Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 99 of 105}

Thank you dear Suncasa,

I have looked into Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and laser for Sudden Hearing Loss is a new treatment I am only discovering on this website and your own. I do feel that whatever the reason (virus, circulatory, stress, illness, stroke, etc.) - that oxygen (lack of) did play a role in my hearing loss.

How expensive are Dr. Wilden's treatments? I imagine it must vary from patient to patient. Is it very expensive?

Thank you so much sharing your information.

Are there many constraints outside of wearing earphones to be followed after the procedure? Must it be started within a certain period of time after the loss to begin? Part of the major stress involving Sudden Hearing Loss, at least incurred by me, is the time limitation we seem to face in finding a quick resolution or jump start to keep our oxygen flowing at least in the beginning - and the complications in finding the right medical assistance or doctors who react abruptly and positively. I was very lucky with my last doctor (#3) who listened to me and was reactive to this situation as well as how I wanted to handle it. He went above and out of his way to help (and is still helping) and I am ever so thankful as I felt frusturated by the slow pace proceeding his intervention on my behalf; and the confusion of not knowing which medical route to take. All within these claustrophobic boundaries of time limitations.

The laser work seems fascinating. I am looking forward to learning more about these additional therapies (both laser and HBOT).

I am happy the laser light therapy is working for you and looking forward to hearing more about it(no pun intended...).

I suppose there are a few times throughout the past few weeks where a plethora of funny situations has occurred because of my hearing loss. It's good to remember our humour in these sorts of times. As well as to provide our bodies, spirits and souls with the conscious release of our frustrations, fright, anger confusion and fear of a rapid and sudden (and hopefully curable) change.

'What lies behind us and what lies in front of us are but tiny matters as compared to what lies within us.' -
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanks again for your help.

The unit from Dr. Wilden is expensive but when you purchase it he will consult with you at no additional charge for as long as it takes to heal your ears. This could be a couple of years. That is why I bought his unit. I was tired of having to guess at everything my self. I really wanted someone to tell me what to do with the treatment. You can get less expensive equipment from the kontec site listed on my blog- the unit for the ears is around $600. The treatments that I had locally were $40 each for a package of 10 treatments and they were very effective because the laser was so strong. They were with an acupuncturist. The best way to start is to call David Rindge at www.cooperativemedicine.com. He knows most of the people who have the appropriate lasers in the U.S.

For blood and oxygen increase many people take gingko bilko and/or vinpocetine. I have taken both but nothing has helped like the laser treatments. The laser also brings blood flow to the inner ear.

I understand how terrible it is to wake up to hearing loss. This ear thing I have been through is the worst thing I have ever experienced. Especially the tinnitus when it was at it's worst. If you can keep a sense of humor then you are ahead of the game for sure.

Just an update from me. My ENT is on holiday all this month and my next appointment is not until 30th Sept. I asked his secretary to ask one of his understudies to look into my file + see if I could try antivirals. Message backs saying yes I could try them but where did I get the idea they would work(!)and I would have to see my GP for a prescription. GP would not prescribe them and I must wait to see my specialist but why did I think antivirals would work anyway. It really is tiring trying to get through to these people, am sure things would be happening much faster if it were their hearing/tinnitus. Now I have the rash in my right ear, the only ear which hearing aid is of use. I had an appointment with a TFT therapist/hynotherapist so really needed hearing aid. Anyway got it in. Don't know if anyone else has tried these therapies for tinnitus but my experience today has been very positive. I rated my tinnitus as 7 out of 10 when I arrived and got it down to 3 when I left. I have exercises to practice and she thinks I will need around 5 sessions. She hopes to eliminate it!! Most interesting was she did muscle testing for allergies(!!!) + it is apparant that I have an allergy to milk. So that has been cut out as from today. Fingers X'd.

The low laser looks very interesting for next step should I need it. Just need to win on the lottery to pay for it all

Best wishes

me-jt - what is TFT? I'm glad it was helpful for you! Good luck with your process. I wonder about the rash in in your ear. I remember one of the members of the meniere's board that I am on, whose husband used antivirals successfully, mentioned a pimple in his ear that went away when on antivirals. She thinks it was an outward sign of the herpes virus. Anyway I don't at all think the virus is the cause for everyone but it is worth trying. I know that my GP did find evidence to support a viral theory for SSHL in the most recent literature.

