Shocked and Unsure with Life (Sudden Hearing Loss)

It's nice there is a place to talk about such a specific subject.

Some backstory... I was not doing anything particularly dangerous. I was just sitting in my room and stood up to go to the restroom when that "pop" sounded in my left ear. I noticed I lost pretty much all hearing in my left ear that night along with the "EEEEE" that I now understand is tinnitus. I was not sick or had any cold/flu symptoms, my mom was just getting over a flu/cold however.

Either way I went to bed thinking it will be gone by morning (I have short bursts of a pinging sound in the past that would go away in seconds), but this time my hearing was still lost. I went to see my primary MD who had no idea what it was and referred me to an ENT. I went to the ENT and he immediately prescribed me with Prednisone (60mg with taper) and Acyclovir the next day. He did a small test with earphones and I know I have profound hearing loss. After about 6 days with very little improvement, I went to get a second opinion who confirmed that I got sudden hearing loss with tinnitus. Told me to continue the meds as prescribed and referred me to a specialist that deals with ENT (House Clinic in Los Angeles) if I wanted more treatment (like the steroid shot).

I made an appointment at this House clinic scheduled for Friday, not sure how its gonna go but I'm pretty much prepared for the answer anyway. Maybe i'll just take the shot for the hell of it.

In the meantime I'm trying to get a prescription so i can get HBOT asap as I have heard of various positive results on this forum. Maybe I can get started today and then see the House clinic tomorrow.

Current mood: Devastated, not sure what life has left to offer for me. Since this happened, I have had one vertigo attack. The other days aren't so bad, but i still get very dizzy along with tinnitus. Unable to sleep in any position. I sometimes here "clacking" sounds when I go pee or turn the faucet on. Not sure if it means anything though.

Does anyone know if the dizziness subsides? I can at least continue on with life if the dizziness would go away so I can sleep and still work. Being dizzy all the time is not going to get me anywhere. I have been popping Dramamine pills like crazy and they seem to help some. I'm also thinking about getting sleeping pills so i can get some rest at least for now. I think just having tinnitus would be a blessing enough... someone tell me the dizziness isn't permanent. Not sure if I should get an MRI done to check for acoustic neuroma? Is continuous days of dizziness any indication of something?

No matter how hard I try, I can't depressurize my left ear. Sometimes I feel like if I can get it open just once, my dizziness would go away. Maybe HBOT will solve this in the meantime. My head feels like there is always pressure on the left side.

Thanks for reading.

 

Buccastem or proclorperazine or Betahistine will stop the dizziness.
Prednisalone might help but the shot in your ear can help restore some hearing and maybe help your tinnitus.
Try stay calm and keep relaxing sound on around you.

love glynis.

 

@Jerome7 - welcome
You seem to have been victim of Sudden SensoriNeural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) and are following the traditional treatment (Prednisone). You seem to have started the treatment early enough that you have a good chance at recovery.

The dizziness is a result of damage in your vestibular system. As @glynis said there are a few meds that can be tried for that.

You mention HBOT and it may not be a bad idea to give it a shot. Talk to your doc about it.

If I were in your shoes (I was a couple of years ago, minus dizziness), I would do the MRI (and probably CT too if possible) just to rule out certain conditions (such as acoustic neuroma that you mention).

Good luck!