Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 96 of 105}

Just noticed this weekend the volume on my tinnitus spikes when I chew something hard on the right side of my mouth. I think its one tooth in particular that if I bite hard into it, the ringing gets louder.

Last week when to ent was applying a paper patch to my eardrum it really hurt. The thing is the pain shot from my ear into this same tooth. Is their a neve that runs through there, or is there something wrong with my tooth, maybe causing the tinnitus?

I think that nerves are interconnected. So pain in one area can be conducted to other areas. When you have severe toothache, the pain can be conducted to your face or other area of your head. People with heart attack can feel pain in the back or around shoulders. It is always said that tinnitus is produced because the respective frequency is lost or the the garbled frequency is interpreted by the brain to be confused signals, thus tinnitus is caused. Our body always gives us some signal when there is something wrong. For instance, you have toothache, there may be tooth decay or you may feel some discomfort long before real heart attack.

You know, I've heard that tooth and jaw problems (TMJ) can cause ear problems but not the other way around. Though my ear doc did say TMJ does not cause hearing loss. I never asked whether it can cause tinnitus though! I think you should go see a good dentist and have your teeth checked - sounds suspicious to me.

Hi all,
I came across this item on the FDA website. For some, it might be a ray of hope. No change in my own condition....continued hearing in left ear with brutal tinnitus.
Envoy Medical, MN have designed a new hearing aid device that can by used by some people who have SSHL. Best of luck to all.
http://www.envoymedical.com/

Folks, Sorry....it should read 'continued hearing loss'....Freudian Slip!!!!!

SSHL may involve the damage of hair cells and auditory nerves. I wonder if Envoy can be applicable to every one with SSHL In the next decade, I think that it can be a good news if the relative stem cells can be applied by the scientists to patients with SSHL to regenerate damaged hair cells and damaged auditory nerves.

> SSHL may involve the damage of hair cells and auditory nerves.

An assumption that proved false in my case, as I completely recovered after 3 years (just like the assumption that if steroids don't work after 2 weeks there is no hope - which drove me crazy).

I wonder how many with SSHL can recover.If you can recover, would you tell us your way to recovery, so that many people can benefit from it ? If allergy can affect our ears, how can we avoid those allergic substances? In what way, allergy can treated? I will appreciate those answers from you.

See my Profile (click on my jhorowi1 ID above). There is a link to a web site I built (I can't post web site links on this forum).

It includes everything that happened to me; how to diagnois an allergy (there are two types, type-1 and type-3) and how to cure the allergy if it's a type-3, which is what caused my SSHL. It includes all my test results.

Avoiding allergic substances is works, but an easy cure! You just need to be very careful not to make a mistake, ever. The hard part is finding out which food or things in your environment are causing your hearing loss. For that I took IgG (type-3 allergy) and IGE (type-1) blood tests.

> I wonder how many with SSHL can recover.

That's a great question. If everyone, still uncured, on this forum would get tested it would be very interesting to see the results & recovery rate.

But even if only a few more people recovered (could be you!) wouldn't it be worth it!? :-)

Having been struck by sshl in november 2006 and now wearing a hearing aid, everything that i have read over the years points to recovery being very quick for those who are going to recover ie within the first 3 or 4 weeks. I have not read of anyone recovering their hearing many months or certainly years later.

> I have not read of anyone recovering their hearing many months or certainly years later.

I lost my hearing in 2006 also, I recovered it fully in 2009. There is hope.

