Q&A

Subject: Sudden hearing loss 3 days ago

From: BD

I had a cold ten days ago and suddenly, within a half hour, I could not hear anything in my left ear. I called the doctor and he prescribed bactrim and a cough medicine with a decongestant.

Three days ago, I called the doctor again and told him I still could not hear in my left ear. It has a very full feeling and a kind of roaring. He basically told me to take my medicine and call back in four days if it was not better.

I am 46 and have never had anything like this in my life. I hope it is just temporary from my cold, but am a little concerned that there is no improvement even though my cold is better.
Thank you.
BD

Dear Betty,
I think you are right to be concerned. Rather than just call, get yourself an appointment with an ear doctor - otologist, otolaryngologist or even otorhinolaryngologist. Part of your examination should include a hearing test to determine whether the problem is located in the middle ear (like congestion from the cold) or in the inner ear where viral infections can permanently damage your hearing. If the problem is the inner ear variety, there are medications they can prescribe to combat the problem.

Two weeks is long enough to wait for the problem to go away on its own! Tomorrow is Monday. CALL THE EAR DOCTOR!

Good luck!
Solveig