My Story with SSHL (Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss) — Any Guidance or Wisdom?

About two weeks ago I woke up from a nap with a buzzing in my left ear, muffled hearing, and ear fullness, and over the next couple of days it developed into a ringing.

I went to an ENT a couple days after the onset, and they diagnosed it as SSHL because I had a mild hearing loss in one frequency. I had a lot of ear wax in my left ear as well and I thought that was the reason for my tinnitus, but it didn't go away after I got it removed.

Praise God that I did go to the ENT only after a couple of days, because from what I heard time is of the essence when it comes to SSHL.

I'm only 18 years old and I know there is gonna be a lot of obstacles in my life, but this has truly been the hardest two weeks of my life. I got two steroid injections in my ear and took a cycle of oral steroids.

My hearing came back to normal, praise be to God for that, but the ringing has not gone away yet. As well I kind of felt like the ringing was getting better, but these past couple of days it feels louder. Most noises can cover it up for the most part, which is truly a blessing, but the tinnitus noise is still really debilitating.

I just hope some one on here can give me some guidance and wisdom.

I will be keeping the people on this forum and anyone with tinnitus in my prayers.

 

Tinnitus and hearing loss are linked.

Think of tinnitus as a neurological response to a sudden loss of hearing, the parts of the brain associated with hearing become extremely hyperactive in response to sudden hearing damage, but once hearing is restored it should go away.

It will still take some time for the brain to undo plasticity changes associated with tinnitus. People report days, weeks to months.

Consider taking magnesium to recover as much more hearing as possible. I say this because those hearing tests don't test for hearing loss outside of the human voice range. So an audiologist will tell you all of the hearing is back when they really mean just vital speech/communication range frequencies are back. Hearing loss outside of speech ranges can still result in tinnitus and other complications.

Magnesium is cheap, safe and over the counter and has evidence of helping along with steroids.

Everything I am telling you is backed up with studies I cited.


Tinnitus is a neurological response to hearing loss, similar to phantom limb syndrome.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4208401/

Once hearing deficits are resolved tinnitus should fade, as seen in various types of hearing loss, however it could take months.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15379354
http://www.ejo.eg.net/article.asp?i...ume=33;issue=1;spage=61;epage=66;aulast=Ahmed
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22675466

Audiologist don't test for hearing loss outside of human speech range, and this causes controversy for people who have trouble processing music or speech in noise but can still hear well in quiet.
http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/38/13452

Magnesium can improve hearing after SSNHL and NIHL (not a miracle cure though)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15330150

 

Thank you so much for your reply... I will try magnesium tablets.

 

There is still a good chance that your T will eventually fade. T almost never turns off overnight. You need to give it time. Hopefully 3-6 months from now it will be mostly gone.

I am glad that you were able to receive those steroids and steroid injections in time!

The post below contains information that might help you to avoid getting a secondary trauma that would interfere with your healing:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

Thank you guys so much for the post, I truly hope and pray it will... God is amazing❤️

 

To start, I have had tinnitus since March 2019, and it has been a pretty rocky road. My tinnitus was caused by sudden sensorineural hearing loss, which was suspected to be from a virus in my inner ear.

I have been blessed to have recovered my hearing( at least within normal speech ranges). And, I have been blessed that my tinnitus has been manageable and has been pretty low, expect for the spikes.

But I just really am in need of some advice, so a couple days ago I had a spike, which calmed down after a second, like usual. But, after I was left with a new noise, and I can’t tell which ear it is in. As well, it seems to be reactive, so when I am in a louder environment it gains in volume. And , It has really been bothering me, because if my tinnitus wouldn’t change from what it was then I’d probably be able to kinda just forget about it and not let it bother me.

When I have spike, I take prednisone and that has always helped every time, for the most part. So, like always, I took it this time and it hasn’t really helped.

Another thing I would like to add, in my left ear, when there’s like a crumpling sound from a chip bag or something, or a plastic scraping noise my left ear vibrates. My question is does that happen for a lot of people? Because I can’t seemed to find anywhere where someone has said it does.

Thank you, Josh
Questions I have

1. Any advice for my current situation, with my new spike?
2. Does anyone’s ear vibrate with certain noises?
3. What is this new drug FX-322? And, how could it help?
4. Is there any antidepressants that aren’t ototoxic? Or, at the very least don’t have a probability of causing tinnitus?

 

1. Take very good care of your ears. Buy some earplugs and keep them close and in various places for instance if your car breaks down and you're stuck on the side of the road. No concerts. No movie theater. No bars, clubs, etc. If your church is loud with a band or a loud PA, take some time off. Jesus will understand. Try taking a supplement called turmeric or curcumin. It is very safe and has many health benefits and several of us on this forum have experienced some relief from using this, which includes an actual lowering of the volume. Turmeric/Curcumin is a no-brainer unless it causes an immediate spike. Eat it with food and take like 3 times the recommended dose.

2. Yes, many of us experience this. I have on a few occasions.

3. FX-322 is a drug that is aiming to restore hearing by regenerating the hair cells in the cochlea, which is suspected to be a major factor in many tinnitus cases. There is a good chance this will help, perhaps even cure many cases of tinnitus but time will tell. There is another drug like this from a company called Audion. They are testing FX-322's affect on tinnitus RIGHT NOW. Data for this will unfortunately only be available in about a year.
https://www.frequencytx.com/

4. Please try to avoid anti-depressants. Many of them are very ototoxic. You obviously believe in Jesus Christ as do I. Turn to Jesus for your emotional struggles. Consider this a thorn in your side. You will find that this crucial struggle will try your faith like steel in a furnace and make you a better Christian overall. Just try and get through the day and be strong and if you need a little mental relaxation, drink a glass or 3 or 4 of a dry red wine at the end of the day.

A cure *may* be on the horizon, so do not give up hope on that. Also, many people recover over time. ALSO there is a little thing called the Resurrection of the dead and eternal life so don't be devastated by this. Have faith.

Welcome to Tinnitus Talk. Go take curcumin supplements. I use Jarrow brand.

 

Thank you so much for your advice! I have been trying to be strong. I am only 18, so I can’t have red wine. I wear maskers, but this new sound is being so odd. It’s not like it’s loud. It just spikes up the more noise there is. I’m praying it will fade in a couple days or at least blend in with the other sounds.

Would you recommend mainly going to a counselor or something?

Also, should I keep taking the prednisone?

 

You're a Christian. A counselor may help you, but they will probably be coming at you from a secular perspective and I guarantee you 100% that there is much more comfort and guidance in the Bible. Your best counselor is God.

Yes.

 

No, I would go to a Christian counselor. Thank you, again.

 

is this the one you use?