Q&A

Subject: Sudden Hearing Loss

From: M (Chile)

Please, I have a sudden hearing loss in my left ear. I was treated with esteroids, but it did not work.

I just want to know about cases of this sickness. Do cases like this ever have a happy ending? I have had 2 years with this sickness. Can I improve myself? Thanks

Many questions! First, we do not always know what causes these sudden hearing losses. Sometimes it is an infection in the inner ear caused by a virus. Sometimes it is a break in the inner ear capsule where the loss of fluids damages the delicate nerve endings. Sometimes it is a small blood clot in the ear which interrupts the blood flow...sort of like a "stroke in the ear."

Your doctor's use of steroids was an excellent therapy to try. Unfortunately, it is not always successful and the longer the condition continues, the less likely that hearing will improve. Now after two years, I expect that you have already achieved whatever improvement you can expect.

You have not said how much hearing loss you have. If there is usable hearing in the left ear, you can try a hearing aid on that side to bring your hearing back into balance. If the loss is total, you can still try a hearing aid that you wear in your RIGHT ear with an auxiliary microphone on your left so that you can hear people talk on that side. One company, Phonak, achieves this crossover of sound through an FM system that uses no wires to carry sound from the left side to your right ear. Other companies make similar systems but use a wire from the left microphone to the device in your right ear.

Good luck to you.
Solveig