We usually think of hearing loss as something that advances slowly. This can make the symptoms easy to miss. (After all, you’re simply turning up the volume on your TV once in a while, it’s nothing to be concerned about, right?) Sometimes that’s true but in some cases, it isn’t. In some situations, hearing loss can happen abruptly without any early symptoms.
When our health suddenly changes, it tends to get our attention (one might even describe the emotion as “alarm”). When people’s hair falls out slowly over a really long period of time, for example, they would most likely just blame it on aging and simply assume they’re balding. But you would likely want to make an appointment with your doctor if you woke up one morning and all your hair had fallen out.
When you suddenly develop hearing loss, it’s the same thing. There are some really good reasons why acting quickly is a good plan!
What is sudden hearing loss?
Sudden hearing loss (sometimes called sudden deafness or sudden sensorineural hearing loss, or just SSHL for short) is not generally as prevalent as the longer-term kind of hearing loss most people experience. But it isn’t exactly uncommon for people to experience sudden hearing loss. Each year, 1 in 5000 individuals experience SSHL.
The symptoms of sudden hearing loss normally include the following:
- In 9 out of 10 instances, sudden hearing loss impacts only one ear. Having said that, it is possible for SSHL to impact both ears.
- A loud “popping” noise sometimes happens right before sudden hearing loss. But this isn’t always the case. It’s possible to experience SSHL without hearing this pop.
- It might seem as if your ear is plugged up. Or there might be a ringing or buzzing in some instances.
- The loss of 30dB or greater with regards to your hearing. That is, the environment sounds 30dB quieter from whatever your past baseline had been. You’ll certainly notice the difference, but you will need our help to measure it.
- Sudden hearing loss occurs very rapidly as the name suggests. This usually means that sudden hearing loss develops over a matter of hours or days. In most instances, the person will wake up and their hearing will suddenly be impaired. Or, they might take a phone call and wonder why they can’t hear anything on the other end.
So, is sudden hearing loss permanent? Well, around half of everybody who experiences SSHL will get better within a couple of weeks. However, it’s significant to note that one key to success is rapid treatment. This means you will want to get treatment as quickly as possible. When you first notice the symptoms, you should wait no longer than 72 hours.
The best thing to do, in most situations, is to treat SSHL as a medical emergency. The longer you wait, the greater your risk of sudden hearing loss becoming irreversible.
What’s the cause of sudden hearing loss?
Here are a few of the leading causes of sudden hearing loss:
- Head trauma: The communication between your brain and ears can be disrupted by a traumatic brain injury.
- Illnesses: There are numerous health conditions that, for significantly different reasons, can cause SSHL, including multiple sclerosis, meningitis, measles, and mumps. This is a great reason to get immunized against diseases that have a vaccine.
- Problems with your blood flow: This may include anything from a high platelet count to a blockage of the cochlear artery.
- Reaction to pain medication: Your risk of experiencing sudden hearing loss is raised by excessive use of opioids.
- Recurring exposure to loud sound, such as music: Hearing will decline slowly due to repeated exposure to loud noise for most people. But for some, that decline in hearing could occur suddenly.
- Autoimmune disease: In some cases, your immune system starts to believe that your inner ear is a threat. This type of autoimmune disease can easily result in SSHL.
- Genetic predisposition: Genetic predisposition can sometimes be responsible for sudden hearing loss.
- A reaction to drugs: This could include common medications such as aspirin. This list can also include certain antibiotics, including streptomycin and gentamicin, and other common medicines including cisplatin and quinine.
For a portion of patients, knowing what kind of sudden hearing loss you’re dealing with will help us create a more effective treatment. But sometimes it doesn’t work that way. Understanding the precise cause isn’t always necessary for effective treatment because lots of forms of SSHL have similar treatment methods.
What should you do if you experience sudden loss of hearing?
So, if you wake up one morning and suddenly find you can’t hear anything, what’s the best course of action? Well, there are a couple of important steps you should take immediately. Don’t just try to play the waiting game. That won’t work very well. You should wait no longer than 72 hours to seek treatment. It’s best to schedule an appointment with us as soon as possible. We’ll be able to help you figure out what went wrong and help you find the best course of treatment.
While at our office, you will probably undergo an audiogram to figure out the level of hearing loss you’re experiencing (this is a totally non-invasive test where you wear some headphones and raise your hand when you hear a tone). We will also rule out any obstructions or a possible conductive cause for your hearing loss.
The first course of treatment will usually include steroids. An injection of these steroids directly into the ear is in some cases necessary. For others, pills might be able to generate the desired results. SSHL of many root causes (or no known cause) can be successfully treated with steroids. For SSHL caused by an autoimmune disease, you may need to take medication that suppresses your immune response.
If you or somebody you know has suddenly lost the ability to hear, contact us right away for an assessment..