Aa
SSHL recovery timeframe
at what point does a person with diagnosed SSHL, who has already been treated with oral steroids and tympanic injections of steroids, give up hope of experiencing any further hearing improvement?
I had SSHL in October.I was like my ear poped .but it was not notcable ,just a slight ringing ,then in late december it got really bad and I saw an ent.Steroids and in 3 weeks hearing was perfect.Then the hearing went away and i started with steroids again and injections,.Hearing came back ,perfect for 3 months ,then slight crack here slight crack there ,i felt it coming back .now I am on steroids injections and oral for 1 month and it is as bad as it ever was.its about a loss of 40 DB to 30 DB in the 3 low frequency .I feel a slight twinge of pain in the ear ,and a constant Hiss
Going to UC to see a specialist Thursday.Is more annoying with the Hiss then the hearing .I cant go to resrtaurants without getting annoyed
Going to UC to see a specialist Thursday.Is more annoying with the Hiss then the hearing .I cant go to resrtaurants without getting annoyed
Hi Maiken04,
I had the same issue, it was 36 days before my hearing came back and it did so spontaneously. I had 2 dexamethesone IT shots and 12 days after the first shot was when my hearing came back. There are many people who claim 30 day window, and 10 days from onset - I happen to start oral steriods on 10th day from onset, although it was probably 12 days since I couldn't recognize whether I had become partly deaf in my left ear (I thought it was clogged from a cold or something until I couldn't hear any speech). 5 weeks later my hearing loss returned, but roughly 60% of the loss I first incurred. I'm on my 4th injection in 4 weeks. Stay away from FLONASE, it's a vasoconstrictor and will have the opposite effect of what Dexamethesone is suppose to do, which is anti-inflammatory vasodialator. You may begin to see if you can find a prescription for Betahistine. It's hard to find, but it targets the inner ear (cochlear) specifically. This vasodialates the area allowing more permeability of the steroids. Keep up on vitamin e 1000 iu, c (3g), a (8000iu), and d (5000iu), with Ginkgo. I'm also taking cranberry supplements, taurine (1 gram/day). These were part of my regime that returned my hearing and then I stopped taking them, prior to my hearing loss. I'm a big advocate of Intertempanic Dexa - if you look up blood brain barrier for Prednisone, it doesn't really even get to your brain (ie. above you neck). This is fairly useless, but inexpensive for insurance companies and low risk for ENT's.
I had the same issue, it was 36 days before my hearing came back and it did so spontaneously. I had 2 dexamethesone IT shots and 12 days after the first shot was when my hearing came back. There are many people who claim 30 day window, and 10 days from onset - I happen to start oral steriods on 10th day from onset, although it was probably 12 days since I couldn't recognize whether I had become partly deaf in my left ear (I thought it was clogged from a cold or something until I couldn't hear any speech). 5 weeks later my hearing loss returned, but roughly 60% of the loss I first incurred. I'm on my 4th injection in 4 weeks. Stay away from FLONASE, it's a vasoconstrictor and will have the opposite effect of what Dexamethesone is suppose to do, which is anti-inflammatory vasodialator. You may begin to see if you can find a prescription for Betahistine. It's hard to find, but it targets the inner ear (cochlear) specifically. This vasodialates the area allowing more permeability of the steroids. Keep up on vitamin e 1000 iu, c (3g), a (8000iu), and d (5000iu), with Ginkgo. I'm also taking cranberry supplements, taurine (1 gram/day). These were part of my regime that returned my hearing and then I stopped taking them, prior to my hearing loss. I'm a big advocate of Intertempanic Dexa - if you look up blood brain barrier for Prednisone, it doesn't really even get to your brain (ie. above you neck). This is fairly useless, but inexpensive for insurance companies and low risk for ENT's.