Hi Shortcake-TFT = 'thought field therapy' which is tapping on acupressure points to balance energy meridians. It is used typically on phobias, stress and addictions. We only worked briefly on the tinnitus yesterday but I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

I have felt so ill with the sore throat and mouth ulcers and upset stomach this past week and at the end of my tether with GP's doing nothing, the therapist was teaching me breathing and tapping exercises for releasing toxins, she thinks are related to the milk allergy which came up. 24hrs with no milk and throat is less raw. Here's hoping other things start improving too....

I am going to have to wait to see my ENT at the end of next month as no-one else will prescribe the anti-virals. My GP referred to him as The Boss and they won't do anything without his say so.

Thanks for keeping all informed.
Happy weekend.

Hi me-jt

you wrote> it is apparant that I have an allergy to milk

what type of allergy test did you take and what lab?

Please ask her about taking an amino acid therapy, such as L-Glutamine. I have a feeling that approach may be able to help us. Although I've recovered my hearing and eliminated my chocolate allergy completely, I'm still sensitive to some foods (gives me tinnitus), and I want to heal completely without having to slowly reintroduce each one. So I'm looking for a total cure; I'm hoping suncasa is onto something too.

Hi JHorowi1

I didnt have lab tests, the therapist I went to see did kinesiology (muscles testing) as she suspected an allergy. Milk was all that came up as a weakness but she didnt test for chocolate (love it and contains milk so thats suspect and gone too). Funny thing is I did suspect a problem with milk as it affected my stomach. That is the first thing to improve thus far.

I will look into the amino acids. Must be honest I am totally confused re all the supplements and vits suggested on here or if the body really needs them. I have had blood tests recently on magnesium/iron+zinc which all came back normal. The COQ10 can only do good though? Thinking of trying that.

You really have done well to heal yourself. V happy for you :)

> The COQ10 can only do good though? Thinking of trying that.

I take 50mg every other day because it makes me drowsy - I know it can be a stimulant for others.
We are chemical beings, so consider supplements as you would any other drug or food. Too much isn't necessarily good, and you should listen to how your body reacts to it to best gauge what dosage to take. I did run a blood test before I started CoQ10 which indicated I was low, I then added slowly to find the right balance. I don't think it helped me, but it didn't do any harm AFAIK.

David A - just wondering how you are doing since the allergy test results several months ago. I hope you are doing better. If you want to contact me by private email it's in my profile.

I'm glad the list has be quite becuase I think it's important *not* to focus on this, but get on with life. I also hope it's because everyone is feeling better! :-)

Hey, sorry for not checking back in. I tried avoiding all yeast, peanuts, and cayenne pepper for a month with no change. I don't think my hearing loss is allergy related. I was on your site J horrow and noticed in your hearing test you didn't have conductive hearing loss. My test showed the conductive and air hearing loss to be the same.
I am also starting to doubt the accuracy of my igg test. I will probably get retested in a couple months by a different company and see if the results are the same. I have seen so many doctors in the past five months I decided to take a break and accept the tinnitus. I suspect I may have had the hearing loss for some time and never noticed it until I got tinnitus.
The one thing that still has me curious is my voice sound funny in the affected ear. Sometimes it seems like its an echo, or that feeling when you have a cold. But I don't feel blocked up. That ear also clicks when I swallow, and makes a popping noise noise every now and then (couple times a day, other one does nothing).
I was hoping this allergy thing would be my cure, but unfortunatly is was not. I was on steroids for a week back in april and that had no effect on my hearing, so I think if it was an allergy the steroids would have given me a temporary improvement.
I guess if I wanted to chase the next cure it would be tmj or some type of nerve pinch in my neck. Both of those can cause hearing loss and tinnitus. I don't have any pain in either area, but I can hear my neck pop and crack, but only in my affected ear.
It does seem to me the more I ignore the tinnitus, the less I hear it. I have gotten to the point where I can sleep without pills, and some times I forget I even have the tinnitus, only hear it when I think of it. I guess I have moved from denial into acceptance. If anything changes I will post in here again.
I was reading your update on your site about your leaky gut problem being related to your allergies. How is the l-glutamine working? I tried that one for a while to but gave up. I was having a horrible time with acid relux, and nothing was helping. The Doc that did my allergy test suggested that I read 'Why stomach acid is good for you' by Jonathan Wright. The book helped me tremendously, and I'm just about cured. The books explains how food allergys, leaky gut, and lack of stomack acid are all related. Just fyi.

