Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 90 of 105}

Zhaijw,
How much L-Carnitine are you taking every day? And are you taking it on an empty stomach? Thanks.

Two times a day, each time 800-100mg. I usually take the supplement after breakfast and dinner.

sorry, should be 800-1000mg

Thank you!

I have taken the supplemennt for about 3 weeks before I felt the improvement. Please let us know if your condition has improved after taking the supplement.

I wonder if someone has ever tried ginkgo biloba which is said to promote blood circulation and facilitate better hearing.

Ginkgo biloba is recommended for ocular disorders and other disorders (hearing or vertigo) of circulatory origin. I have tried this for more than 2 months before but didn't notice any improvement. But I still think this drug is good for ear problems and worth a try.

I'm on ginkgo. However I'm taking a variety of things and don't know whether the ginkgo is helping or not! I have also heard about it improving circulation to the ear and helping with tinnitus.

Will injection of steroid into the ear damage the cochlea? I know that the cochlea contains fluids. How long will the steroid stay inside the ear? Any information about these will be welcome.

I wonder if rewiring of nerves often occurs for SSHL, if the nerves are damaged or blocked. Is it natural for the affected ear to find new nerve paths or to also use the auditory nerves of the normal ear for the transmission of electrical sound impulses? Any comments will be welcome.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

eltonlam.

I'm a family doctor with one-sided SSNHL for 6 months. I very much suspect it was stress-induced from (1) a dental procedure on the same side just 2 days before the hearing loss and (2) my brother passing away after a long difficult illness just 21 days before--we were very close.

In any case, your query re the affected ear re-wiring itself is exactly what has spurred my research into the topic. I had thought that with the newly developing field of brain 'neuroplasticity' that someone would be working on the question. Alas, other than some hamster/gerbil experiments I have found absolutely nothing of much interest.

Therefore, I suspect that anectdotal reports from folks like us on the internet about recovering traces of hearing in the affected ear over time will be the best source of information and hope.

Finally, the more I research the more I find that the evidence for a viral cause of SSNHL is virtually non-existent! This makes me think the problem may often be (1) a mini-stroke to the tiny cochlear artery ( a blockage of blood flow to the cochlea) or (2) a mini-stroke directly in part of the auditory center of the brain itself--which could mean a significant cause of SSNHL is a 'central' lesion, rather than a 'peripheral' lesion. (Who knows? It surely does not appear that the doctors know yet!)

etmd22

Mine was probably stress-related. It happened shortly following an argument with my wife. It was probably a stroke or a blockage of blood flow to the cochlea. I also have balance issues. Our brain is very subtle and versatile in communication. I think the brain is finding ways to repair or to regenerate when any organ is damaged or blocked.
Medical science is so advanced, but there is a lot of mysteries to be uncovered as to the operations of our brain.

I had another hearing test Dec.9th and had same results as my post on 11-27-09. My doc says come back in March to get a hearing aid. he says I may get a little more back over time so give it a few more months. I can hear the wind blow and hear people talking a few feet away but just sounds like Charlie Browns teacher. I have tinnitus that changes frequency and sometimes goes away completely for a second while it transitions between frequency. Sounds like someone dialing in a radio station all the time and sometimees a vacuum cleaner running in the distance. I've been playing acoustic guitar through the PA at a low volume and sit with my good ear to the monitor. I'm going to purchase a DB meter for this and for headphones to make sure I'm at a safe level to record and play out. singing is frustrating and sometimes I want to smash things out of anger..I know it wont help so I don't. I listen back to recordings and it doesn't seem as bad as when I'm doing it.

I have been taking the Acetyl-L-Carnitine(500mg 2 x a day, has 200mg of lipoic acid built-in. get it from GNC)for 3 weeks in addition to what I've been taking. thought maybe the boop noise at the grocery checkout yesterday was louder than normal..I'll try anything.

I'm back to my joking self(the initial coming to terms with this was devistating along with the predisone will beat you down, i'm pred free now).. although I'm a little more careful..preaching to my kids about protecting their ears and eyes etc.

