Any alternative treatment ideas for outer hair cell damage in cochlea?

Posted by danr @danr, Mar 18, 2021

Hello! I have outer hair cell damage in my left cochlea. I've done the MRI to rule out neuroma or tumors. I've done extensive vestibular testing to rule out anything else. And steroids into my inner ear fixed my hearing 100% for about a week. Since then, I'm back to moderate level low freq hearing loss in my left ear. I've tried diuretics, oral steroids, low-sodium diet, healthy living, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, nothing has worked yet. I'm going to try acupuncture next. Does anyone have any other treatment suggestions? Thank you very much!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hearing Loss Support Group.

If you find that treatment does not work, you may want consider the cochlear implant option. Here is a link to the Cochlear Implant Alliance for a seminar on cochlear implants. This is a professional organization, but this session is open to CI potentials and those who have them who want to learn more about options, etc. It might be worth checking out. https://www.acialliance.org/page/CI2021

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@julieo4

If you find that treatment does not work, you may want consider the cochlear implant option. Here is a link to the Cochlear Implant Alliance for a seminar on cochlear implants. This is a professional organization, but this session is open to CI potentials and those who have them who want to learn more about options, etc. It might be worth checking out. https://www.acialliance.org/page/CI2021

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Julie, thank you very much!

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@danr there is some basic research being done on the regrowth of those hair cells.... see
https://www.hearingreview.com/hearing-products/accessories/components/study-shows-hair-cell-regrowth-new-drug
This certainly is not a short time solution.. but you should know that there are thousands who, like you and I, have this problem ... Loud Big gun noise did a number on my left ear when I was 19... I am now 83... Cochlear Implants were recommended when I was 43... but they were experimental in those days.. and I made do.. and got by... now You have a much more sophisticated Science on your side.. Ken

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@ken82

@danr there is some basic research being done on the regrowth of those hair cells.... see
https://www.hearingreview.com/hearing-products/accessories/components/study-shows-hair-cell-regrowth-new-drug
This certainly is not a short time solution.. but you should know that there are thousands who, like you and I, have this problem ... Loud Big gun noise did a number on my left ear when I was 19... I am now 83... Cochlear Implants were recommended when I was 43... but they were experimental in those days.. and I made do.. and got by... now You have a much more sophisticated Science on your side.. Ken

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Thats’s very helpful! Thank you, Ken!

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@danr I'd like to add my welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support.

I saw in another post that you original diagnosis was Meniere's disease.

Below I have linked a discussion on Meniere's disease. You may have information and support to offer members on this topic.
- Meniere's Disease https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/menieres-disease-2/

I know that you are not interested in a cochlear implant at this time but members like @barbb @joyces @lizzy102 @nla4625 @mbower @christinahaire @tonyinmi may have information and support to give you. Below I have linked this discussion. You may wish to scroll through the previous posts.
- My Cochlear Implant - a journal https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/my-cochlear-implant-a-journal/

May I ask if you have access to a specialty or large teaching hospital where alternative treatments may be located?

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I am in Austin and near Houston and Dallas. I don't know if the teaching hospitals there have specialties in hearing loss. I'll check. Thank you very much for the suggestion!

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UT Southwestern in Dallas does a lot of work with hearing loss. They work with Southwestern Medical School and Callier Center for Communication Disorders/University of Texas at Dallas, doing research on hearing loss.

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@mecasper

UT Southwestern in Dallas does a lot of work with hearing loss. They work with Southwestern Medical School and Callier Center for Communication Disorders/University of Texas at Dallas, doing research on hearing loss.

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Thank you, mecasper! That's very helpful. I'll look into it!

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This, from HLAA, may be of interest.
HLAA has received permission from the FDA to hold an externally-led Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) meeting on May 25.

HLAA is hosting a webinar on April 8 to provide an overview of the May 25 meeting. We are hoping for a lot of participation and attendance at these events to show the strength of our HLAA Community to the FDA. HLAA encourages you to share this information widely. Both the April 8 webinar and the May 25 live meeting will be recorded.

Please see the March 18 issue of Hearing Life e-News for more information. More information can be found at http://www.hearingloss.org

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@julieo4

This, from HLAA, may be of interest.
HLAA has received permission from the FDA to hold an externally-led Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) meeting on May 25.

HLAA is hosting a webinar on April 8 to provide an overview of the May 25 meeting. We are hoping for a lot of participation and attendance at these events to show the strength of our HLAA Community to the FDA. HLAA encourages you to share this information widely. Both the April 8 webinar and the May 25 live meeting will be recorded.

Please see the March 18 issue of Hearing Life e-News for more information. More information can be found at http://www.hearingloss.org

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@julieo4 Thanks for posting. Everyone, please attend if you can. It’s important that we get a large attendance. It helps with our advocacy efforts

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