Connect
Sudden Hearing Loss: What are options if steroids don't work?
A family member experienced sudden hearing loss and was treated for wax build- up. On return to Dr., there was no improvement and a referral was made to ENT. Steriod treatment has not resulted in an improvement in hearing, and family member has been told it is unlikely hearing in that ear will be regained. It is now about 8 weeks since loss. Any recommendations as to specialists/treatment to pursue in the San Francisco area?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hearing Loss Support Group.
Connect
Hello
I had the misfortune of losing all hearing in one ear in October, 2019. I also lost my ability to balance the same night. It turned out that these were symptoms of an autoimmune disorder and that my nerves had been destroyed/badly damaged. Once I was certain that my deafness was not going away I ordered, and have been wearing Oticon bi-cross aids. The aid on my deaf ear blue-tooth’s the sound to my hearing ear. My husband, on the other hand, has had a similar problem for many years. He uses a Baha (bone anchored hearing aid) which essentially accomplishes the same thing. The sounds go through his skull rather than using blue-tooth. These seem to be the options currently available. Best of luck to you with this.
Hi,
The same thing whole ed to me in Dec ‘19. Sudden complete hearing loss in one ear. Vertigo for a week. Steroid shots or prednisone didn’t help. I got the Osia bone conducting implant surgery in Dec ‘22 and I’m not happy with the device at all. The volume of what’s being transmitted to my good ear is too low and only helps in a quieter environment. Which in that case I don’t need much help hearing when it’s quiet. But it’s also on max vol, due to feedback. How is your device working for you?
As a healthy 22 year old, I was struck with SSHL in 1979. (Years later I read that it is most common among young adults ages 21-40.) It struck me in mid-conversation—no air travel, straining, diving involved. Within 5 minutes I could not stand up due to extreme vertigo. Hours later family brought me to a ER where none of the physicians I saw knew what to do with me. I was dizzy for an entire summer—truly incapacitated but medicated with Antivert. I saw an ENT who said, “May be a tumor. Have to remove ear drum and look.” Yes, world, there were no scanners available in 1979. It was a different world. This type of surgery is not longer even performed. There was no tumor, and the doc said that I was probably hit with a virus. To this day, I am not aware if physicians know what causes SSHL. I have never recovered my hearing in that ear.