Terrifying Fleeting Deafness for Hours: Is It Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss?

[in_the_shadows]

Has anyone experienced fleeting tinnitus along with muffled hearing that lasted for several hours? Yesterday, I had a pretty terrifying experience while out for dinner. I suddenly went completely deaf in my left ear, accompanied by a loud, intense tinnitus. I almost took 60mg of Prednisone, assuming it was sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), but the symptoms gradually eased on their own. During the recovery, I had several smaller episodes in the same ear. Even through the night, these fleeting episodes continued, occurring about every five minutes. Today, I've only had a couple of episodes.

How can one differentiate between SSNHL and fleeting deafness?

For context, I'm currently dealing with a sinus infection, and I was on Amoxicillin last week, which seemed to make my tinnitus more unpredictable (10+ new tones, all oscillating). I've also been taking a lot of supplements recently, which could potentially be contributing to this as well.

 

[delta784]

Check my latest posts. I had the exact same experience. It felt like fleeting tinnitus or sudden onset, but it took hours to resolve. My audiogram showed no hearing loss, but it worsened the tinnitus in my right ear, and it never returned to baseline.

 

[in_the_shadows]

Have the fleeting tinnitus episodes worsened your existing tones or added a new one? Usually, I have so many tones that it's impossible to keep track of them all. However, this fleeting episode brought a new high-frequency tone that feels more stable and noticeable than the others.

 

[delta784]

Have the fleeting tinnitus episodes worsened your existing tones or added a new one? Usually, I have so many tones that it's impossible to keep track of them all. However, this fleeting episode brought a new high-frequency tone that feels more stable and noticeable than the others.

Yes, a fleeting tinnitus episode gave me a flashbang-like tone with a very high pitch.

 

[Nes]

Has anyone experienced fleeting tinnitus along with muffled hearing that lasted for several hours? Yesterday, I had a pretty terrifying experience while out for dinner. I suddenly went completely deaf in my left ear, accompanied by a loud, intense tinnitus. I almost took 60mg of Prednisone, assuming it was sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), but the symptoms gradually eased on their own. During the recovery, I had several smaller episodes in the same ear. Even through the night, these fleeting episodes continued, occurring about every five minutes. Today, I've only had a couple of episodes.

How can one differentiate between SSNHL and fleeting deafness?

For context, I'm currently dealing with a sinus infection, and I was on Amoxicillin last week, which seemed to make my tinnitus more unpredictable (10+ new tones, all oscillating). I've also been taking a lot of supplements recently, which could potentially be contributing to this as well.

I experienced this last month. The deafness was very brief, but the ringing lasted for several hours. It took an entire month to settle down a bit, but it is still not close to baseline.

As a result, the ringing returned in my good ear. I also experienced a lot of fleeting tinnitus episodes after that, and some of them even introduced new sounds.

 

[in_the_shadows]

I experienced this last month. The deafness was very brief, but the ringing lasted for several hours. It took an entire month to settle down a bit, but it is still not close to baseline.

As a result, the ringing returned in my good ear. I also experienced a lot of fleeting tinnitus episodes after that, and some of them even introduced new sounds.

In my case, the deafness lasted several hours, and the new sound persisted for several days before gradually fading. After that, I experienced many fleeting tinnitus episodes with the same sound.

I suspect this might be caused either by inflammation or by a cluster of hair cells or synapses collapsing for a specific frequency. It is terrifying to go through something like this.

 

[Nes]

In my case, the deafness lasted several hours, and the new sound persisted for several days before gradually fading. After that, I experienced many fleeting tinnitus episodes with the same sound.

I suspect this might be caused either by inflammation or by a cluster of hair cells or synapses collapsing for a specific frequency. It is terrifying to go through something like this.

Sending lots of hope your way—that must have been terrifying. Did you end up taking the Prednisone? Even for the sinus infection, isn't it strange that you weren't prescribed Prednisone?

 

[in_the_shadows]

Sending lots of hope your way—that must have been terrifying. Did you end up taking the Prednisone? Even for the sinus infection, isn't it strange that you weren't prescribed Prednisone?

I hesitated to take Prednisone because my symptoms were gradually subsiding. However, I decided to take it one week after the episode of deafness, which occurred three weeks after using Amoxicillin. I had three pills left from a previous prescription.

I took 40 mg on the first day and 20 mg the following day. Since then, the tinnitus has stabilized, and I haven't experienced any fleeting episodes. While it helped, taking Prednisone still feels like gambling with my health.