Sudden Hearing Loss

[Moey]

Hi guys,

Back in January this year, I was sat watching tv when I suddenly lost hearing in my right ear. It just switched off without warning. I visited an out of hours doc that evening and she said that it could have been a viral infection. When I returned home, I lost balance and ended up in a bad way. After making it through the night, sleeping in a sitting position, I called the doc in the morning and they sent me straight to hospital. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after many steroid pills and anti sickness pills etc, I now wear a hearing aid and I take medication to ease the balance symptoms. Most days are fine with the medication, but I struggle with the fact that I suddenly lost the hearing. I have been involved in music for a long while, in bands and also composing my own pieces. That's the most difficult as I struggle to appreciate it the way I used to.

Anyway, sorry about the long winded post, but I was just wondering if anyone else has had the misfortune to have gone through something similar and if so, is there anything you could recommend other than what I have already done, ie, ENT department and audiology tests?

 

[Raincloud]

Blimey, sorry about what you are going through....

I suffer with loud Tinnitus in both ears and occasional dizzy spells. Not been to doc though as they are useless from my experiences with them.

It may be worth you seeking out profession help regarding hearing.

I know that where i live that is available.

 

[the black fox]

mine has deteriorated over the years with my left ear now virtually gone .. have they checked yours to see if it’s a blocked drainage tube as that can be cured with a grommet ..
I have but hate wearing the latest nhs hearing aids that you can tune and control yourself with a i.phone. But eventually I’ll have to give in and wear them full time

 

[Moey]

Blimey, sorry about what you are going through....

I suffer with loud Tinnitus in both ears and occasional dizzy spells. Not been to doc though as they are useless from my experiences with them.

It may be worth you seeking out profession help regarding hearing.

I know that where i live that is available.

Sorry to hear about your tinnitus, did that just come on randomly, or was it due to loud noise? ENT told me that I had to take these meds and that was about it. They did say that they didn't want me on them long term, possibly around a month or so.... that was in April. The GP has put them on repeat since then. At the time I lost my hearing, it was complete hearing loss, however, five weeks later, I had a tiny bit of sound return, hence they gave me a hearing aid. They said that it's most likely that will be the best it will ever be now, but I live in hope that it may return.

 

[Moey]

mine has deteriorated over the years with my left ear now virtually gone .. have they checked yours to see if it’s a blocked drainage tube as that can be cured with a grommet ..
I have but hate wearing the latest nhs hearing aids that you can tune and control yourself with a i.phone. But eventually I’ll have to give in and wear them full time

Sorry to hear this. Did you notice the deterioration initially, or was it later on as it got worse? They didn't check the drainage tube, but I did mention it on more than one occasion as I could sense something like fluid moving around in there. They did a CT scan and MRI scan, both were clear, so I'm guessing that any blockage may have shown up there?

 

[jerry12953]

Has anyone mentioned Menieres Syndrome to you?

The three symptoms are hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo. I've been through all sorts of tests and specialists over the years and have recieved all these diagnoses -

1. It's Menieres Syndrome
2. It's definitely NOT Menieres Syndrome, and
3. It may be a form of Menieres Syndrome!

Fortunately my hearing is still pretty good although I have tinnitus permanently and I've suffered from variuos spells of vertigo and dizziness over the years, both sudden and decapacitating (fortunately rarely) and slight to moderate (occasionally) which I just have to live with.

The moral of this tale is that the workings of the inner ear are not entirely clear to even the most expert!

Sorry to hear about your loss of hearing.

 

[Moey]

Has anyone mentioned Menieres Syndrome to you?

The three symptoms are hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo. I've been through all sorts of tests and specialists over the years and have recieved all these diagnoses -

1. It's Menieres Syndrome
2. It's definitely NOT Menieres Syndrome, and
3. It may be a form of Menieres Syndrome!

Fortunately my hearing is still pretty good although I have tinnitus permanently and I've suffered from variuos spells of vertigo and dizziness over the years, both sudden and decapacitating (fortunately rarely) and slight to moderate (occasionally) which I just have to live with.

