We usually think of hearing loss as something that develops gradually. This can make the symptoms difficult to detect. (After all, you’re only turning up the volume on your TV now and then, it’s nothing to worry about, right?) That’s normally the case, yes, but not always. It turns out hearing loss can also happen suddenly and without much warning.
When our health abruptly changes, it tends to get our attention (one might even describe the emotion as “alarm”). When people’s hair falls out gradually over a really long period of time, for instance, they would most likely just blame it on aging and simply assume they’re going bald. But you would most 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 lose your ability to hear, it’s the same thing. There are some really good reasons why acting fast is a good plan!
Sudden hearing loss – what is it?
Long-term hearing loss is more common than sudden hearing loss or SSHL for short. But it isn’t exactly uncommon for people to experience sudden hearing loss. Approximately 1 in 5000 people a year are afflicted by SSHL.
The symptoms of sudden hearing loss usually include the following:
- It may seem as if your ear is plugged up. Or there might be a ringing or buzzing in some instances.
- Sudden hearing loss will impact only one ear in 9 of 10 cases. Having said that, it is possible for SSHL to affect both ears.
- The loss of 30dB or greater with regards to your hearing. The outside world sounds 30dB quieter than when your hearing was healthy. You won’t be able to measure this by yourself, it’s something we will diagnose. However, it will be apparent.
- Some people hear a loud “pop” before their hearing starts to fail. But that only occurs sometimes. It’s possible to experience SSHL without hearing this pop.
- As the name suggests, sudden deafness typically happens quickly. This usually means that sudden hearing loss occurs over a matter of hours or days. As a matter of fact, most individuals wake up in the morning questioning what’s wrong with their hearing! Or, they may take a phone call and question why they can’t hear the other person talking.
If you experience SSHL, you might be wondering: is sudden deafness permanent? Well, roughly half of everyone who experiences SSHL will get better within two weeks. But rapid treatment is a major key to success. This means you will want to get treatment as quickly as you can. After you first notice the symptoms, you should wait no longer than 72 hours.
In most situations, it’s a good strategy to treat sudden hearing loss as a medical emergency. The longer you delay treatment, the greater your chance of sudden hearing loss becoming irreversible.
What’s the cause of sudden hearing loss?
Some of the top causes of sudden hearing loss include the following:
- Autoimmune disease: In some cases, your immune system begins to think that your inner ear is a threat. This kind of autoimmune disease can definitely result in SSHL.
- Illnesses: Diseases including mumps, measles, meningitis, and multiple sclerosis have all been known to trigger SSHL, for wildly different reasons. So if a disease has a vaccine, it’s a smart idea to get immunized.
- Being repeatedly exposed to loud music or other loud sound: For most people, loud sound will cause a slow decline in hearing. But for some people, that decline in hearing could happen suddenly.
- Head trauma: A traumatic brain injury can be disruptive to the communication between your ears and your brain.
- Reaction to pain medication: Excessive use of opioid-related drugs and pain medication can increase your risk of experiencing sudden hearing loss.
- Problems with your blood flow: Things like obstructed cochlear arteries and high platelet counts are included in this category.
- A reaction to drugs: This could include common medications such as aspirin. This list can also include some antibiotics, like streptomycin and gentamicin, and other common medicines including cisplatin and quinine.
- Genetic predisposition: Genetic predisposition can in some cases be responsible for sudden hearing loss.
Most of the time, we will be better capable of helping you develop an effective treatment if we can determine what type of sudden hearing loss you’re dealing with. But sometimes it doesn’t work that way. Knowing 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 have sudden hearing loss?
So what action should you take if you wake up one day and find that you can’t hear anything? There are some things that you should do immediately. Above all, you should not just wait for it to go away. That’s a bad idea! You should wait no longer than 72 hours to find treatment. Calling us for immediate treatment is the best plan. We’ll be in the best position to help you determine what’s wrong and how to treat it.
While at our office, you may undergo an audiogram to determine the amount of hearing loss you’re dealing with (this is a completely non-invasive test where you put on some headphones and raise your hand when you hear a tone). We will also rule out any blockages or a possible conductive cause for your hearing loss.
For most people, the first round of treatment will very likely include steroids. An injection of these steroids directly into the ear is in some cases required. In other situations, pills may be capable of generating the desired effects. Steroids have proven to be quite effective in treating SSHL with a wide variety of root causes (or with no confirmed root cause). You may need to use a medication to suppress your immune response if your SSHL is due to an autoimmune disease.
If you or somebody you know has suddenly lost the ability to hear, contact us right away for an evaluation..