Hey guys my names Becky n' i'm 27.. I lost complete 100% hearing loss last year in my left ear!! I was hit from behind in my car and the following day my hearing had gone (it was horrible) I was severly dizzy for about 3 months.. it took about 4 months before i was diagnosed with complete hearing loss, by that time it was too late!! I'd been to the doctors most days since my hearing loss n' they just kept telling me that i had ear wax in my ears!!! 'basically they thought i was just being silly' Anyway it's been a year and half since my accident and i feel completely fine now! obviously i cannot hear from one ear but i've learnt to deal with it and adapt to everything now!! I finally saw the last specialist 2 months ago and he told me that as a result of my accident something in my neck jard causing blood bubbles to rise up into the inner ear knocking out all balance and hearing.. it's very rare apparently :( What i'm worried about now is that i've been having slight right ear pains lately, like a throbbing sensation and it's worrying me that i could just lose all hearing! I was also left with mild tinnitus, which is only annoying when i think about it, or if i get outta the bath for some reason!! It took about a year i'd say to adapt to everything i.e background noise, music... it was absolutely horrible to start with and embarrising. The only time i notice that i'm deaf is if i'm in a busy place.. it sucks! but i just have to deal with it.. There's no chance that i'll ever have hearing back in my left ear, i can't even have a hearing aid as there's no sound for the aid to work on.. Has anyone else had similar problems to me???? P.s i was diagnosed with all sorts for months up until 2 months ago finally.. doctors were saying it was meneiers, Labrynth... you name it!! oh n' they thought it was a brain tumour to start with.. nice!! so it's been a rather worrying year or so for me.. but pleased that they finally agreed it was from my car accident which is what i thought all along. thanks for reading :)

Have you seen the recent news concerning the link between PDE-5i drugs and sudden hearing loss? Just google -- viagra hearing loss -- to see the information. While I have never taken these drugs, I found the information linking increased blood flow to sudden hearing loss interesting.

June 23 will be my second anniversary of my SSHL. No change yet.

I am 52 and healthy. my L SSHL came on 3 hours after a very rare dose of cialis. I had had a cold the previous week. I started hi dose oral prednisone and then added transtympanic steroid injections (3) after a week. I have profound loss in the mid and hi frequencies. I am one month out now without signs of improvement. the tinnitus is worse than the loss. Otologist is recommending BAHA next winter if no improvement

Hello All,

Just experienced SSHL on May 24th and let me tell you it has been a NIGHTMARE since then. Prior to that I had had tinnitus for over 3 years starting around late 2006. I had 2 car crashes, one in 2004 and one in 2006, both T-bone style. Perhaps you see where I am driving at (no pun intended). I believe the Tinnitus came from the two accidents, giving me some TMJ as well as the ringing in the left ear only. After some time I went to a neuromuscular dentist who confirmed I have some TMJ and he fitted me with a custom acrylic orthodontic splint that I wear 23hrs a day and take out only to eat. It has done some good. I was just starting to really get used to the Tinnitus, when I awoke on the morning of May 24th, the tinnitus was much louder and when I went to stand I was very shaky and dizzy. I vomited several times and ended up going to the Emergency room. With the exception of one older nurse, they were all cold and heartless. I sat around while they did nothing, and the doctor who did see me was clueless (first day...lucky me). On top of their bad attitude, the nurses were also ugly ha ha. My mom found a referral for an ENT from her GP and we went there. After so many years of docs saying its just tinnitus, I was surprised when this doctor actually seemed to know what was going on. He was a very nice man. He did a hearing test (which I flunked pathetically in my left ear, right ear normal range...thank GOD!) He said I had SSHL and immediately put me on 12 days of Prednisone. My hearing was horrible that first day. I couldn't hear ANYTHING if I listened to the phone with my left ear. Listening to people with just my left ear everything was all garbled and if I cupped my ear and clicked my tongue into it...it went CRAZY!!! Sounded like a dial tone on a phone and then a bunch of other weird bleep noises...almost useless in trying to hear anything intelligible. And oh how HORRIBLE the tinnitus was. I mean it felt like heavy static just growing in my ear. So UNBEARABLE! I think the last poster said something that deafness is preferable to this HORRIBLE sound. He is so right! Oh God I broke down a few times. I've never had anything quite that BAD and if you don't experience it you can't possibly identify with those of us that have! So I just finished my prednisone the other day and I am going for my MRI tomorrow. I am praying a lot about this. Have been praying for years, but really stepped it up! Thankfully I am having some hearing regain. I still have a fluctuating HISS in the left ear which seems worse when I first wake up (probably because of lack of blood flow while sleeping maybe) Some weird symptoms I have are if I shake my head back and forth I get this kinda whooshy beepy kinda sound. If I put my head down and have my chin touch my chest I get an increase in the HISS that sounds more metallic. Has anyone had this? Also...though hearing for like watching TV or talking to people seems to have improved somewhat, when I pick up the cordless telephone and try to listen to people on it, they STILL sound very tinny and garbled, yet non-phone hearing sounds much better. PLEASE, HAS ANYONE EXPERIENCED THIS??? I can only guess it is because I don't yet (and hope to eventually have) the sharpness of hearing in that ear to hear all the tones that you hear over a phone. It's quite distressing. Although oddly enough I hear quite a bit better over my cell phone. Maybe because it has a flat instead of concave earpiece? I also went to see my chiropractor as after some research I have found that the Sternocleidomastoid muscle can often give people tinnitus and can even be responsible for hearing loss as well. He has been working on this muscle, and anyone with hearing loss and tinnitus in ONE EAR may want to check this out since exercising this muscle has help to reduce the tinnitus and even seemed to slightly bring back some of the hearing. I try to be very careful as I don't want to overdue anything. I also notice now if I cup my bad ear and kind of HISS into it, the ear responds with a more METALLIC hiss reaction...odd. Anyone have this??? When I first lost hearing, I could only hear slight scratching sounds when I moved my finger around in the ear canal. Now I hear quite a bit more, but it seems as though the rim of the ear and closer to the canal are a bit less sensitive than my good ear. Sometimes mild, peaceful music helps to sooth the ear. One blessing is that now when I wake up, the hiss is kind of bad, but slowly it goes away and doesn't bother me throughout the day near as much as it did. I take Ginko Biloba, Lipoflavonoids, and Coenzyme Q10 100mg about 2 or three times daily to help with the blood flow. This his comes and goes. Anyone know of a good way to sleep with this stuff? I tend to sleep on my back as I was sleeping on my right side (good ear) when it originally occurred. I put heat on the sternocleidomastoid muscle too...and it seems to help a little. Sometimes being in restaurants or places with a lot of noise will aggravate the hiss and make it go up. Man, I just want normal hearing again....or at least close to it. Now I'm always worried the same thing will happen again. I do have a renewable bottle of prednisone standing at the ready should it happen again. I am hoping that with care and time, that it will heal. I think it's a combo of whiplash to the SCM muscle which had never been properly treated, in conjunction with some TMJ that is causing this whole MESS! If anyone has any advise, or has experienced similar symptoms (especially the not hearing on phone thing well) please do post me back, or even better, send me an email. This has been two weeks of HELL! And it had been proceeded by 3 years of hell with the tinnitus alone. Hope to hear from someone...