The moral of this tale is that the workings of the inner ear are not entirely clear to even the most expert!

Sorry to hear about your loss of hearing.

They said that it wasn't Menieres, however, the leaflet in the medication that I have been given states that it is used for Menieres. The doctor in ENT said that she only wanted me to take them for a month, maybe two at the most, but as mentioned above, I am still on them and they are on repeat. I have tried to lessen the dosage gradually, dropping from three a day to two, then after a couple of weeks, down to one. I seemed to be doing okay, but today, I have been off balance. I have found that sleeping well helps, ie, easing off on the late nights and early mornings, so I will try get to bed early tonight and hope that I feel better tomorrow. I think I may need to see the doc as I haven't actually been back to them since the hospital discharged me. The problem with the medication is that although it eases the balance issues, it has side effects that stop me from going about my daily activity, so catch 22 really. You are correct about the moral of the story, even the ENT doc said the same to me.

Sorry to hear about your sufferings over the years.

 

[Mr Bump]

thats crap mate sorry about that
im a very keen music lover mainly headphones and i have really pulled back on how much i listen
to give my ears as much rest in between as possible

 

[Raincloud]

My problem has been ongoing for many years...

 

[Pixbarmy]

Has anyone mentioned Menieres Syndrome to you?

The three symptoms are hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo. I've been through all sorts of tests and specialists over the years and have recieved all these diagnoses -

1. It's Menieres Syndrome
2. It's definitely NOT Menieres Syndrome, and
3. It may be a form of Menieres Syndrome!

Fortunately my hearing is still pretty good although I have tinnitus permanently and I've suffered from variuos spells of vertigo and dizziness over the years, both sudden and decapacitating (fortunately rarely) and slight to moderate (occasionally) which I just have to live with.

The moral of this tale is that the workings of the inner ear are not entirely clear to even the most expert!

Sorry to hear about your loss of hearing.

+1 on all the above. I have around 5-10% hearing in my right ear, which, with the addition of hearing aid just becomes a noisier mush, with most of the high frequencies gone, so I tend not to bother with the aid. I have around 60% in my left ear, much improved with a hearing aid but still difficult in noisy surroundings. I did work with noisy machines (bandsaws) and had ear/throat/nasal infections due to hardwood and mdf dust inhalation. It seems that Menieres is extremely difficult to diagnose but it can and does cause damage, resulting in deafness.

 

[jerry12953]

They said that it wasn't Menieres, however, the leaflet in the medication that I have been given states that it is used for Menieres. The doctor in ENT said that she only wanted me to take them for a month, maybe two at the most, but as mentioned above, I am still on them and they are on repeat. I have tried to lessen the dosage gradually, dropping from three a day to two, then after a couple of weeks, down to one. I seemed to be doing okay, but today, I have been off balance. I have found that sleeping well helps, ie, easing off on the late nights and early mornings, so I will try get to bed early tonight and hope that I feel better tomorrow. I think I may need to see the doc as I haven't actually been back to them since the hospital discharged me. The problem with the medication is that although it eases the balance issues, it has side effects that stop me from going about my daily activity, so catch 22 really. You are correct about the moral of the story, even the ENT doc said the same to me.

Sorry to hear about your sufferings over the years.

It's amazing what you get used to! I barely notice the tinnitus now, but I found it very disturbing at first.

When I had my first "attack" of disabling vertigo (together with tinnitus) I was immediately prescribed the standard medication. I took it for about 18 months, after which one of the specialists suggested I stop taking it. I was a bit worried but found that it was making absolutely no difference to me at all! That was a very useful lesson! The only other medication I'm aware of is one of the tranquillisers (can't remember its name) which is supposed to reduce the severity of the dizziness, but that is probably something you don't to be taking for too long.

