Sudden hearing loss need not always be sudden, however, & can also occur gradually, until the hearing is completely lost in one or both the ears.
Sudden hearing loss should be considered a medical emergency, needing immediate attention of experts & specialists.
Most times, people who develop sudden hearing loss hesitate to go to the doctor as they believe it will clear up on its own time. However, this is a dangerous assumption to make & the more you delay your visit to the doctor, the less the treatments of sudden hearing loss will be effective.
Most people who develop sudden hearing loss, do so in only one ear. Rarely enough, however, sudden hearing loss in both the ears is also seen.
Diagnosis of Sudden Hearing Loss
Sudden hearing loss is diagnosed using a standard hearing test called Pure Tone Audiometry. This test determines if the hearing loss is caused by an obstruction in the path of sound waves like inner ear fluid, ear wax, tumours, etc., or if it is caused by neurological issues. This test can also determine the amount of hearing loss in decibels.
If the test logs a loss of at least 30 decibels in three connected frequencies, then the patient is diagnosed as suffering from Sudden Hearing Loss.
To make it clear for the layman reader to understand, a loss of 30 decibels in hearing frequency will make conversations on a regular pitch sound more like a whisper.
Most people with sudden hearing loss notice the loss of hearing when they wake up in the morning one day.
Some others, however, discover their hearing loss when they try to use the deafened ear while talking on phones or any other thing.
Some people with sudden hearing loss also report hearing a loud ‘pop’ like sound just before they notice their hearing loss.
Often, people who report to hospitals with sudden hearing loss also complain of feeling dizzy & a loud ringing noise in their ears also called tinnitus.
This happens as a result of the neurological disturbances in the balance centre that is located in the inner ear. When a person experiences sudden hearing loss, their balance centre also gets disoriented, thus leading to sensations of spinning, a loss of balance, & feelings of dizziness.
Causes of Sudden Hearing Loss
In most cases of Sudden hearing loss, close to approximately 85%, there is no proper identifiable cause. Only about 10-15% of patients with sudden hearing loss have a known cause.
These known causes of sudden hearing loss include:
Certain infectious diseases that affect the inner ear
Trauma from a head injury
Autoimmune diseases like Cogan’s syndrome
Taking an overdose of ototoxic drugs, which are drugs that harm the sensory nerves in the inner ear
Blood circulation issues
A tumour on the nerve connecting the ear to the brain
Certain neurological disorders like Multiple Sclerosis, and
Inner ear diseases like Meniere’s Disease
Treatment of Sudden Hearing Loss
The most common treatment of sudden hearing loss, especially in cases where the cause of the hearing loss is unexplainable, is corticosteroids.
Steroids are commonly used by medical practitioners to treat various types of disease & disorders.
Steroids help by reducing inflammation in the body, decreasing swelling, & aiding the body’s immune system to fight back in most cases of viral infections.
While steroids are usually prescribed in the form of a pill, direct injection based steroids therapy called intratympanic corticosteroid therapy, has also become popular in recent years.
In this, the corticosteroids are injected in liquid format behind the eardrum into the middle ear, where they travel into the inner ear & reduce any inflammation.
Intratympanic corticosteroid therapy may also be beneficial for patients who are otherwise unable to take oral steroids.
Depending on your exact diagnosis, your doctor will prescribe an adequate treatment plan that can help restore the sudden hearing loss.
Trusting the right specialists & experts with your condition is the first step to take in order to help restore your sudden hearing loss. At Vertigo and Ear Clinic, we have a dedicated team of Vertigo & ear specialists that accurately diagnose, treat, & manage your conditions.
We utilize a slew of innovative technology, experience, & expertise to help make each of our patients’ lives better.
Learn more about the treatment of sudden hearing loss here.
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Fortunately, there is treatment for those cases, so people can have their lives in control with no greater difficulties. Sometimes is a matter of decreasing the problem significantly and sometimes is a matter of actually getting rid 100% of the problem thanks to a list resources that can be used for these matters such as migraine treatment, speech therapy and motion sickness treatment.
And for that to work properly it is important that you find a good and trustworthy clinic for a quality treatment. That is the reason why so many people choose the Dr. Anita Bhandari’s Vertigo and Ear Clinic for treatment relying on our team of extremely qualified professionals with PhD that have been working in this field of work for years and years.
There is a special importance in scheduling a visit here to our clinic that is not only finding proper professionals to treat you, but to also find hope for having a more quality lifetime after it with the great results that our speech therapy, motion sickness treatment and migraine treatment can bring you.
So book one consultation here with us and see how our team of professionals can restore balance in your life by taking care of your difficulties and lead you to have a better and more comfortable life from now on.
