Q&A

Q: Can the flu hurt your ears?

A: Yes, I have seen several people who had sudden hearing loss along with the flu. The symptoms included dizziness, tinnitus, and hearing loss. The hearing loss seems to start out as partly conductive and partly sensorineural, that is partly due to fluid buildup in the inner ear and partly in the nervous system. The conductive part of the loss seems to clear up as the flu goes away, but some patients have been left with a severe, nerve damage type of hearing loss, even after they are back on their feet and feel well. These patients also have very poor discrimination, which means that they have trouble understanding even with amplification. Not everyone who gets the flu experiences these symptoms, but you should not take flu lightly.