There is a Menieres Society but I found my symptoms were not as bad as many sufferers and it was making feel more anxious about the future than I needed to be, so I resigned from it. But there's no doubt that some people suffer terribly from the condition.

All the best!

 

[Moey]

It's amazing what you get used to! I barely notice the tinnitus now, but I found it very disturbing at first.

When I had my first "attack" of disabling vertigo (together with tinnitus) I was immediately prescribed the standard medication. I took it for about 18 months, after which one of the specialists suggested I stop taking it. I was a bit worried but found that it was making absolutely no difference to me at all! That was a very useful lesson! The only other medication I'm aware of is one of the tranquillisers (can't remember its name) which is supposed to reduce the severity of the dizziness, but that is probably something you don't to be taking for too long.

There is a Menieres Society but I found my symptoms were not as bad as many sufferers and it was making feel more anxious about the future than I needed to be, so I resigned from it. But there's no doubt that some people suffer terribly from the condition.

All the best!

It's interesting to read your post, thanks for posting it.

When I lost my hearing, I didn't have an attack until later that evening and it was very intense. I was crawling on the floor and managed to make my way to the bathroom where I was repeatedly sick (sorry for the graphic description ). My wife wanted to call 111 again that evening, but I didn't want her to and managed to get myself into a sitting position where the room would ease from spinning. I managed to sleep on and off through the night, but in the morning, a slight movement of the head set it off again and I was in a really bad way. This time, my wife called 111 and they said I needed to be straight up to hospital. They sent out an ambulance and when they got here, they tried getting me to stand up, but I couldn't as I would end up vomiting repeatedly. So they called a second ambulance and the paramedic administered an anti sickness drug. A few minutes later,I managed to get up and they aided my to the ambulance and carted me off. At the hospital, I was asked to move my head by the ENT department and they noticed that my eyes were moving rapidly, trying to focus, but because the room felt as though it was moving, I couldn't keep my eyes still. They kept me in overnight and did an audio test, the results of which came back as significant hearing loss. They asked what happened for the sound to go suddenly and they looked a little puzzled when I said that nothing happened, it just switched off, from having perfect hearing, to nothing in literally two seconds.

I was given steroid pills and had to take 12 a day in one sitting, so basically, one after the other. They also gave me some gastro pills alongside the 12 steroids and three anti sickness pills too. That lasted about 2 months, gradually reducing the steroid dosage over that time. Five weeks later, they did another audio test and said that a little bit of sound had returned, but I wouldn't notice it as my left side was working fine, however, they could give me a hearing aid.
I have found the hearing aid difficult and I did stop wearing it for a month or so, but now, I am finding that I am wearing it more regular and I have become better with it, it was just a case of getting used to it.
They also gave me the tablets that I am taking at the moment, three a day, to ease the balance issues. I have dropped the dosage gradually down to one, but I was close to taking another yesterday as I felt really unwell with the balance, hence I posted this thread to find out if anyone had suffered a similar thing.

I went to bed early yesterday as I have found that it tends to help ease the balance issues if I get enough sleep. Today, I feel much better, so I will just have to try and get plenty of sleep. Early nights and early mornings tend to work for me.

I agree with regards to the tablets you mentioned, I do feel like my own life changes have more of an effect than the pills do, however, I can't be sure of that..... I guess I will really know once I stop taking them completely.

The only thing I can hear in that ear now when the hearing aid isn't in is faint white noise, constant. But, the hearing aid helps to ease that and I find that I don't notice it at all whilst wearing it.

Thanks again.

Moey.

 

[Tringa]

My goodness, you have been through it.

I had Meniere's for a short time some years ago and when it came on it was bad enough, but nothing like what you have been through, both with what has happened to you and the amount of medication.

It sounds as if things are improving; all the best for a full recovery.

Dave

 

[Moey]

My goodness, you have been through it.

I had Meniere's for a short time some years ago and when it came on it was bad enough, but nothing like what you have been through, both with what has happened to you and the amount of medication.

It sounds as if things are improving; all the best for a full recovery.

