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Anxiety and disbelief over sudden hearing loss and tinnitus
About 20 years ago I developed very mild tinnitus. I habituated to it and rarely noticed it except in a quiet room. I was careful to protect my hearing so it never worsened. On May 9 this year I went to see my dentist to start the process of getting a crown on a molar. As soon as he began working with this drill. to remove the old tooth I experienced a very loud painful screeching noise in both ears. I stopped him and told him what was happening. I don't recall what he said but, stupidly, I allowed him to continue working despite the painful noise. I had to stop him several times because it was unbearable. I remember gripping my belt as he worked. At one point he offered me little rolls of cotton to put in my ears but that didn't help. It wasn't the noise coming into my ears externally I was hearing but noise from vibration being carried through my skull to my ears. It was so intensely loud I can't even explain. It sounded like the noise was coming from inside my ears. I don't know how long this went on. Ten minutes or so I guess. Why I allowed the dentist to continue is something I will never understand. Immediately after he was done I had extremely loud tinnitus. Within a couple of days I was having throbbing pain in both ears. I went to see my PCP who prescribed a steroid pack. About a week later I saw an ENT where I did a hearing test showing major loss of hearing in the high frequencies. The ENT continued the Prednisone for another week. I now have very noticeable hearing loss. It's like there's a "dead zone" in my hearing. I am having difficulty understanding what people say on the phone, on TV and even in person. Voices sound flat. If there's any background noise whatsoever it makes it even harder to understand. I've noticed many things just don't sound the same. At night the loss is very noticeable. There are environmental sounds from around the house and from outside I either barely hear now or don't hear at all, unimportant sounds that I used to just take for granted and ignore. Now it bothers me that I'm not hearing them. I heard a slow police siren in the distance a couple of nights ago. When the siren reached the highest pitch the sound disappeared completely and then I could hear it again as it was falling. The tinnitus is very loud. I'm having anxiety through the roof, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping. I found a support forum for tinnitus where I learned about "tinnitus distress", of which I have every symptom. So at least I have a name for it, but in that forum they are focused more on tinnitus than on hearing loss. While the tinnitus is driving me crazy I am actually even more upset about losing my hearing. Before this happened I could very clearly. I did not have difficulty understanding people talking. It's just hard to believe and accept I lost so much hearing so quickly because of dental work. This didn't have to happen. I'm more angry at myself than at the dentist because I could have and should have stopped the whole thing. Why I allowed the dentist to continue I will never understand. I have to see a mental health professional because I'm not functioning very well. My life has kind of ground to a halt. All the normal problems I was focused on before have kind of flown out the window. I'm still able to work, but concentrating is very difficult. Sorry for the long post. I just wonder if this has happened to anyone else? The whole thing is unbelievable.
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Does anyone else hear music which the Dr told me is tinnitus. The music becomes very repetitive and is most annoying. I also lost my hearing very suddenly and my ENT specialist says it has been caused by LPR which is a type of acid reflux. Apparently my eustachian tubes are swollen. My hearing loss also happened quite suddenly and I couldn't believe it when it didn't improve. I now have hearing aids that don't work all that well for me. The tinnitus or music started earlier this summer after a long night flight to the UK. My Dr says it is caused by tiredness but if that's the case why hasn't it gone away. The hearing loss is the worst part but the tinnitis is also very upsetting. Drs haven't recommended anything to me. I will look into the suggestion from lioness and also the Nasocort and Zrytec.
Quote: Musical ear syndrome, or MES, is a condition that causes auditory hallucinations ... where patients hear music or singing that isn't there.
This is a rather common syndrome that has been mentioned several times in MCC discussions. It may or may not be related to tinnitus or hearing loss.
I have MES, which is sometimes referred to as having 'an ear worm'. I am able to 'change the channel' on the music I hear as I can stop something after hearing it a zillion times and bring on a different song. Soft noise can also help minimize this and tinnitus. Unfortunately, there is no cure available for either at this time. Lots of research is being done but so far no real answers. Just know you're not alone and that this is quite common.
Do you use hearing aids?