Many Thanks!!!!!!

hoppe0001:
I think that people with SSHL encountered different stories. People or the ENT doctors can hardly feel the sufferings of those with SSHL, because they have not experienced such circumstances. People with SSHL have difficulty in communicating with pepole, or in understanding their conversations. I had balance issues in the beginning. My brain learns to overcome this problem gradually. I think that the balance issue is caused by malfunction of the balance organ in the cochlea. Lack of blood supply to the ear can cause SSHL and other symptoms. Neck problems can affect the blood supply to the ears. Drugs or heavy metals can play their part too. Food can be one of the factors causing SSH. People in this forum often talked about allergy causing SSHL. One of the major influences of tinnitus is the stress caused to our moods, making us unable to concentrate on doing things. I hope that the scientists soon can discover the real causes of SSHL and can confidently use more practical ways to heal us of such diseases.

Just read your post Hopper0001, I didn't know about hearing loss being caused by the Sternocleidomastoid muscle. I have had hearing loss and tinnitus since late march. Have had the steroid oral and interveinous, and the antiviral route for herpes. None of these did any good. Prior to my hearing loss I had shoulder problems on that same side, and wonder if that nerve is involved. I also noticed the other day that I get a weird tingle that shoots down the side of my neck, maybe once a month this will happen. My affected ear pops everytime I swallow, maybe that is also related. I was wondering you mentioned some exercises that helped that nerve muscle, what are those exercises, and how often do you do them?

As far as sleeping at night thats hard. It took me two months to figure it out. At first I was relying on sleeping pills but the store bought ones proved ineffective after a couple of weeks. I then tried ambien which was a mistake for me, because combined with the tinnitus it made me suicidel and crazy. Fortunately I quite after a couple very depressing days. I tried a sound machine and that didn't work because my tinnitus would overcome any sound I threw at it. I switched to sleeping on my back and stuck a fan next to my good ear. I focus my attention on the fan and try and tune out the tinnitus. As long as I stay up late enough so that I am tired when I go to bed, this has worked for me.