Dave

Thank you Dave. From what you have said, am I right in thinking that you have overcome the Meniere's? I hope so. It gives me some hope too I guess that my symptoms will ease over time.

Thanks again

Moey

 

[Box Brownie]

@Moey and you other guys, sudden hearing loss and balance/nausea issues are awful and hopefully will be better over time

My one experience of something similar but without the hearing loss was in my early 20's when I was working as a path lab technician.

I woke up one morning and the room was spinning with an overwhelmingly feeling that I was going to fall out of bed! With my dad's help I managed to stagger to the loo but needed to get back to bed quick.

My dad called the GP who came and IIRC had no idea what the problem was.........bed rest! Cannot recall now how long I was unwell.....might have been a week?

When I got back to work, I learned that a few of my colleagues had also been unwell but not with the same symptoms. I had an antibodies test and those present were subtly different to my colleagues but 'they' determined that we all had a viral infection of unknown origin/type.

The message back then was that even other than the effects felt, asymptomatic (sudden onset) viral infections can have odd and disturbing effects

 

[jerry12953]

Thank you Dave. From what you have said, am I right in thinking that you have overcome the Meniere's? I hope so. It gives me some hope too I guess that my symptoms will ease over time.

Thanks again

Moey

My understanding is that you don't overcome Menieres. It either goes away of its own accord or comes back repeatedly. I believe the first episode is usually the worst, but I'm not really up to speed on these things any more. It would probably be worthwhile joining the Menieres society to get some up-to-date info.

It does sound like you've had a horrendous time and I really do hope things improve for you. I know I was very anxious about the rest of my life at the time!

 

[the black fox]

Sorry to hear this. Did you notice the deterioration initially, or was it later on as it got worse? They didn't check the drainage tube, but I did mention it on more than one occasion as I could sense something like fluid moving around in there. They did a CT scan and MRI scan, both were clear, so I'm guessing that any blockage may have shown up there?

Mine over a long period of time , I used to fire guns with no ear defenders ( not made back then ) spent a lot of time in night clubs with live music , and In later years had large hi.fi systems . Also lorry driving for 30+ years it all adds up to high frequency hearing loss .. or as the wife says selective hearing syndrome

 

[Moey]

I know I was very anxious about the rest of my life at the time!

This is how I have been seen January. It's had a big impact on my work and personal life, having to think things over and over again on whether I think I will be able to do particular tasks or not.

 

[Box Brownie]

This is how I have been seen January. It's had a big impact on my work and personal life, having to think things over and over again on whether I think I will be able to do particular tasks or not.

Are there any support/counselling services available to help you talk through what you are experiencing???

I would like to hope that the NHS or perhaps charities have some support service(s) in place to "help".

 

[jerry12953]

I remember going to one ENT department and being told "Don't worry....its not life-threatening" . That's the sort of advice that can only be given by someone who has no idea what it's like to get sudden disabling vertigo!

(Although I hasten to add that I've lived a pretty normal (ish) life since then and it has been no where near as bad as I worried that it might be.

In fact it taught me a very useful life lesson - that when one gets ill it is easy to start believing in a worse-case scenario, when the reality is often/usually nowhere near as bad.

 

[Tringa]

Thank you Dave. From what you have said, am I right in thinking that you have overcome the Meniere's? I hope so. It gives me some hope too I guess that my symptoms will ease over time.

Thanks again

Moey

Yes, you are correct. My first experience of Meniere's was more than ten years ago. It came out of the blue while I was walking home from my local station. I didn't fall down but had to sit on a wall until the effect passed, which only took about five minutes. I didn't feel the world was spinning, rather that I could not stand up straight and felt if I tried to walk I would fall over.

The hospital suggested some eye and head exercises that they said could help which I tried for a while. During the first year or so it happened quite frequently but over the years it just, as Jeremy has mentioned, slowly disappeared of its own accord.

I hope your symptoms do ease as clearly what you have experienced has a big impact on your life.

Dave