Hello,
I'm new to this community, a 25 year old otherwise healthy female living in the US. Today marks 4 weeks exactly since my hearing went out; here is my SSHL story:
May 12th, 2015 I was sitting at my desk at work and the hearing in my left ear suddenly faded out and was replaced with loud tinnitus. I wasn't too concerned at the time because this intermittent hearing loss/tinnitus had been happening in my left ear sporadically for the past 3-4 weeks, it would last anywhere from about 30 seconds to a couple minutes, sometimes it would happen a few times in a day and some days it wouldn't happen at all. Each time it would happen I made a mental note to schedule an appointment with an ENT but I honestly just thought maybe it was wax buildup or something, and then I would forget about it until the next time it happened. But on May 12th when it happened again, the hearing didn't come back quickly like it usually would and I started to panic. (Side note: did anyone here experience intermittent hearing loss before the actual onset of the SSHL?) That night I went to urgent care and the Dr told me to take Allegra and Flonase and follow up with an ENT in a few days if it didn't clear up.
The next day the hearing loss remained and so I decided to try to see an ENT ASAP, and luckily I was able to get an appointment with one that afternoon. They did an audiogram and the results showed profound deafness in my left ear (no measurable hearing), the ENT diagnosed me with SSHL and prescribed me Prednisone, Acyclovir (antiviral) and triamterene (a diuretic) so I filled the prescriptions right after the appointment and began taking the meds within 24 hours of the onset of hearing loss. The ENT mentioned steroid injections and an MRI but wanted me to finish the full course of meds first before even considering those things (which would have been in 16 more days). I wasn't quite satisfied with her bedside manner (she made it seem as though doing the injections would be a huge inconvenience to her) so I decided to get a second opinion and was able to get in with a new ENT the following day (May 14th). The new ENT confirmed the SSHL diagnosis and was much more thorough and knowledgeable. She said the meds the previous ENT had prescribed me were the standard course of treatment but she also brought up the intratympanic dexamethasone steroid injections and I decided I wanted to do that as well and she was able to do the first injection that day, so this was less than 48 hours after the onset of hearing loss. She also sent me for blood work and referred me for an MRI and hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the hospital. I had 3 more injections over the course of the next 2 weeks and began hyperbaric oxygen therapy one week after hearing loss onset, on May 19th. I was prescribed 20 hyperbaric sessions and have 2 left as of today. My MRI and blood-work came back normal.
I had a 2nd audiogram last week on June 3rd. Basically I have an ever so slight improvement but not enough to give me any sort of functional hearing. I can "hear" sounds in my left ear if there are very loud and close, but they come through as an extremely distorted buzzing/squealing sort of noise. I'm not able to differentiate between a voice, a tone, etc, all I hear is a distorted noise and only if it is very loud.
So I am feeling very discouraged, anxious, disappointed, scared, frustrated.....It has been 4 weeks and even though I had very aggressive treatment and I started it early, I have basically seen almost no improvement. I'm scared that since I haven't improved by now, I never will. The first couple weeks were extremely hard for me, I was an absolute mess. I could barely feed or bathe myself or do small tasks around the house. I couldn't go to work. I was having breakdowns/crying spells nearly everyday. The tinnitus was extremely bad, it would overwhelm and compete with every other sound I was hearing 24/7. I felt so disconnected, I couldn't focus, I was feeling like I wanted to die. I lost my dad a couple years ago to suicide and as hard as that was, dealing with the hearing loss and tinnitus has been harder. I know that sounds stupid and over-dramatic but honestly losing half my hearing and having such extreme tinnitus absolutely turned my world upside down, it felt like constant torture. I felt like my sanity was dwindling by the day, I just wanted so bad for this nightmare to be over and to feel normal again.
My tinnitus is still there but it has gotten more bearable. Some days are worse than others. I guess I have started to adjust to this new lower quality of life. I am still so scared though of what the future holds, especially because I will probably never know why this happened to me....I will constantly be living in fear that this might happen again to my other ear. How could my body fail me like this? It's an incredibly unsettling thing. My anxiety and depression are through the roof and my temper has gotten very bad. I hope things will continue to get easier for me and if my hearing loss is permanent, hopefully someday I will get used to it and it won't be a big deal.
Sorry for such a long post - I just wanted to tell my whole story to get as much info on SSHL out there as I can. It's nice to know there are other people out there going through the same thing.