It's very tough to get used to having hearing loss and tinnitus, but like all other things you get used to living with it. There are a lot of things I will no longer enjoy doing, but I have to not stress over it, and move on. I have noticed that the less sodium I have in my diet the quieter my tinnitus is.

I did have a scary thing happen briefly yesterday and this morning. I had ringing in my good ear for about thirty seconds. Moved my head and yawned and I disappeared both times, but it scares me to think I could get tinnitus in my good ear as well. I still have hope of getting over this, as I am sure we all do.

Dave,

Trust me I feel your pain. Tinnitus is a horrendous thing. I've tried just about everything to make it abate, and it does what it wants to do. Like it has a mind of its own. My tinnitus is weird in that it seems to settle down when in a restful quiet place. It's like this perennial HISSING and sometimes the ear muscles/eardrum feel TIGHT. If I cup my hand by my bad ear and make like a hissing sound directly into my ear, the ear responds with a kind of metallic whooshing sound for a second. Then the sound abates a little for like a second or so, then slowly you can hear the hiss come up louder again. Damn strange. It's like the eardrum isn't vibrating correctly. Had another MRI monday (had one in 2008 that came back clean). Waiting to hear about that.

Yes I agree tinnitus and hearing loss are really the pits. I can't hear good on the phone. The hearing is diminished and kind of tinny. Does this happen to you too?

In regards to the sternocleidomastoid muscle, I think it might contribute to (but not be the sole cause of) some of the tinnitus. That muscle carries a lot of blood and is said to have an effect on the inner ear if it is not working properly. The exercises I do are pretty simple. My bad ear is my left, so I sit down in a chair, feet flat on the floor, posture straight. I turn my head as far as I can go to the right and hold it for a count of 15 seconds. After the 15 seconds, continue leaving your hear in the turned position. I take my index and middle finger together and place them on the side of my chin and push my head to rotate just a little bit more (not too much) for another count of 15 seconds. Then I rotate my head back to a relaxed middle position. You can also do slow head rolls. Sit in the chair (or even stand, doesn't matter)and roll your head three times slowly to the left, and then three times slowly to the right. You can tilt your head up and down some. Also while looking straight ahead, you can keep your shoulders locked and tilt your head to the left as if you are trying to touch your ear to your left shoulder, then do the same with your right, tilt it as though you want to touch your right ear to your right should (you won't be able to, but this will stretch the muscle pretty good) Hold each time for like 5 seconds. Also sometimes soft music, relaxation music through headphones is soothing. These exercises help a little. They loosen things up. I notice my T seems worst in the morning when all the muscles in my neck are stiff from sleeping. I use a heating pad too. Somthing tells me mine has something to do with either pressure in the inner ear or the eardrum since I get this weird wobbling kind of ring sound when I shake my head back and forth. I tried the ambient sound too and it didn't work too well for me either. Never tried a fan, but then I don't seem to have too much trouble getting to sleep. I am wondering if it could be Eustachian tubes as well...tried all those decongestants and even a sinus rinse. Sometimes the sinus rinse helps a little. It's just so baffling. What exactly is going on? It seems so resistant to therapy and it is very frustrating. I'm on short term disability now since I lost part of my hearing. Have to see what this MRI says. Have you had an MRI. I'm assuming you've been to a lot of doctors and they couldn't help you like me. I say a lot of prayers too. Feel free to email me direct if you like. My email is on here, just click on HOPPER0001 and you'll see my email. Hope you feel better!

Hi, I haven't posted in awhile. I woke up to SSHE over a year ago and was eventually diagnosed with Meneires.

I know how god awful tinnitus can be. I have had it so loud that it wakes me up in the middle of the night. It is MUCH better now due to low level laser treatment and I believe pretty high doses of COQ10 (500 mgs 3x day) as recommended by a naturapath I am seeing. Low level laser light has been used for decades in Europe but is just now making it to this country. It can also help restore hearing loss.

Contact David and he can hopefully tell you someone in your area that has it. http://www.cooperativemedicine.com/hearing_disorders.html

I will tell you that my tinnitus increased for a day or two after having a couple of treatments but it has now subsided to a level 1-3 for most days. It was at a level 5-10 before.