Hi to everyone in the forum.

Well my story goes as follows:

In March 2010 I had double ear infections that resolved themselves after a course of Amoxicillin. Hearing went back to normal.

About a month later in mid-April, my ears got a full feeling again, but figuring that this might be another ear infection that could pass on its own, I waited a couple of days and hearing went back to normal.

Another month passes. I'm in mid-May 2010 at this point. I'm watching a movie on TV and notice that I don't hear as well out of my left ear. I get a little freaked out about it but don't go see a doctor immediately. The next day I don't notice any hearing loss. Back to normal once more.

Now comes Friday night, late May, Memorial day weekened. I'm out with friends and I notice I'm not hearing the juke box as well as I should. In the next few days a mild tinnitus I've had for years turns into a more intense ringing. Then I begin to notice my hearing go out in my right ear and come back. The same with the left ear. There was literally an hour at work where my hearing went back and forth between two ears several times!

I saw my GP in early June and he took a look inside my ears saying he couldn't see anything wrong. He referred me to an ENT for an appointment on 6/21.

About a week prior to my appointment both my ears felt full and my hearing diminished more in both. Then all hell broke loose with my tinnitus. What was a single tone high ring became a polyphony of ever changing roars, rumbles, beeps, etc.

When I saw the ENT an audiogram was done and I was told I had normal hearing in high frequencies in both ears. In the left ear I was at 45db at 250Hz and 35 db at 500Hz. In the right ear I was at 30db at 250 Hz, and normal range higher than that. The Dr. suspected an acoustic neuroma in the left ear and had me go in for an MRI. I saw him about ten days afterward and he said MRI was fine. No mention of autoimmune disorder (which I knew virtually nothing about) was made and no steriods were given.

I went back to my GP and was referred to another ENT for a second opinion. I just so happened to have gone to a TRT clinic for tinnitus treatment and my audiogram showed that in the two months since my first audiogram my right ear had dropped 15dB and matched my left ear perfectly. When I saw the second ENT he mentioned the possibility of AIED and had me go in for a special blood test.

When the blood test came back, everything was normal except for a Rheumatoid Factor of 28. He said that for a 39 year old that is not normal, and put me on a course of oral prednisone for a month.

It's now 9/21. I take an audiogram at the ENT's clinic and it shows improvement in the right ear back to 35dB, with the left ear the same as in the original test in June. At this point my ENT refers me to a Neurotologist.

I see the neurotologist on 9/22. He does an audiogram and the improvement shown in the right ear is gone. Ten decibles worse than the previous day. The hearing loss in virtually all frequency levels in both ears in his words were a 'spot on' match between both ears. He said that I might have AIED, or I might not. I asked him if I could have Meniere's (considering the low frequency loss) without ever having had vertigo and he said that it is possible. He then agreed to try an intratympanic steriod shot in the right ear, and put me on an increased dosage of 80 Mg of Prednisone. He also referred me to a rheumatologist for more testing to be done in early October. It's been two days since the shot and my voice sounds louder in my right ear, but that may be resonance due to lingering fluid in the ear. I just don't know.

Though the hearing loss is a drag (especially the way it has changed the way music sounds to me), it is nowhere near as big a problems as the tinnitus, which in my case simply cannot be masked. Running water and white noise actually makes the noise increase! I understand that if hearing loss can be reversed, tinnitus can be diminished as well, but I'm wondering if too much time has passed for any treatment to be effective. Any advice or encouraging words would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Reggie 123,
Never give up hope. Believe that our body has self-healing power when the right nutrients, rest and exercise are given. Increase the self-healing power by normalizing other parts of our body. Strong immune system is very important in the healing action.

Thanks Eltonlam. I'm trying to keep my hopes up.

> How is the l-glutamine working? I tried that one for a while to but gave up.

Up to 12grams a day and noticed a mild improvement after a month. I'll know its really working when the tinnitus is completely gone and stress doesn't make it worse. Of course it could also be that I'm not focusing on it as much anymore.

