Tinnitus vs. Complete Hearing Loss

I am new to this forum thing, but I thought I would try to connect with people who might understand what I'm going through. I am a 40 ish female, and got a heart infection called endocarditis three years ago that almost killed me. I was in the hospital for 5 weeks on super strong antibiotics. My heart and body got better, but I was left with tinnitus in both ears which now I know was a mere nuisance. I say this because four weeks ago I developed complete hearing loss in my right ear. I have no idea what or how this happened. The Specialist I am seeing does not think it is even related to the Tinnitus. I have had a series of three steroid injections into the eardrum which has not helped and now my doctor is recommending a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber therapy to treat this. I still have tinnitis and slight hearing loss in my left ear but this has been helped by a hearing aid. I don't bother to wear my hearing aid in the right side because it does nothing for me, my right ear is just dead. I wonder if anyone has had experience with this Hyperbaric Chamber? I would love to talk to you. It is so frustrating losing your hearing. The people around me make me feel stupid, or think I'm ignoring them, and it's very difficult to get people to speak clearly and at a higher volume so you can hear them. I'm sure you all can relate! Thank you for your time.

 

Well first of all welcome to the forum,I have no experience with hyperbaric chamber but I'm sure someone here does, just remember your not alone and we are here for you.

 

I spoke to one diver who lost his hearing after diving and regained his hearing 90% after hyper baric treatment

 

So do you have tinnitus in your right ear? I have tinnitus only in my right ear, and slight hearing loss too.

 

Yes, there's one long thread about it here. I tried it twice. It does do something, because after the session my T was different for the rest of the day.

 

Oh I am so happy to have a response from you all! I had a consult this morning with the physician that runs the Hyperbaric Oxygen chamber and he said I'm a good candidate. He said most people regain 70-90% of their hearing back. That would be so amazing! His staff is going to check to see if my insurance will authorize it. I really hope they will. Thank you all for your feedback. I don't even know if I'm replying correctly, I'm not sure how to use this thread. Anyway, yes my complete hearing loss is in the right ear, but I do still have tinnitus in the right ear as well. Thank you all again, have a wonderful day! I'm feeling hopeful!

 

Mmmmm I thought that when you lost your hearing t also went away............I need to do more research

 

Quite the opposite.

 

Yes I know t is due to hearing loss but I thought that once you were completely deaf ,t would go away, I'm just trying to learn but deaf people do not have t do they?

 

Well for my experience, I still do have the tinnitus in the deaf ear. I can't hear any external sounds in that ear whatsoever, just the ringing or hissing sound so for me it is possible. I'm not sure how it effects another deaf person.

 

I really hope that if I do go deaf, the T would go away too. I can't live forever with this sound, especially if I can't mask it anymore.

 

Deaf people can very much have T. Unfortunatelly. Some T patients have had their auditory nerve cut and for some T disapperars, but for some don't. At the moment it is quite widely accepted, that T originates from the brain, not the ear.

 

Does cutting the nerve make you deaf?

 

If the T gets really loud, how do you mask it?

 

Hi. i had a sudden hearing loss in june too. went for HBOT and i recovered 100% of my hearing. but T remained. the chamber is relatively safe. Just remember to equalise the pressure. i believe the staff at your clinic will teach you how to do it. I hope you get better soon.

 

If you are born deaf you cannot develop tinnitus. I suspect most people, if not everyone with profound acquired hearing loss do have tinnitus to some degree. If you are deaf it is of course unmaskable.

 

Thank you @Marcuseva03 for the encouraging info!!! I'm so hoping that I regain my hearing back in the right ear. As much as I hate the tinnitus I would rather live with that than no hearing. @Hariz: My tinnitus is very very loud and the only way I know to mask it is put on backround noise like a fan, or the TV. I cannot stand to be in total silence because the tinnitus is so distracting it drives me insane. @Nucleo- thank you for the info. I was not aware if you are born deaf you cannot develop tinnitus. Makes sense though. Sorry to respond this way, I cannot figure out how to respond to you all individually! Thanks so much for your help and input! I appreciate it!

 

Yes

 

So it masks the sound even if you can't really hear it in the affected ear?

 

It all depends on how high it is and how your T reacts to sound .Mine hardly can be masked. Just in shower and only in good days.

 

Yes, honestly it is never really masked.

 

The t for you sounded like it happened from the antibiotics, as they can damage inner ear hair cells (aminoglycosides).

 

The t for you sounded like it happened from the antibiotics, as they can damage inner ear hair cells (aminoglycosides).

Yes that is absolutely correct!