Hearing loss has a track record for developing slowly. It can be easy to miss the symptoms because of this. It’s nothing to worry about, you just need the volume on the TV a bit louder, no big deal, right? That’s normally the situation, yes, but not always. Sometimes, hearing loss can happen all of a sudden without any early symptoms.
When our health suddenly changes, it tends to get our attention (one could even describe the feeling as “alarm”). For instance, if your hair falls out a little bit at a time, it’s no big deal, you’re just balding! But if all of your hair fell out in a single day, you would likely feel compelled to make a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible (and rightfully so).
The same is true when you develop sudden hearing loss. There are some really good reasons why acting quickly is a good idea!
What is sudden hearing loss?
Sudden hearing loss (sometimes called sudden deafness or sudden sensorineural hearing loss, or simply SSHL for short) is not usually as common as the longer-term kind of hearing loss most individuals encounter. But it’s not really uncommon for individuals to experience sudden hearing loss. About 1 in 5000 people a year suffer from SSHL.
The symptoms of sudden hearing loss usually include the following:
- Sudden hearing loss happens very quickly as the name implies. Sudden hearing loss happens within a few days or even within a few hours. As a matter of fact, most individuals wake up in the morning questioning what’s wrong with their ears! Or, they may take a phone call and question why they can’t hear anything on the other end.
- In 9 out of 10 cases, sudden hearing loss affects only one ear. But it is possible for both ears to be affected by SSHL.
- A loud “popping” sound sometimes takes place just before sudden hearing loss. But that only happens sometimes. It’s possible to experience SSHL without hearing this pop.
- The loss of 30dB or greater in terms of your hearing. The outside world sounds 30dB quieter than when your hearing was healthy. You won’t be able to measure this by yourself, it’s something we will diagnose. However, it will be noticeable.
- Some individuals may also have a feeling of fullness in the ear. Or there might be a ringing or buzzing in some cases.
If you experience SSHL, you may be questioning: is sudden deafness permanent? Well, around half of everyone who experiences SSHL will get better within two weeks. But prompt treatment is a significant key to success. So you will need to come see us for treatment as soon as possible. You should schedule an appointment within 72 hours of the start of your symptoms.
The best thing you can do, in most cases, is to treat SSHL as a medical emergency. Your risk of sudden hearing loss becoming permanent increases the longer you wait.
What’s the cause of sudden hearing loss?
Here are some of the leading causes of sudden hearing loss:
- Illnesses: There are a number of health conditions that, for greatly different reasons, can cause SSHL, like multiple sclerosis, meningitis, measles, and mumps. This is a great reason to get immunized against diseases that have a vaccine.
- Autoimmune disease: In some cases, your immune system starts to think that your inner ear is a threat. Sudden hearing loss can definitely be brought on by this autoimmune disease.
- Problems with your blood flow: Things like obstructed cochlear arteries and high platelet counts are included in this category.
- Genetic predisposition: Genetic predisposition can sometimes be responsible for sudden hearing loss.
- Head trauma: The communication between your brain and ears can be interrupted by a traumatic brain injury.
- A reaction to drugs: Common drugs such as aspirin are included in this list. Typically, this also includes cisplatin, quinine, or streptomycin and gentamicin (the last two of which are antibiotics.
- Reaction to pain medication: Your risk of experiencing sudden hearing loss is raised by overuse of opioids.
- Being continuously exposed to loud music or other loud sound: Hearing will decline slowly due to repeated exposure to loud sound for most people. But there might be some circumstances where that hearing loss will happen suddenly.
The majority of the time, we will be better capable of helping you develop an effective treatment if we can figure out what type of sudden hearing loss you’re dealing with. But this isn’t always the case. Knowing the precise cause isn’t always necessary for effective treatment because many forms of SSHL have similar treatment methods.
If you experience sudden hearing loss – what’s the best course of action?
So, if you wake up one morning and suddenly find you’re unable to hear anything, what’s the best course of action? Well, there are a couple of essential steps you should take right away. Don’t just attempt to wait it out. That isn’t going to work very well. Instead, you should seek treatment within 72 hours. It’s best to make an appointment with us right away. We’ll be in the best position to help you determine what’s wrong and how to deal with it.
While at our office, you may undergo an audiogram to figure out the level of hearing loss you’re experiencing (this is the examination where we have you put on headphones and raise your hand when you hear a beep, it’s entirely non-invasive). We will also rule out any blockages or a possible conductive cause for your hearing loss.
The first course of treatment will usually include steroids. For some people, these steroids could be injected directly into the ear. In other situations, oral medication may be enough. SSHL of numerous root causes (or no known cause) can be effectively treated with steroids. For SSHL triggered by an autoimmune disease, you might need to take medication that inhibits your immune response.
Have you or somebody you know suddenly lost hearing? Give us a call today to schedule a hearing exam.