Not Coping with Sudden Deafness

My name is Sophie, I am 25 and I suffered Sshl a month ago. Went to the Gp the day after who was clueless and dismissed me saying everything looked fine. Booked with an ENT 3 days later. At the Ent I did the audiology tests which confirmed profound loss. The doctor however did not start me right away with the standart treatment, and instead sent me to the Er to have a CT scan. At the hospital I asked to be seen by a specialist but was told the resident Ent would be in only next tuesday (7days after onset).
That day I went to a consultation with the doctor who finally diagnosed my with Sshl and started treatment immediatly. I did the normal course of medication, and even got the injection directly into the eardrum. However there was only and tiny improvement… I am feeling very anxious thinking that I should have started treatment earlier, and that maybe I could have saved some hearing. I think I can adapt, but right now I am so depressed thinking why wasn’t I treated earliner? Im really struggling to cope with this. Thinking that its my fault I didnt sought better care earlier. Even if the outcome was the same I would be a peace with this... But right now I cant and feel as if my lifr is over...
I would appreciate some words… Thank you Doctor!

 

It's definitely not your fault, the doctors should know better to try to give you treatment as fast as possible. Even the GPs should know that with sudden hearing loss there is an emergency and react accordingly. It's true that it might not have helped as you already said, but if there is a small chance it's still better than nothing.

Did you have tinnitus before the SSHL? How was your hearing before?

 

Hello. Thank you so much for your support... My hearing was perfect before this... And no, this is my first time having T

 

Sorry to hear that, me I have a terrible tinnitus but my hearing is still somewhat normal, although when I had the last test some time ago it did show quite a drop in hearing for high frequencies, now those frequencies are being replaced by more tinnitus.

But there a lot of people here with similar experience to your with SSHL, so maybe they can give you some good advice.

 

I think you mean SSNHL (Sudden SensoriNeural Hearing Loss). I had that too, took steroids orally, didn't help. Then T showed up (about 6 weeks after feeling the hearing loss), and it turned out I have otosclerosis, which sometimes shows up as SNHL at first.
Did your CT scan show anything? Have it reviewed by more than one ENT: if you can, pick a neurotologist with lots of experience. My original ENT doctors could not see anything abnormal on my CT scan. I went to a very experienced surgeon and he was able to spot something in my CT scan, and it turns out he was right (his diagnosis was confirmed with surgery).

 

Hello. Thank you for your reply. I had a CT scan and an MRI. All clear. My case was idiopathic and could have been reversed if treated promptly with steroids. How have you coped with single sided deafness and T?

 

Yes there is a good chance to reverse it indeed if treated early, but it doesn't always work unfortunately.
My deafness was not profound and was caused by a mix of sensorineural and conductive loss. I did some surgery (a stapedotomy) to try to regain some hearing. I'm still recovering from it - it's a very long recovery period.
T was the main reason I went ahead with the surgery, as there was a 50/50 chance it would get rid of it, but I wasn't so lucky. It did change though, but the new T doesn't seem to be better than old T.
My surgeon says that as my ear heals and I start hearing better, there is a chance T will be reduced as the brain starts getting "more signals" from the ear. So that's my "best shot" and I will know in a few months whether it's true or not.

Coping with T is a struggle, like everyone else with intrusive T (nothing will mask it), as I'm sure you know. I had bad hyperacusis before surgery, and it's now much more manageable after surgery thankfully.
I have Valium for the "tough times", but I try to stay away from it. I get a lavender massage at night before sleep, and that seems to help.
I try to stay busy to not think about it (yes I know, easier said than done).

Hearing aids may be able to help you cope. You may want to give them a try.

Good luck.

 

May I ask what your audiogram looks like? I lost hearing as well at the age of 27/28, and it frustrates me because they didn't even give me the steriods in time and lied to me to get me into some tinnitus trial, knowing damn well what they were doing was unethical.

 

Hello. It was -120 db loss across all frequencies. And you? That is really sad and infortunate I feel the same way, having to deal with this at such a tender age...

 

I lost hearing in one ear. 40db at 8khz, 30db at 6khz, and 30db at 4khz. They gave me no treatment for hearing loss until I sought out a second opinion a month later.

Im sorry for your loss. I can say that at least you were given the correct treatment within a couple of weeks though . Although I know that doesn't probably make you feel better about your situation :/. Can I ask what country you are in?

 

Im sorry for your loss. .. Can you wear Hearing aids? Im from Portugal. I called the health help line and they advised me to go to medical centre instead of thr hospital. I feel so dumb not going to the Er first thing.

 

@sophies , I don't feel I can accept hearing aids in my 20s as stupid as that sounds.

How are you holding up? Are you feeling any better? I hope you can get better, even if it's just your attitude towards the issue. Not that I am a model citizen on the attitude to have.

Let me know though.