Tinnitus Much Worse After SSHL (Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss) — Suffering from Headaches

Good afternoon,

I have had tinnitus most of my adult life (18 years). I have habituated very well and it didn't really bother me.

Unfortunately, last Thursday I was diagnosed with SSHL. I was sitting on my couch and my tinnitus started raging louder than usual. I didn't think much because it happens occasionally. What isn't normal was the complete lack of hearing afterwards.

I googled and immediately went to the ER and got started on high dose Prednisone. I went to the ENT the next day and also started the injections of steroids in the ear drum. I am now 6 days out and I do think my hearing has improved somewhat, but definitely still the underwater sounding hearing.

The tinnitus is very loud, but have no doubts I can habituate again.

My issue is the headaches. They are intense. I have had an MRI earlier in the month to try and finally address my issues of tinnitus and recent dizziness and there were no findings except I had severe sinusitis (though my MRI was about a week after recovering from COVID-19, so maybe that's why). My doctor looked at the results and doesn't think it is related. Did anyone else have headaches the first couple weeks? Did they improve? Today is my first day back at work as a teacher and I'm struggling. Lots of noise stimuli, so maybe that's why?

I just wanted some reassurance that this may be normal. Did anyone else have headaches and did they eventually go down?

Mine are mostly my forehead (above eyes, especially on the side that is affected) and the very back of my head toward my neck.

I appreciate any answers. This has been a devastating and emotional whirlwind this week.

 

Welcome to the forum. I too suffered SSHL about 2 years ago. Yes, the initial period was tough for the brain. It had to deal with a lot of stress. I also had hyperacusis and balancing issue you deal with. The uncertainty about the future after SSHL also stressed out the brain. Headache and brain fog were the norm for quite some time.

But now those symptoms have faded away. So time plus less stress have helped the brain to relax.

Don't worry too much. If the doctors don't find anything wrong with your head and brain, perhaps it is stress that is the culprit. Give it time. Try meditation or any relaxing activities.

All the best. God bless your recovery.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It's reassuring to hear things will get better from someone who has been there. I appreciate it.

 

As an update. It has now been almost a month. It's been a struggle with lots of ups and downs.

Good news - my hearing improved to around 50-60 dB loss instead of 70 dB. My headaches are mostly gone. Yay.

Bad news - my word recognition is crap. My good ear is a bit stuffy now too, but hearing is unaffected. The tinnitus is still very loud. I don't think I'm getting better (I really thought I would).

So, my choices are a CROS or to try and find a single-sided hearing device that can help with word recognition.

I'm hoping the aural fullness goes away and the tinnitus goes down. My doctor suspects autoimmune, so fingers crossed that it doesn't mess with the good ear!

So, I'm in a better place emotionally... sometimes.

Hopefully this helps anyone who is starting this journey. It sucks badly, but it isn't something we can't beat.

 

My left ear also lost hearing. No word recognition. All standard treatments failed to restore it. CROS didn't work either. So I am waiting for a cochlear implant to get some hearing back. It is covered by our provincial medical plan in Canada. Thank goodness!

 

I hope CROS works for me! Good luck with your cochlear implant!