Sudden Deafness with Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

I agree with you John on the opportunity to dig deeper into our faith in crisis such as ours. My SSHL happened in December 2020. But a decade before that I dealt with both loud tinnitus and severe hyperacusis for which I suffered mightily initially. I remember praying fervently for divine intervention and blessing never as intimate and personal as before. The Savior becomes my personal savior and every prayer was a relief from the oppressing sufferings from both tinnitus and hyperacusis. Romans 5:3-5 gave me lots of comforts, knowing that there are some positive outcomes from the darkness of the sufferings.

My current SSHL is 3 months old. I have very similar nasty symptoms. Actually losing hearing on my left ear is a lesser concern now than the hyperacusis plus badly plugged and pressured sensation. The ears feel like constantly plugged like a swimmer's ears and the hyperacusis and loud tinnitus feel like amplified by the plugged and pressured sensations. As John said, this is a serious medical condition we are in and recovery can be slow and long. So full acceptance with utter patience will help the process of accepting this new normal and thereby creating the chance that habituation to the symptoms of SSHL will kick in.

By the way, when reading comments from some SSHL support groups, I find it comforting that many said their hyperacusis tend to get better over time. So that is a good news and give us hope. Thank you John for your wonderful posts. God bless us all.

 

Haven't heard from you both lately on this thread. How are things with @JohnFox and Steve @ZAF777 ?

Regarding treatments for SSHL there is the option of cochlear implant. It is a simple operation about an hour. Why I bring this up? This is because I have joined a SSHL support group and many members there who have done CI operation report great relief from the oppressive symptoms of SSHL. One guy just did his 2 weeks ago after suffering from super loud ringing plus pressured and plugged ears and hyperacusis for last 3 years. Besides starting to hear again on his deaf ear, he said all the bad symptoms are either gone or much less reduced and his hearing is almost like normal even with slight electronic quality on the deaf ear. He said he has the best time and be happy again since the CI operation. The amazing thing is that he got it done for free. A CI supplier Med-el has clinical trials of their product at some hospitals in the State and Canada. He had it done in Seattle where John is located. Apparently they also operated in Europe. They cover all expenses. What a lucky man to get all his SSHL problems solved by a simple cochlear implant operation and lucky to get it done for free. So at least there is a solution for SSHL. You can Google search about their clinical trials if you want to know more about it.

 

I loved reading this thread. The companionship and support is amazing... strangers helping each other... it's very touching.

 

John:

I just stumbled onto this thread and have read all your posts.

I found your thoughts and feelings about your condition to be both interesting and inspiring.

Like you, tinnitus/hyperacusis came to me at a later stage in life - I am 66, and my sudden onset occurred 8 months ago out of the blue. I was not exposed to any loud noises, and have lived a fairly quiet life. Nor did I have any sort of head injury. While on vacation I was out mountain biking on a country road and started hearing loud crickets/cicadas, but quickly discovered that those sounds were coming from inside my head. I also experienced and odd feeling of "fullness" in my right ear, and louder sounds were somewhat distorted in that ear, kind of like a broken speaker. I didn't notice any hearing loss, but several subsequent audiograms showed moderate to severe high frequency hearing loss in both ears. The best explanation the ENT's could offer was that I suffered SSHL from a virus infection. The first few weeks I was treated with prednisone and anti-viral medication, which did nothing. Over the next month the tinnitus evolved from crickets to a high-pitched hissing electrical sound. I also developed mild hyperacusis, and my tinnitus is very noise reactive like yours. I am much more comfortable in a quiet room than noisy places.

I am slowly working my way out of a very deep tinnitus distress hole.

DRobi

 

@DRobi, how are you now?

 

I second this, very much.