About a 9 days ago I had sudden hearing loss along with tinnitus and fullness in my right ear. I have been to the ENT 2x and they have done 2 hearing tests. The tests were consistent and showed mild high frequency hearing loss. Had MRI and it came back clean.

I have done a lot or research and have found that a typical course of treatment is steroids, and it is important to do this within the first 7-10 days. As of right now my dr. has not suggested steroid treatment given my loss is minor.

Is this correct or should I insist on the steroid treatment? I am really having a tough time with the tinnitus. The fullness feels a little better.

vbiad,

I would run a quick pulse of steroids (why not? it's the 'gold' standard). Many people do recover that way; 50% recover spontaneously too within a couple of weeks. :-)

Thanks for the response.

50% is not a very high for spontaneous recovery. Does anyone know if the % increases with steroid treatment. I guess I am a glass is half empty type guy :)

Given the fact that this happened closed to 9 days ago am I too late?

What are the side effects and risks to this type of treatment?

> I guess I am a glass is half empty type guy :)

Ha!! This is probably why you lost your hearing. (see the URL link in my profile. You can contact me by email if you want the other answers.)

I have a feeling that having a positive attitude and moving on is 1/2 the cure. I know, easier said than done for some of us. But those that do seem to get well faster.

I'm trying to read through all the posts, but a lot to go :) Anyway, here is my story.

This past summer I was pregnant. On August 13, 2010 (Friday the 13th no less) I woke up with slight hearing loss in my right ear. I was 38 weeks pregnant. I was seeing my OB that day and spoke with her about it. She thought it might be swelling related to pregnancy. By day 3, no hearing had returned so I made and appt. with and ENT. My hearing test showed Moderate Hearing loss in my right ear.

I started a course of steroids. I don't believe that there were any improvements from this. There was thought that my hearing might improve after giving birth, but after a 2nd hearing test, there was only one area that I slightly improved in.

The ENT I was seeing basically told me that my hearing wouldn't return and that I had to learn to live with it or get a hearing aid. As you may imagine, I went for a second opinion.

Had an MRI & CT Scan...all normal.

To date, hearing doesn't really seem to be improving. Sometimes I think that it is better, but then I think 'no, I'm just adjusting better to the loss.

I've also starting seeing a chiropractor. No major improvement.

Any tips for getting my hearing back?

Meliz3: Congratulations on your baby and sorry to hear about your hearing loss. It seems we have similar stories. Not sure I can help you much but here´s hoping someone in this forum can come up with something to give us hope!

My sudden hearing loss happened on August 25th when I woke up and suddenly couldn´t hear anything in my right ear. This was three weeks after giving birth to a baby girl and I had never had any ear problems before. I was also dizzy and had vertigo that lasted for about a week. I went to an ENT five days later who diagnosed me with sudden deafness and I was treated with prednisone (60 mg for 6 days). I went back 3 weeks after and there was a small improvement in my hearing but not much. He told me there was no cure and that I had a 50% chance of getting my hearing back, this could take up to 1,5 years. My blood tests came back normal.

I felt I needed more answers so I went to another ENT, now 6 weeks into my SHL. Strangely enough he himself had just gone completely deaf overnight on one ear! I did another hearing test showing a hearing loss of 60 DB (best in the low tone area). Again I was told that there was no cure but this ENT believed it to be a virus infection (even though I had no symptoms of a virus when the hearing loss happened) and that 97% of those with a virus on the auditory and/or balance nerve regain some or all hearing. I was left feeling more positive but when I went back three weeks later for a check-up my hearing was no better and by now my chance of recovery had diminished (btw he had now regained 10% of his hearing after immediate oxygen treatment).
I´m getting an MRI to make sure this is not an aucustic neuroma but he thought that was very unlikely since my hearing loss was so sudden.

It´s now been 10 weeks after my SHL and I still wake up in disbelief every morning. How can your hearing just go like that!!? I can hear noises close to my ear and people speaking on the phone if they speak clearly but they have sort of 'thin' voices. Other than that the right ear is not much use so I´m glad my left ear is still working. But the worst part of all this is not really the hearing loss but the constant tinnitus - no silence anymore - and the hypersensitivity to sounds. All of a sudden I can´t listen to sharp sounds and it hurts my ear to be in a room with many people. This is the part that worries me the most. How will I ever manage going to a party or a conference and will I be able to go back to work after my maternity leave? I fear being isolated and have started to avoid social occations. Not good. I´ll need to start coping to manage this.

