Glad to Learn I'm Not Alone — Mild Tinnitus Worsened After Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hi everyone! I've had very mild tinnitus all my life. Maybe 1/10 in severity. I always thought everyone heard the same whining that I did all the time. I've always been sensitive to loud noises & avoided loud music & such.

I've always had perfect hearing in both ears until nearly 4 years ago when I woke up one morning & out of the blue I was completely deaf in my left ear & the tinnitus jacked up to about 7/10. They did an MRI, gave me steroids for 10 days & told me I had "Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss" & that if the steroids didn't work, there's no other treatment or cure.

I still have a very tiny bit of hearing in my left ear & it seems like the tinnitus is worse on that side & gets worse on both sides when there's any sound @ all. Like it's trying to drowned out all external noise. I only sleep for a few hours @ a time after I've run myself to exhaustion because the constant whine keeps me awake. Sometimes when I'm really tired I get loud bursts of what I can only describe as static in my head. Sleeping pills only served to make me lethargic all the time. I tried acupuncture, but that only made it worse for a week or so. White noise didn't help either because I can't hear it in my left ear where the tinnitus is worst.

I know this noise is all in my head, but I'm about @ my wits' end! I can't stand the constant noise. I've stopped asking people to repeat themselves or to speak up because I just don't care anymore. I never watch TV anymore or listen to music which was always a huge part of my life. I avoid gatherings of more than 3 or 4 because all the conversations just mesh into one & I can't make out what any one person is saying unless they're yelling @ me.

Is there any hope @ all?

 

Dexamethasone injections.

 

Gosh, could you be any less explanatory? Injections where? In my ears? What ever happened to my hearing took place over 4 years ago. At this stage I doubt steroids are an appropriate treatment route.

 

If the oral/IV didn't help, injections won't work either.

Intratympanic injection doesn't work better, they just have less systemic stress and are basically an alternative for people who can't take it systemically, like diabetes patients for example.

Sure, try it. But it's not a miracle cure. If it were, SSNHL and permanent hearing loss from it or tinnitus wouldn't exist anymore.

 

Sorry this has happened to you...

Few things...

Were you ever given antivirals? If not, consider Acyclovir or Lysine (refer to John from Ohio protocol).

I don't suppose hearing aids would help?

My cousin had a SSNHL years ago. It definitely gets better.

 

I'd be doing Lidocaine and Dexamethasone injections into that ear.

It's already deaf. Who knows.

Although I think ringing from lack of input is different than ringing from cochlear damage.

End of the day Lidocaine by IV is the only thing proven to help 70% of us.

 

Thank you both for your input!

Matchbox: Could you please point me toward more information about Lidocaine therapy?

Deb: I've taken L-Lysine occasionally for cold sore treatment. Is that the same thing? I've never been on any heavy antiviral medication though.

I was told that the SSNHL was most likely due to a virus, but it had been a long time since I was sick before the loss of my hearing. It's just my opinion, but if it is viral in origin, I think it could be due to a tick bite I had a month or so beforehand.

 

Where do you get this number from?

That would be nice. I mostly read it's working for around 5%. To be fair, that was some years ago.

 

If it works, why aren’t we all doing it? Lol just curious.

 

It's the only thing that might and ENTs are clueless to things that aren't going to work 100%.

It rather baffles me how limited they are with pharmacology and tinnitus. There's also risks the moment you go injecting things.

 

A lot of endless reading while on sick leave.

Some people get worse on Lidocaine too. That magic number was from an article that ran their own trial of IV Lidocaine.

 

Yes there is hope, even after 4 years from your SSHL. If your insurance covers it or if you can afford one, cochlear implant and BAHA are some options to consider. I developed SSHL suddenly in December 2020. I went through all standard treatments and none of them helped my hearing to come back. So after a year I am considering the option of cochlear implant to restore some hearing from my deaf left ear. For brevity on my SSHL journey and the treatments involved, I invite you to read my success stories. Page 8 of my 1st success story contains my post on February 20, 2021 which describes my SSHL journey. In that post I also provide a link to a thread I started asking for support on SSHL. It contains the details of treatments I received. If after reading you have questions, please tag me. All the best. Take good care. God bless.

From Darkness to Light, How I Recovered from Tinnitus & Hyperacusis

How to Habituate to SSHL and New Loud Tinnitus