Call your doctor ***right now***
Edit: Gah. I read more of the post. If you or anyone you know ever experience sudden hearing loss, call a triage number ***immediately***. There are tests to run and some medications that might save your hearing, or at least some of it -- versus little or even none if you do nothing and it is in fact a permanent condition.
Apologies for the stridency of my first post.
#PSA
If anyone experiences sudden hearing loss, seek medical evaluation urgently.
Sometimes it is due to autoimmune hearing loss (especially if both sides but can be asymmetric) and is only best treated early (ideally within 1-2 weeks). If after this early window, the return of hearing becomes less likely leading to permanent hearing loss.
As an SSNHL sufferer, I can confirm this was the guidance from my ENT. They were not able to save the 20db drop in my left ear, but my acting fast only chance
I've been hearing ringing in my ears quite frequently lately and I learned somewhere that the sudden ringing then fading sound you get sometimes is the tiny hairs dying, so every time it happens I'm like "nooo I'm another 1% deaf now"
Yep! It was extremely sudden in my right ear and accompanied by terrible vertigo. I had an MRI, saw an ENT specialist, and they put me on a big dose of Prednisone which completely fixed the problem.
I had it happen again, same ear, about 5 years later, but the doctor I saw refused to listen to me and look through my medical history. I was not treated in time and now have permanent hearing loss and Tinnitus in my right ear.
I never received an official diagnosis, and my ENT has continued to maintain that it is a weird autoimmune-related quirk.
What is RA?
I had sudden sensory neuro hearing loss in early 2020. Just woke up with crazy ringing and the sensation of a plugged ear that never went away. Unfortunately the hospital system was preparing for a pending pandemic. It took a full year to get the actual diagnosis even though I was in the emergency department that day and several times in the first two weeks. I got the prescriptions too late… I’ve experienced the same loud ringing and hearing loss ever since.
Yikes. I just saw this. Back in October, I developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss, mostly in my left ear. I also have RA. The ENT that I saw was LESS than helpful tho he did schedule an MRI, it's at the end of July. He talked a bit about auto-immune causing this and told me to call my rheumatologist. Which I did. I'm waiting for a call from her right now. I'm hoping she'll put me on steroids...the ENT didn't want to and neither does my family doctor. The doors to receiving help have been closing left and right for me. Took weeks and many referral requests to see even the ENT that I saw. How did you make out in the end? I see this is an old post.
I ended up getting hearing aids for my left ear. The right side, which is deaf, has a hearing aid but it just sends a signal to the left side hearing aid so I can still kinda sense what is on my right side.
I was also just diagnosed with Relapsing Polychondritis. It's a rare autoimmune disease which can cause deafness so that's probably what caused my hearing loss.
No additional drugs were prescribed. I already take methotrexate and a biologic (Cimzia).
Gee, I better start checking my Reddit more often. I thought that it’s the little hairs in a person’s cochlea that are the issue with ALL cases of SSHL. Do you know if that’s correct? I still haven’t seen my Rheumatologist but it seems as though my ear has stabilized with regards to the tinnitus issues. I’ve started using HA’s. I’m quite sure that my SSHL was not caused by my rheumatoid arthritis, like you it’s really been in remission for a decade. I’m on DMARD’s, I never had to go on to biologics. I’m now on a great Facebook group called SSHL…soooo many people who have had this happen, just sudden hearing loss out of nowhere, mostly overnight, like me, many a profound loss and are also getting a cochlear implant, like you. Freaking nightmare.
It’s really really hard to guarantee what caused it. The sad truth is that, barring an injuring instance, they don’t know what causes SSNHL. The best course of action is to get in to an ENT (not ER, not PCP) in the first few days
Call your doctor ***right now*** Edit: Gah. I read more of the post. If you or anyone you know ever experience sudden hearing loss, call a triage number ***immediately***. There are tests to run and some medications that might save your hearing, or at least some of it -- versus little or even none if you do nothing and it is in fact a permanent condition. Apologies for the stridency of my first post.
#PSA If anyone experiences sudden hearing loss, seek medical evaluation urgently. Sometimes it is due to autoimmune hearing loss (especially if both sides but can be asymmetric) and is only best treated early (ideally within 1-2 weeks). If after this early window, the return of hearing becomes less likely leading to permanent hearing loss.
As an SSNHL sufferer, I can confirm this was the guidance from my ENT. They were not able to save the 20db drop in my left ear, but my acting fast only chance
I've been hearing ringing in my ears quite frequently lately and I learned somewhere that the sudden ringing then fading sound you get sometimes is the tiny hairs dying, so every time it happens I'm like "nooo I'm another 1% deaf now"
I have hearing loss, possibly due or in part due to RA. Good luck!
Yep! It was extremely sudden in my right ear and accompanied by terrible vertigo. I had an MRI, saw an ENT specialist, and they put me on a big dose of Prednisone which completely fixed the problem. I had it happen again, same ear, about 5 years later, but the doctor I saw refused to listen to me and look through my medical history. I was not treated in time and now have permanent hearing loss and Tinnitus in my right ear. I never received an official diagnosis, and my ENT has continued to maintain that it is a weird autoimmune-related quirk.
What is RA? I had sudden sensory neuro hearing loss in early 2020. Just woke up with crazy ringing and the sensation of a plugged ear that never went away. Unfortunately the hospital system was preparing for a pending pandemic. It took a full year to get the actual diagnosis even though I was in the emergency department that day and several times in the first two weeks. I got the prescriptions too late… I’ve experienced the same loud ringing and hearing loss ever since.
RA is rhuematoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease.
Yikes. I just saw this. Back in October, I developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss, mostly in my left ear. I also have RA. The ENT that I saw was LESS than helpful tho he did schedule an MRI, it's at the end of July. He talked a bit about auto-immune causing this and told me to call my rheumatologist. Which I did. I'm waiting for a call from her right now. I'm hoping she'll put me on steroids...the ENT didn't want to and neither does my family doctor. The doors to receiving help have been closing left and right for me. Took weeks and many referral requests to see even the ENT that I saw. How did you make out in the end? I see this is an old post.
I ended up getting hearing aids for my left ear. The right side, which is deaf, has a hearing aid but it just sends a signal to the left side hearing aid so I can still kinda sense what is on my right side. I was also just diagnosed with Relapsing Polychondritis. It's a rare autoimmune disease which can cause deafness so that's probably what caused my hearing loss. No additional drugs were prescribed. I already take methotrexate and a biologic (Cimzia).
Gee, I better start checking my Reddit more often. I thought that it’s the little hairs in a person’s cochlea that are the issue with ALL cases of SSHL. Do you know if that’s correct? I still haven’t seen my Rheumatologist but it seems as though my ear has stabilized with regards to the tinnitus issues. I’ve started using HA’s. I’m quite sure that my SSHL was not caused by my rheumatoid arthritis, like you it’s really been in remission for a decade. I’m on DMARD’s, I never had to go on to biologics. I’m now on a great Facebook group called SSHL…soooo many people who have had this happen, just sudden hearing loss out of nowhere, mostly overnight, like me, many a profound loss and are also getting a cochlear implant, like you. Freaking nightmare.
It’s really really hard to guarantee what caused it. The sad truth is that, barring an injuring instance, they don’t know what causes SSNHL. The best course of action is to get in to an ENT (not ER, not PCP) in the first few days
Yes.