It´s been a relief to find this forum, I felt like the only person in the world with SHL! I´ve been reading through many of the posts to see if there´s anything worth trying but after 2,5 months I guess my chances of recovery are slim. It sounds like immediate steroid injections would have been my best chance but apparently that´s not an option in this country (Denmark) and I´m really frustrated that I may have missed an opportunity to improve my hearing because the ENTs here gave up so quickly. I guess we´re on our own trying to find out what lies behind our hearing loss.

In my case I think it was some kind of problem with the blood flow. I had high blood pressure during the last part of my pregnancy and was taking lots of medicine to keep it under control (but was off most of the medication when this happened). I´ve also read that sudden hearing loss can happen when the blood flow to the ear is cut off for even a few seconds (apparently the veins in the ear are particularly vulnerable) and that it´s possible for the ear to regenerate within 1-5 months if this happens. Who knows - there are so many explanations for this and the ENTs or physicians don´t really know anything. I was also under a lot of stress when my SHL happend after giving birth to a premature baby and being hospitalized for five weeks, I´m sure that´s a factor in all of this too.

I´ve tried acupuncture - no effect. I´m also getting cranio-sacral massages, it´s very calming but I not sure about the actual effect on my ear. I´ve started taking vitamin supplements (D, E and Zinc) and may try taking antivirals. I´ve also found yoga exercises that can help reduce the tinnitus and it seems there are laser treatments that could help.

I´ll write more in detail later and let you know how I fare.

Sorry this was so long but I had a lot on my mind:-)

/SusieQ

Hi all. I had my hearing tested yesterday. Everything has improved using low level laser light. If you look at the post from Nov. 5, 2010 you'll see the results. I feel the need to share. This has been a lifesaver for me. http://healingmenieres.wordpress.com/

Hi SusieQ,

> but after 2,5 months I guess my chances of recovery are slim.

Not really, I fully recovered after 3 years (see the URL link in my profile). I was told that too, and it did nothing to reduce my stress (the root cause of my loss).

Don't give up hope - there is probably more than one cause at play, although all of us have very similar symptoms. So try different things, don't go it alone and keep an open mind.

SusieQ,
I only have a few words for you (its been 4 years since my SSHL) - everything will settle down and life will go on, you will adjust. I know its hard now but please take heart and try to stay positive.

Julie

Hi SusieQ,

My heart goes out to you...especially as a pediatrician and family doctor. I lost total hearing in one ear 15 months ago and have significant high frequency hearing loss in the other ear. I've tried virtually everything known to medical science and to alternative medicine, but to no avail. So besides using my Oticon hearing aid in one ear, I pray, eat well, exercise regularly and try hard to always be a good person...which has resulted in my hearing loss pretty much just not 'bothering' me for the most part. My brain has adapted to noise in restaurants pretty well and also to conversations with multiple people at once. It actually seems like I'm almost hearing stereo phonically, which of course I'm not. I still have no idea from which direction sound is coming from. But all in all, I just go about my life now, including lecturing to large audiences. Sure, I know my hearing loss is there, but I'm really doing fine, and whetehr or not your hearing omes back, I predict you will do fine too! Take heart!

It is good for people to issue positive energy at all times to counteract the negative energy existing in this world. Energy is interactive. All diseases are caused by bad energy. We should cheer up and absorb more positive energy. There is always wonder ahead of us.

From etmd22 on 2010-11-08
Hi SusieQ,

My heart goes out to you...especially as a pediatrician and family doctor. I lost total hearing in one ear 15 months ago and have significant high frequency hearing loss in the other ear. I've tried virtually everything known to medical science and to alternative medicine, but to no avail. So besides using my Oticon hearing aid in one ear, I pray, eat well, exercise regularly and try hard to always be a good person...which has resulted in my hearing loss pretty much just not 'bothering' me for the most part. My brain has adapted to noise in restaurants pretty well and also to conversations with multiple people at once. It actually seems like I'm almost hearing stereo phonically, which of course I'm not. I still have no idea from which direction sound is coming from. But all in all, I just go about my life now, including lecturing to large audiences. Sure, I know my hearing loss is there, but I'm really doing fine, and whether or not your hearing comes back, I predict you will do fine too! Take heart!