny- Sorry your hearing didn't get better. You seem to have a great attitude. I have started doing qigong and it is helping my tinnitus a lot. As well I am taking Famvir and alot of Ginkgo and other supplements. That seems to be bringing the hearing back some and also helping with tinnitus. Hypnotherapy, is also a great tool for tinnitus. Hope this helps.

I lost my hearing in my right ear three months ago. My MRI, blood test for immune system came back negative. Doctor prescribed steroid medication and steroid shot into eardrum but didn't help. One month ago the hearing in my left year also gone within one hour. Again the doctor prescribed steroid medication and shot into eardrum. I am also having Chinese herbal medicines and acupuncture daily. My low frequency is almost back to normal but middle to high frequencies is still 70 to 100 db. Also have constant ringing noise and some imbalance. My speech recognition is about 50 percent. Did hearing aid help?

40th birthday weekend, still praying for you guys :)

inchman

did you do prednisone 60 mg a day for 12 days and then taper down and the ear shot must be once a week for three weeks in a row and it must be decadron, if not then i would try again, it hasnt been that long and there is a slim chance, if your doctor says no then get someone that will, also a aniviral or antibiotic is worth a shot, i did all three and i got mine back but maybe i just got lucky, my prayers are with you.