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2 ReactionsThank you so much for giving me this information. I am new to this problem but I knew it couldn't be too rare because I have an elderly friend who has heard music for years. She sometimes sings along with hers. I am finding I can change the tune but so far I don't seem to have a big selection. I think I can think of others and change the tune. So far I hear gentle music with violins or a choir, lots of hymns, so it is quite soothing but it can get repetitive and I then think of another piece of music and can change it. At least it can't kill me.
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1 ReactionOmg..that is so awful! I can't say I ever had that happen and have had a lot of routine and extensive dental work done over the years. But am wondering if this is the first time you ever had a tooth drilled. I would be curious about if the drilling tool was an older one or if it was a modern one and maybe the device was defective? Other possible causes could be due to medications. Just things to think about. Maybe consult with a personal injury attorney to find out if that's ever been a similar case.
You are being pretty hard on yourself about letting the dentist continue. I suspect that if you're like a lot of people (me), you've been told to 'grin n bear it' or 'walk it off.' You had no idea that it would result in these long-term challenges. So sorry this happened to you. You might be doing the next person a favor by explaining all this to the dentist so they will educate themselves about this seemingly rare occurrence.
The same hearing loss happened to me, in my case it was major stress over a few weeks because my blood pressure readings being too high. Turned out that my monitor was faulty—I was monitoring pressure and didn't have the good sense to buy a new monitor. So I stressed at these readings which were of course, false. Stressing over two weeks made my hearing go. If I had bought a new monitor, and if you had stopped the dentist, we wouldn't be in this situation.
In your case you should have stopped the dentist. In mine I should have bought a monitor. But now for both of us the damage is done, and like you I find it hard to come to terms with having made such a mistake and we are now stuck with hearing aids for life. A month ago my hearing was perfect, now I have maybe 30 in the left and 60 in the right.
It really does knock you sideways, something which people who have perfect hearing don't understand, and like you—"All the normal problems I was focused on before have kind of flown out the window".
I kick myself every day realising that a $20 expense would have had all this not happen. But we have—difficult though it is—to stop beating ourselves up over this and get on with living 🙂 and try not to be bitterly disappointed with our mistakes. However it's not nice to be reminded every time we fit the hearing aids :-/
All the best
Guy (Essex, England)
@guyhemmings Just having hearing loss whether it is gradual or sudden is tough. No one with good hearing can relate to what it is like to have to rely on hearing aids. I am just happy they continue to get better and better. Hopefully they will find a cure for hearing loss but probably not in my lifetime.
There are certainly things that happen that are far worse as we age. At least that is what I tell myself when I get frustrated in a crowded restaurant.
Good luck to everyone on this site.
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1 Reaction@guyhemmings Your post is the first time I have heard of blood pressure issues causing hearing loss. If anyone else out there has a similar diagnosis, please share.
The World Health Organization tells us that over 300 million people in civilized countries have hearing loss. The date for the USA alone is 48 million. It's a very common problem.
We are lucky to live in times when hearing technology has improved. However, it isn't a cure and it is not perfect. Noisy environments are still problematic for most of us. In some instances, assistive technology that goes beyond prescriptive hearing aids can help a great deal in noise. It's important to make sure your personal hearing aids can be used with that add on tech. Cochlear implants can be very helpful for profound hearing loss, but your stats don't look like they are there at this point.
Stress management skills are important to good health for everyone. Take time to learn them and use them. Know you are not alone with the frustrating invisible disability of hearing loss. Try to meet and get to know other people who are living with it. It's amazing how helpful it can be to simply be able to openly discuss how it affects your lives.
Good luck to you. You may want to explore information on the website of the Hearing Loss Assn. of America (HLAA) http://www.hearingloss.org There is good information there and some opportunities to participate online in some great learning opportunities.
Julieo4
The crowd situations are definitely the worse
I agree about crowd situations. One on one everything is fine but you get a roomful of people and it is very tough.
I am probably going out of my TruHearing network with Humana to purchase some Phonak Sphere I 90 Ultra hearing aids.
Has anyone tried these hearing aids? If you have had luck with background noise suppression with any other hearing aid I would also love to hear from you.
I welcome any and all comments. I value your opinions far more than those of the hearing aid manufacturers. Each one says theirs is the best at everything.