-Maiken
I'm new to this community, a 25 year old otherwise healthy female living in the US. Today marks 4 weeks exactly since my hearing went out; here is my SSHL story:
May 12th, 2015 I was sitting at my desk at work and the hearing in my left ear suddenly faded out and was replaced with loud tinnitus. I wasn't too concerned at the time because this intermittent hearing loss/tinnitus had been happening in my left ear sporadically for the past 3-4 weeks, it would last anywhere from about 30 seconds to a couple minutes, sometimes it would happen a few times in a day and some days it wouldn't happen at all. Each time it would happen I made a mental note to schedule an appointment with an ENT but I honestly just thought maybe it was wax buildup or something, and then I would forget about it until the next time it happened. But on May 12th when it happened again, the hearing didn't come back quickly like it usually would and I started to panic. (Side note: did anyone here experience intermittent hearing loss before the actual onset of the SSHL?) That night I went to urgent care and the Dr told me to take Allegra and Flonase and follow up with an ENT in a few days if it didn't clear up.
The next day the hearing loss remained and so I decided to try to see an ENT ASAP, and luckily I was able to get an appointment with one that afternoon. They did an audiogram and the results showed profound deafness in my left ear (no measurable hearing), the ENT diagnosed me with SSHL and prescribed me Prednisone, Acyclovir (antiviral) and triamterene (a diuretic) so I filled the prescriptions right after the appointment and began taking the meds within 24 hours of the onset of hearing loss. The ENT mentioned steroid injections and an MRI but wanted me to finish the full course of meds first before even considering those things (which would have been in 16 more days). I wasn't quite satisfied with her bedside manner (she made it seem as though doing the injections would be a huge inconvenience to her) so I decided to get a second opinion and was able to get in with a new ENT the following day (May 14th). The new ENT confirmed the SSHL diagnosis and was much more thorough and knowledgeable. She said the meds the previous ENT had prescribed me were the standard course of treatment but she also brought up the intratympanic dexamethasone steroid injections and I decided I wanted to do that as well and she was able to do the first injection that day, so this was less than 48 hours after the onset of hearing loss. She also sent me for blood work and referred me for an MRI and hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the hospital. I had 3 more injections over the course of the next 2 weeks and began hyperbaric oxygen therapy one week after hearing loss onset, on May 19th. I was prescribed 20 hyperbaric sessions and have 2 left as of today. My MRI and blood-work came back normal.
I had a 2nd audiogram last week on June 3rd. Basically I have an ever so slight improvement but not enough to give me any sort of functional hearing. I can "hear" sounds in my left ear if there are very loud and close, but they come through as an extremely distorted buzzing/squealing sort of noise. I'm not able to differentiate between a voice, a tone, etc, all I hear is a distorted noise and only if it is very loud.
So I am feeling very discouraged, anxious, disappointed, scared, frustrated.....It has been 4 weeks and even though I had very aggressive treatment and I started it early, I have basically seen almost no improvement. I'm scared that since I haven't improved by now, I never will. The first couple weeks were extremely hard for me, I was an absolute mess. I could barely feed or bathe myself or do small tasks around the house. I couldn't go to work. I was having breakdowns/crying spells nearly everyday. The tinnitus was extremely bad, it would overwhelm and compete with every other sound I was hearing 24/7. I felt so disconnected, I couldn't focus, I was feeling like I wanted to die. I lost my dad a couple years ago to suicide and as hard as that was, dealing with the hearing loss and tinnitus has been harder. I know that sounds stupid and over-dramatic but honestly losing half my hearing and having such extreme tinnitus absolutely turned my world upside down, it felt like constant torture. I felt like my sanity was dwindling by the day, I just wanted so bad for this nightmare to be over and to feel normal again.
My tinnitus is still there but it has gotten more bearable. Some days are worse than others. I guess I have started to adjust to this new lower quality of life. I am still so scared though of what the future holds, especially because I will probably never know why this happened to me....I will constantly be living in fear that this might happen again to my other ear. How could my body fail me like this? It's an incredibly unsettling thing. My anxiety and depression are through the roof and my temper has gotten very bad. I hope things will continue to get easier for me and if my hearing loss is permanent, hopefully someday I will get used to it and it won't be a big deal.
Sorry for such a long post - I just wanted to tell my whole story to get as much info on SSHL out there as I can. It's nice to know there are other people out there going through the same thing.
-Maiken
Hi All,
I guess I'm not alone :-(
My Story
Woke up at 7am on April 3rd 2015 with the part of my face around the my left ear numb.