The CoQ10 is very helpful too I think.

There is hope people. Don't give up.

Suncasa - I am so glad to hear you are feeling better!!! What is the theory behind the laser treatment?

hi DAVE A.

If you happen to read the forums again. I might have some more info for you regarding tinnitus. But big question is...is this related to damage from extreme sound, or do you think it is more MUSCLE related? Did you have an accident or any head trauma?

Thanks

Sorry for not replying sooner, work has been crazy this week. I too have had the mri and they found nothing. As far as head tramau goes, no the only thing I had was a concusion when I was ten so I don't think thats related. Mine could possibly noise related, as I do use a chop saw at work. The puzzleing thing is I hadn't worked in two weeks prior to my having tinnitus. So I don't know If you can get delayed tinnitus.

The ear popping thing leads me to believe that there's something other than hearing damage going on in there. I have had horrible acid reflux, the lpr kind starting two weeks after my tinnitus. I have read that its possible for tmj, or a spinal misalignment to cause acid reflux, so I'm thinking about seeing a chriropractor for that.

I tested possitive for lymes disease a week ago, but that was just a test for the antibodys that fight the disease. The doctor said I had a really high antibody count, but a second test showed I didn't have the disease. So what are my antibodys fighting, or was the count high from the antivirals I had taken a month prior?

The doctor also tested a bunch of other things, and my testorone level was very low. I don't know why that is, maybe from the depression I have been going through from the tinnitus. He wants me to see an endocronologist, but that would make the sixth different doctor I have seen in three months. I may check into it if I feel its related to whats going on with the hearing loss, otherwise it will have to wait as my other health issues are more pressing.

My hearing loss is in the high frequencys, so sounds in that ear are just missing the high parts, maybe a little static. I am currently taking msm everyday (3000mg) I am hoping this will help my tinnitus as its a antiamflamitory. The cq10 is a good idea I will also try that. I also started taking olive leaf, because some reported it helped with the herpes virus, and even though I don't think I have that I figure it couldn't hurt.

This tinnitus has become my new hobby, I spend more time on the internet researching than doing any thing else. Still looking for that magic pill or treatment, at least it keeps me busy.

David A- I really recommend low level laser light treatment. I think that's what made the most difference for me and I only had 4 treatments. I plan to have more. I just have to go there and do it.

My tinnitus is still there and at night it is really still distracting but there is hope. I also have heard that the House Ear Clinic is introducing a new device soon that helps the brain learn to tune out the tinnitus. Different form TRT. THere is also a doctor in Michigan I believe who does surgery for tinnitus. They actually out an implant in the brain that somehow counters against tnnitus- I imagine that is a last resort.

Anyway- I totally know how hard it is. SUCKS!!

Dave,

I am assuming the MRI scan turned up no noticeable damage to the cochlea or any of the middle or inner ear components. I think a chiropractor is a very good idea. They don't charge too much and insurance will usually cover them (but many insurances cap them, like BS/BC I only get maybe 24 visits a year they cover). In my case my problem seems muscular. All the ear components are fine, but I think my muscles got screwed up from the car crashes I had in 04 and 06. I really feel that the muscles are being pulled and causing the tinnitus. The ear doesn't know how to do anything but make sound, so if it picks up these muscle spasms...it converts them into sound. It is possible you may have had some neck or muscular strain that you just aren't aware of. Especially if it is in just one ear. Have you checked the jaw for any TMJ? Any squeaking when you bite? I get some squeaking and it seems to be the muscles strained. A good chiropractor will be able to massage the muscles (if it is them). Mine uses some ultrasound too. Tinnitus is such a pain to figure out. I've been trying to figure it for 4 years. It only got narrowed to muscular when it got worse. My head squeaks when I lower by head to my chest, but the tinnitus is diminished. I'll say a few prayers for you, Dave. I don't know if you believe in that kind of thing, but often prayer has helped me a lot. Some things only God can fix. Well...at least it has helped me. Try not to obsess too much. I know I do that, and it just makes it worse. I hope you will feel better soon. Russ

Thanks Russ, yes I pray, I couldn't make it through this without it. Here's a link to a forum post you may find interesting. Read MichealV's story, may shed some light on your story.
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=108297