When I'm down about this I remind myself that I don't have a terminal disease... I play with my kids..I think about the things I do have..etc. My dad was killed in a plane crash at 39 when I was 7(I'm 39 now) and I remember my Mom saying years later that if you put your troubles in a pile with everyone elses that you'd gladly go away with your own. anyway enough for now...

Hope you all had a good Christmas! I learned that kids have no patience when it takes what feels like an eternity to get all the twisty ties off of each toy before you can get it out of the box!

Hi Songdaddy

My dosage of Acetyl-L-
Carnitine is: 2 times a day, each time 800-1000mg. Please make sure that your dosage is enough.

Hope this supplement will help.

Happy New Year!

I have balance issues. I wonder if balance issues will never subside or vanish when the organ of balance is damaged. I know that SSHL may not be accompanied by balance problems. I want to know if there is anyone in this forum only having SSHL but without balance issues. Does it mean his or her organ of balance is intact?

Eltonlam

I have SSHL and no balance issues at all - just deafness and 24-7 tinnitus.

Someone mentioned in a an earlier post about the brain re-wiring/adjusting and I can say yes it does happen. I have severe hearing loss in my left ear and for the first 3/4 months, I found sound strangely unbalanced and wierd with everything coming from only my right side. I found going out in places like shopping centres etc very strange and I also had difficulty recognising tunes quickly. However these sensations have now gone and sound doesn't sound as one sided and unbalanced as it did and I can recongise tunes as quickly as I used to. Although my hearing loss hasn't got better, I figure my brain has compensated only being able to hear from one side, so permanent mono sound doesn't sound so wierd and unbalanced anymore.

scorpiouk
You are lucky because your balance organ is not affected.
I agree with you that after several months, I feel it more stereo now. It seems that skull becomes ears and can transmit sigals. It seems to be a resonant box. I wonder if this is a kind of re-wiring that the brain does. Do you have that sensation especially when you scratch your head?

etmd22, Hi, you mention Mini-strokes and this has been mentioned in the past. I have now had 4 Mri scans and one CT scan over the last 4 years- wouldn't a mini-stroke show? Also, what do you think about the possibility of an acoustic neuroma so small that it is missed? My Gp and i were so convinced that this was my problem because i had been speaking to people on the acoustic neuroma forum and my symptoms were/are identical to theirs? I have read of slow growing acoustic neuromas that have taken years of scans to detect.

Ginko Bilobo- tastes foul and did nothing for me!

At the 6 month mark now. High Frequency loss in my right ear. The Tinnitus is still a problem for me as well as a feeling of being drunk or light headed. For some reason supermarkets completely throw me off. Not sure if its the lights or looking back and forth when walking the aisles.

I am actually thinking about trying a hearing aid. My Audiologist thinks it might help with the Tinnitus.

JeWeL41, I think a mini-stroke could be as tiny as a blockage to a thread-like cochlear artery or arteriole or else a tiny infarct (interruption of blood flow) in the brain itself--neither of which would show up in an MRI or CAT scan.

As far as an acoustic neuroma, it's so unlikely after 4 years of looking and testing that it would be really incredible if it turned out to be the case. I wouldn't spend another moment thinking about it if I were you.

Happy New year to everyone on this excellent forum!

I've researched virtually all the world's literature on SNNL to the point where I genuinely feel like an idiot savant on the subject, yet I consistently glean new and important information from this forum about what I should expect, how I can better cope, and most importantly, what feelings are commonly associated with SSNHL--it's information and wisdom NOT generally found in the medical literature or known by ENT doctors.

For example, a few posts ago, the following info came up which boggles my mind--and gives me comfort because I can say, 'Me too!'

****************************************

Eltonlam writes: 'Someone mentioned in a an earlier post about the brain re-wiring/adjusting and I can say yes it does happen. I have severe hearing loss in my left ear and for the first 3/4 months, I found sound strangely unbalanced and wierd with everything coming from only my right side. I found going out in places like shopping centres etc very strange and I also had difficulty recognising tunes quickly. However these sensations have now gone and sound doesn't sound as one sided and unbalanced as it did and I can recongise tunes as quickly as I used to. Although my hearing loss hasn't got better, I figure my brain has compensated only being able to hear from one side, so permanent mono sound doesn't sound so wierd and unbalanced anymore.'