I waited a few hours before going to the Emergency The main concern was the numbness and that ear region feeling numb.
I don’t recall any ringing at the time. The Dr at the Hospital stated that there was a build up of fluid behind the ear however could not fully explain the numbness of left part of my face. As I showed no other symptoms, (no temperature, no redness in ears, no signs of a cold or infection.) Provided me with an Amoxiciden script however not to use unless it got worse.
Whilst the numbness around the face subsided the blocked ear was the same. If I tap my ear with my finger it still didn't seem right even today
I visited the GP a few days later who said the numbness should go and it may be related to muscles issues with the neck and to visit a Physio.
Visited Physio a few days later again who tried to work on my neck muscles however she felt this was an ear issue. I mentioned the ringing and she advised me to see an ENT asap.
Visited ENT ( this is new 3 weeks later) and he advised me that he feels I have been hit with an acute viral infection. He mentioned that I had lost hearing which would be permanent in the left ear above 4000mhz and in regards to the tinnitus that I would get used to it.
He requested MRI which has since come back clean - all pathways etc all good. No issues.
Unhappy I went to another ENT who gave me nothing....Concluded that all looks good. He cant not suggest anything at this point. To wait a couple of months it should improve.
This week I went for another hearing test & tinnitus consultation. The conclusion is SSHL and that's it. So at the moment I have three outstanding issues
1) The loss of hearing. ( I suspect this will not improve)
2) The tinnitus which is driving me mad.
3) The ear when feels a little numb when I feel inside my ear.
Happy to hear from anyone with sugegstions/thoughts.
David
I guess I'm not alone :-(
My Story
Woke up at 7am on April 3rd 2015 with the part of my face around the my left ear numb.
I waited a few hours before going to the Emergency The main concern was the numbness and that ear region feeling numb.
I don’t recall any ringing at the time. The Dr at the Hospital stated that there was a build up of fluid behind the ear however could not fully explain the numbness of left part of my face. As I showed no other symptoms, (no temperature, no redness in ears, no signs of a cold or infection.) Provided me with an Amoxiciden script however not to use unless it got worse.
Whilst the numbness around the face subsided the blocked ear was the same. If I tap my ear with my finger it still didn't seem right even today
I visited the GP a few days later who said the numbness should go and it may be related to muscles issues with the neck and to visit a Physio.
Visited Physio a few days later again who tried to work on my neck muscles however she felt this was an ear issue. I mentioned the ringing and she advised me to see an ENT asap.
Visited ENT ( this is new 3 weeks later) and he advised me that he feels I have been hit with an acute viral infection. He mentioned that I had lost hearing which would be permanent in the left ear above 4000mhz and in regards to the tinnitus that I would get used to it.
He requested MRI which has since come back clean - all pathways etc all good. No issues.
Unhappy I went to another ENT who gave me nothing....Concluded that all looks good. He cant not suggest anything at this point. To wait a couple of months it should improve.
This week I went for another hearing test & tinnitus consultation. The conclusion is SSHL and that's it. So at the moment I have three outstanding issues
1) The loss of hearing. ( I suspect this will not improve)
2) The tinnitus which is driving me mad.
3) The ear when feels a little numb when I feel inside my ear.
Happy to hear from anyone with sugegstions/thoughts.
David
should I get tympanic injections? I can't find an ENT that might do them. I heard one story of someone who went deaf and had bad vertigo after the injections. I'm not sure if they are safe, but I really am handicapped and can't study or work
how can you get these intertympanic injections and are they safe? the ENT resident wouldn't do anything until I got a hearing test
I have horrific hearing loss from antibiotics and can't hear whole sentences or consonants. I ran to the ER and started on 80mg/day of prednisone and it seemed to help a little bit. I also started taking piracetam which improves blood flow and oxygen to the brain.
I started taking valcyte and am not sure if it hurts the ear or helps with viral hearing loss.
I have horrific hearing loss from antibiotics and can't hear whole sentences or consonants. I ran to the ER and started on 80mg/day of prednisone and it seemed to help a little bit. I also started taking piracetam which improves blood flow and oxygen to the brain.
I started taking valcyte and am not sure if it hurts the ear or helps with viral hearing loss.
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