Hearing loss reocurring?

I was diagnosed in '95 with MS and never imagined that hearing loss would be a factor.  Recently I had an episode with the right side of my face and tongue being numb and I was a wee bit unstable in my balance.  A week later I lost my hearing in my right ear...and to top it off tinitus only in that ear....so loud I thought I would go deaf if I wasn't already in this ear.  Some future!

After google searching I found some info and found it to be uncommon (6% of MS sufferers experience hearing loss if true) however I could never find anyone who had posted about their recovery from this, which made me panic.

Long story short - after 8-10 very long weeks my numbness disappeared although some minor residual numbness appears, my hearing has come back likely 80%.

Has anyone experienced this and or has it reoccurred but on the opposite side?

[Lulu54]

Hi and welcome to the forum here.  I'm searching my memory and don't remember but maybe one or two other comments about hearing loss here on this forum.  It is fairly unusual as you point out.

I appreciate you sharing this symptom, and especially that is resolved to an acceptable level.

I hope we see you here again,
Lulu

[COBOB]

The common part of the brain involved in facial numbness and hearing would lead me to think of a brain stem lesion.  The facial numbness is most likely related to Cranial Nerve 5 and the hearing issues would be the auditory or vestibulocochlear nerve which is Cranial Nerve 8.  These are all jammed into a pretty small space on the brain stem.

Have you discussed this with your neurologist?  IVSM may have been useful early on in knocking down the inflammation.  With the possibility of multiple Cranial Nerves being effected in a short time frame, I;m wondering if he sent you for an MRI to see if there are obvious brain stem lesions.  Most of the time, I recommend that folks not try and match symptoms to lesions, but Cranial Nerves 3-12 make for a special case (isn't there always one?)

With hearing issues, the neuro cauld also consider a BAER and see if there is any demonstrable latency with CN8.  

Just some thoughts.

Bob

[Nancy T]

Bob, say that a person had very abnormal results with BAER (even when there is no hearing loss); do you think you would you expect to SEE brainstem lesions on MRI? I mean, are they relatively easy to see in cases of severe BAER abnormality? Just curious.

Zange, I did not receive a diagnosis of MS or anythign else but I do have multiple cranial nerves affected (8, 5, and probably also 7 to a lesser extent) and had a sudden permanent hearing loss on one side, but my hearing loss was probably an unrelated (vascular) problem. I'm glad you got most of your hearing back, and good luck in the future. I have had no further hearing loss after that one incident, which was twelve years ago.

I think Bob's idea to ask your neuro about a BAER is a good idea.

Nancy

[COBOB]

An abnormal BAER can be due to a lesion anywhere along the vestibulocochlear nerve.  That is from the Cochlea all the way to the brain stem.  The issue I see is that when you are having issues with multiple cranial nerves (CN3-12) the point of commonality is the brain stem.  

Bob

[jensequitur]

I thought I was losing my hearing, but it turns out it's doing just fine.  What happens is that occasionally the nerve 'shorts out' and stops transmitting certain frequencies of sound to my brain.  I have a lesion in the pons (ventral aspect) and another on the left of the medulla.  Like Bob says, that's 5,6,7, and 8 CN.