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Dr. Stoll, would you have any suggestions for dealing with a sudden hearing loss? Here are the details: a few weeks ago I attended a 2-hr live drumming session in a small, very live room. The sound level was painful and excessive, and I should have had the sense to leave, but didn't. The next few days my head felt stuffy, and I thought I had a head cold, with blocked eustachian tubes. That's just how it felt. After a couple of weeks, with no improvement I saw an ENT and had a hearing test. I was shocked to find I had "sudden sensorineural hearing loss" -- damage to the nerve to the left ear. I'm a 50-yr old woman, otherwise very healthy. The ENT has me on a 2-wk course of 60mg prednisone/day, with no improvement so far. I'm supplementing with lots of Ester-C, CoQ10, and ginkgo biloba. Dr. says sometimes the hearing will return, spontaneously. I was not able to find much on the net. I'd be grateful for any suggestions!
In Reply to: sudden hearing loss posted by Jenny B on March 20, 2000 at 14:40:38:
Hi, Jenny.
At your age, you are much more susceptible to the noise causing this (which is why young people think they are immortal) AND much more likely to have it be permanent.
After only a few weeks, the chances are still that your function will come back spontaneously. In the meantime, were this me, I would avoid ANY treatment other than silence.
If your hearing has not returned in a few months, you are probably stuck with it. Then you will have to give thanks that it is only one ear. The fact that it IS, proves to me that the loss you have was pretty close to the threshold and you have a good chance of complete recovery.
In MY opinion, your doc giving you prednisone more than a few days after your exposure was a waste and a risk for you. The swelling from the injury would have been gone by then and the prednisone could only have had negative side effects.
Let me tell you about an experience I had with my Airdale. She just loved fireworks. I had a few large bags of fireworks that I had had for years and had not used. A family wedding, held outside on a farm, gave me the opportunity to share them with the guests. My Shakti just had a ball; running to where they were going off for hours.
The next day, I learned what it was to have a deaf dog!
She was STONE deaf. I knew at once why (and felt SO guilty) and so just waited till I got back home (1500 miles away and several days later) to call my Holistic Vet. By the time I got home, her hearing was returning and within a month was perfectly normal so far as I could tell.
She lived for about 10 years after that and had no more problem with her hearing. She never got to play with fireworks again!
Hope this helps.
Walt
In Reply to: sudden hearing loss posted by Jenny B on March 20, 2000 at 14:40:38:
Hi, Jenny.
At your age, you are much more susceptible to the noise causing this (which is why young people think they are immortal) AND much more likely to have it be permanent.
After only a few weeks, the chances are still that your function will come back spontaneously. In the meantime, were this me, I would avoid ANY treatment other than silence.
If your hearing has not returned in a few months, you are probably stuck with it. Then you will have to give thanks that it is only one ear. The fact that it IS, proves to me that the loss you have was pretty close to the threshold and you have a good chance of complete recovery.
In MY opinion, your doc giving you prednisone more than a few days after your exposure was a waste and a risk for you. The swelling from the injury would have been gone by then and the prednisone could only have had negative side effects.
Let me tell you about an experience I had with my Airdale. She just loved fireworks. I had a few large bags of fireworks that I had had for years and had not used. A family wedding, held outside on a farm, gave me the opportunity to share them with the guests. My Shakti just had a ball; running to where they were going off for hours.
The next day, I learned what it was to have a deaf dog!
She was STONE deaf. I knew at once why (and felt SO guilty) and so just waited till I got back home (1500 miles away and several days later) to call my Holistic Vet. By the time I got home, her hearing was returning and within a month was perfectly normal so far as I could tell.
She lived for about 10 years after that and had no more problem with her hearing. She never got to play with fireworks again!
Hope this helps.
By the way, on second thought, If this were me, I might look for a good acupuncturist and a Cranial Osteopath (See the glossary as to how to find one in your area.)
Walt
In Reply to: Re: sudden hearing loss (NUGGET) Addendum! posted by Walt Stoll on March 21, 2000 at 10:28:31:
I had a simular problem about 12 years ago. However my hearing has never been the same since. I went to a specialist and they found out that i have hyperaccousis. I also get tinnitus in both ears. I also have an intolerence to loud or sharp noises. These noises cause distortion to ocuur sounding like a worn out LP record.
Any info would help.
Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: sudden hearing loss (NUGGET) Addendum! posted by ian on March 26, 2000 at 14:21:00:
Hi, ian.
Hyperaccousis means that your hearing is hyperaccute. This means that the nerve is OK and the problem is probably solveable.
MY first step toward that end would be to see a good Cranial Osteopath in consultation. If I knew what part of the country you were from, I might know of someone personally in your area. ALSO, Rolfing, Alexander Technique OR Feldenkrais & acupuncture would be worth while trying.
Let us know what happens.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: sudden hearing loss (NUGGET) Addendum! Archive. posted by Walt Stoll on March 28, 2000 at 08:15:02:
Dear Walt,
Thanks for the info. However I am from Wales I saw a Docor there who thaught I was going senile or something especilally being that I play the piano and that music was important to me. I told him that certain frequencies(notes) on the piano would cause my hearing to distort. I remember that he said hearing shuts down at high volumes but after doing lots of tests involving placing probes that push?suck air into ears and ataching electrodes to my head they found that my shut down mechanisam was 20% should be 70%.
Any Ideas.
Ian
In Reply to: Re: sudden hearing loss (NUGGET) Addendum! Archive. posted by ian on March 29, 2000 at 15:33:05:
Hi, Ian.
Before accepting your present "nothing to be done" diagnosis, were this me, I would be finding a good Cranial Osteopath and acupuncturist for their opinions. See the glossary for reference material.
Let us know what happens.
Walt
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[ Ear Problems (Including hearing) Archive ] [ Main Archives Page ] [ Glossary/Index ] [ FAQ ] [ Recommended Books ] [ Bulletin Board ] |
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