Anyone There with SSHL and Positive Outcome?

Anyone there with SSHL and positive outcome, especially with tinnitus ?

 

Define positive outcome.
My life was better before SSHL. I could tell which direction sound was coming from. I could keep track of multiple conversations in a crowded room. I could play music, and that provided a creative and social outlet for me. I could enjoy the peaceful sounds of nature without distraction from tinnitus. I was happier in my old life.

But....I don't cry anymore. I'm not afraid of tinnitus now. I'm not angry about my situation any longer. Is that a positive outcome?
I'm not nearly as selfish as I used to be. I find the strength to carry on because that is what other people need from me. They need my love and I am able to provide that. I think that is a positive outcome.

 

A close friend of mine has SSHL and tinnitus. He was very depressed, got into counseling and started using Saint Johns Wort. When he came out of depression started to train himself to get used to the T. slowly. Now he says he has "befriended" his T and it only troubles him when he has a cold or the flue.

 

I am a newbie with SSHL. I still am struggling with accepting this as the "new me". Everything is different now. I need to hear about those who have "learned" to live with this. It has only been two weeks and I am already trying different techniques to get thru through the days without falling into depression. The hearing loss doesn't bother me as much as the untuned radio blaring in me head 24/7. Thank God I can still sleep at night. A very quiet bedroom combined with laying down to rest seems to cause it to settle down quite a bit to the point where I can fall off to sleep. From what I have read I am trying to prepare myself to live with this from here on out. I do know I need to remain positive. I like what hartje5 said about the guy he knows who mentioned "befriending" his SSHL. I need to head in that direction. How can I make lemonade out of this very sour lemon? This is my new full time job. I would give anything to find some kind of even partial cure, but I'm beginning to wonder if that constant search will only aggravate the tinnitus part of my SSHL. Maybe total acceptance, and even a little befriending is the road I need to be on.

 

@JohnFox,
I have 100% loss of hearing in my left ear, which happened suddenly almost six years ago. I had to go through a grieving process. It took some time for me to accept my situation. I have not befriended the loss or the tinnitus but I have accepted it. I have befriended myself though, for doing my best to adapt and live with things the way they are.

 

So, it sounds as if your experience is very much the same as mine.

A very sudden loss of hearing in one ear with no apparent reason? I'd like to know a few more details, if you will.

Did it happen to you at night? Have you gained back any hearing at all in these last six years? What about the Hyperacusis? Did that get any better over the years?

My ENT doc tells me that I can expect the Hyperacusis to get better with time. Right now, there are many environments that I find myself in where must use an ear plug on my good ear to be able to tolerate being there, such as a noisy restaurant, etc.

After six years, do you need to do that too? Also, did you get any treatment such as steroids when this first happened to you? And lastly, in hindsight, do you have any thought as to any reason why this happened to you?

For me, the only thing I can point to is I was in a pretty serious off road motorcycle accident four months before I suddenly lost my hearing. I suffered multiple broken bones, but I was told I did not suffer a head concussion. I was taking a lot of pain meds like Ibuprofen, Tylenol. Of course the doctors don't think the MC accident was the cause of my hearing loss, but on the other hand they have no explanation either.

Thanks for any reply, and I am very sorry that you are also going through what I am.

 

@JohnFox,

I will try to answer some of your questions.

I do not know why this happened to me exactly but the ENT said it was probably a virus. It did not happen at night. I have not regained any hearing. My deaf ear reacts to every sound I hear in my good ear. That still happens but is not as extremely painful as it used to be. I can tolerate being in loudish restaurants now (without ear plug) but I am unable to hear conversation there. I still carry earplugs everywhere I go but I don't often use them. I find that exposure to noise over a long period of time is still taxing. The pain is not as sharp, more of an ache or pressure.

When I stopped fearing sound, the hyperacusis got somewhat better. I used to fear all kinds of little sounds. Even though my ear still reacts to these small sounds, I am often able to ignore the physical reaction because I am not focusing on it or fearing it.

Hope this helps you.

 

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like your situation is very similar to mine. I just received my third and last steroid injection through the ear drum in my bad ear. Still no improvement in my hearing, and I have little hope for any at this point.

I too don't go anywhere without my ear plugs, but only use them when I just can't take it any more. As yourself, my deaf side reacts to any sound coming through my good ear. Some sounds are not nearly as bad as others. And being outside seems to be better also. More and more I find myself paying less attention to it. I guess I'm getting use to it as time goes on. At night in a quiet bedroom the hyperacusis calms down dramatically, so at least I have that time to look forward to. I sleep in now more than I used to. LOL.

 

@JohnFox,
I forgot to mention that I was given a prescription for oral steroids but there was no improvement. I live in a northern U.S. state and I function much better during the seasons when I can be outdoors. Sound drifts off into the air instead of coming back at me like it does in an enclosed space. I understand what you are saying about that. My bad ear reacts badly to sound which isn't fun but on the other hand, does give me some control. No exposure, no hyperacusis. I also have constant tinnitus and ear fullness. My tinnitus is a hissing or vacuum cleaner sort of sound, or like the untuned radio sound you describe. I actually feel bad for the people here who have a louder, tonal tinnitus-the ones that hear a siren noise all day. I think you are doing quite well, given the fact that you are new to this.