Scorpiouk responds:'I agree with you that after several months, I feel it more stereo now. It seems that skull becomes ears and can transmit sigals. It seems to be a resonant box. I wonder if this is a kind of re-wiring that the brain does. Do you have that sensation especially when you scratch your head?'

*********************************************

So...all the above and much more happens to so many of us, and maybe one day when such phenomena are better known and appreciated by the medical profession it will lead to a better understanding of SSNHL--its causes and treatment. That's my New Years wish for all of us! Oh, also that God blesses us with health and healing.

Edward A. Taub, M.D.

Sharing information and discussing with one another is certainly positive, encouraging and comforting to us all.
I here thank doctors and experts for their encouraging support throughout the year.
Happy New Year to All!

Hey what's up guys? Well I figured I'd get in on the action.
A year ago, almost to the day, I believe I was JUST getting over a pretty nasty cold when I was on the computer and I got the all so common high altitude feeling in my left hear. Shortly after I was accompanied with a ringing and probably 80% deafness.
Being that I don't have insurance I put off the doc for about a month then I couldn't deal with it any more so I made an appointment at Denvers 'best ear place' Denver Ear Associates.
$400 later I had an ear test which confirmed what I already knew (I couldnt hear out of my left ear) and a fancy white coat doctor telling me he hadn't the slightest clue, go get an MRI.
Well since I dont have insurance I wasn't about to spend thousands of dollars for an MRI which I was almost certain would be a waste of money anyways.
Fast forward to June 09' I decided to get a second opinion. This guy basically said the exact same thing and pretty much assured me that an MRI would be a waste and to buy one of their fancy hearing aids. Wow thanks guy.
So here I am a year later trying to find info again and I can see quite clearly that I'm doomed.
I suppose Ill start stuffing pills down my throat and let you guys know how 2010 turns out for me. :)

etmd22, Thanks for that. I agree with the others re the brain re-wiring too. When it first happened I had dreadful hypercussis and two sounds which I couldn't deal with at all where the freezers in supermarkets and the wheels of my husbands car on the road as we drove - neither of which i had even registered before. I don't notice them now but the change was gradual so I can't say when it stopped being a problem. My hearing aid helps in so far as getting back the stereo sound but I am still useless at telling where sounds come from - a fact that my students (I teach) quite like to exploit!! Keep up the good work, hope you are doing OK.

Progressiverain - I would have the MRI- in rare cases SSHL is caused by an acoustic neuroma and you should get this ruled out. As to pill popping, reducing salt etc - no harm in trying but it did nothing for me. Positive thoughts and time are the best 'healers'. While your hearing won't come back you will learn to live with this. If you can get a hearing aid I would definitely recommend that too.

Happy New Year to all!!!

JeWeL41; What a well-said response to progressiverain!

The MRI is a worthwhile idea to rule out a neuroma, but all the other tests and drugs that progressiverain couldn't afford most likely wouldn't have made much of a difference at all.

I also hope progressiverain will get a hearing aid and make a sound (pun intended!) New Year's resolution to deal with the feelings of hurt, anger, grief, and confusion that we all have felt, and to some extent still do.

JeWeL41
Reducing salt intake is not good to health, instead we should consume unrefined sea salt the minerals of which are balanced. Common salt is harmful, because it is refined and not balanced in minerals. Minerals and trace elements are essential to the metabolism of our cells. I am now having unrefined sea salt, I think it useful to me for removing toxins from the body. Our bodily fluids are rather similar to that of sea water. Seaweeds are nutritious because of the mineral abundance of the ocean. The best diet is food from mother nature and is unmodified. Nowadays, vegetables and fruits contain insufficient minerals, because crop rotations are rarely practised by farmers.