When I woke up this morning I could not hear out of my left ear. After calling my Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT), I went to an Urgent Care close by. I don't have a cold, no sore throat, no breathing problems.
At the Urgent Care I was told while there was a little water in my ear, it is not infected and they couldn't understand why there is a complete loss of hearing. They gave me prednisone, an antibiotic, and nasal spray. They told me to contact my ENT and I was able to get an appointment for Friday morning. Very strange, no pain, just can't hear out of the ear.



I went to the ENT this morning. The doctor agreed about going to the Urgent Care right away. It is starting to clear up after taking the medicine I started yesterday. Confirmed what the Urgent Care said to take. Keep taking the medicine and I have about 50% hearing back already. I caught it early enough that it should be 100% for someone my age in a week. If not, come back in. Liquid in my ear is the color of beer she said. It is stopping my ear drum from vibrating and is swollen.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rtquig,

Do you think it was diminishing over time or was it a day/night difference.

Not saying you have it and not saying to panic but my bro-in-law had diminishing hearing and they found a growth on his cochlear nerve. His dr. said it had probably been growing there since he was a teen.

He went to LA to have surgery and they had to remove the nerve to ensure the growth is gone. But it was successful and expecting a full recovery.

Worth a CT unless your ENT figures out what's going on.

Best of luck!

I went into the ER in Dec with dizziness/vertigo symptoms. Sent to different Hospital for 70 percent heart blockage, put a stent in...Fast forward to a week ago. Went into ER for dizziness/vertigo symptoms same as December, checked heart, said ok, gave a couple meds for dizziness and nausea and sent home. Went to my ENT, they did a hearing test, no more loss but noticeable clarity loss in left ear. Possible tumor on ear chord, had MRI on Tue, now waiting for results... Good luck!!

I did not work yesterday, and while sitting drinking coffee I started to lose some volume. I attributed it to maybe coming down with a cold or maybe something sinus that would develop. I work in the school system so every day kids that are sick come in coughing and sneezing. Wasn't really worried yesterday. Today totally blocked, can't hear. No vertigo and only a mild ache in ear.

quote:

Originally posted by hvyhawler:
I went into the ER in Dec with dizziness/vertigo symptoms. Sent to different Hospital for 70 percent heart blockage, put a stent in...Fast forward to a week ago. Went into ER for dizziness/vertigo symptoms same as December, checked heart, said ok, gave a couple meds for dizziness and nausea and sent home. Went to my ENT, they did a hearing test, no more loss but noticeable clarity loss in left ear. Possible tumor on ear chord, had MRI on Tue, now waiting for results... Good luck!!

Good luck to you. I know how waiting on results can make you worry before you should.

I don't see how it's possible to not worry about your situation.
Best of luck and a prayer.

Good luck tomorrow with your Doc.

Good luck with the ENT. Hope they come to a determination & resolution

I have Meniere's Disease, got it from my mother's side of the family. I have almost no hearing in my left ear. The worst of it is behind me, but in my thirties, the vertigo and horrible, horrible nausea got so bad, I actually contemplated suicide. I'm not talking the kind of spins that you get when you've had far too much to drink. I'm talking about vertigo so bad- for hours- that's it's simply not possible to describe it. Vomiting until dry heaves. Absolutely the worst experience of my adult life. A lingering trip through Hell.

All of that is behind me now. It began to subside in my early forties, and though I have constant tinnitus and permanent hearing loss, it's manageable. Up until recently, my right ear was perfectly normal, but now I have age-related tinnitus in it. It's a bit depressing, but not the end of the world.

best wishes, and don't let it go.

I had similar issues and it was a tumor on my right vestibular nerve, affecting my hearing first, and then balance. Now 100% deaf on my right.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
I have Meniere's Disease, got it from my mother's side of the family. I have almost no hearing in my left ear. The worst of it is behind me, but in my thirties, the vertigo and horrible, horrible nausea got so bad, I actually contemplated suicide. I'm not talking the kind of spins that you get when you've had far too much to drink. I'm talking about vertigo so bad- for hours- that's it's simply not possible to describe it. Vomiting until dry heaves. Absolutely the worst experience of my adult life. A lingering trip through Hell.

All of that is behind me now. It began to subside in my early forties, and though I have constant tinnitus and permanent hearing loss, it's manageable. Up until recently, my right ear was perfectly normal, but now I have age-related tinnitus in it. It's a bit depressing, but not the end of the world.

WOW. Glad this is all behind you!

rtquig - hope it gets worked out quickly.

I've developed tinnitus that seems to come and go. I use to think that it was related to shooting so I took a multi- month break. Didn't seem to make a difference. Still invest heavily in top of the line ear protection so I can do all I can to minimize hearing problems.

Another possible diagnosis is "Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss" Most if not all people who get it wake up with it in the morning. Thats what happened to me. My GP consulted the ENT Doc's because he couldn't figure it out and ENT wanted to see my ASAP.

They were pioneering a treatment where they inject, yes inject steroids into your ear. Very painful when they pop your eardrum for the injection but after a few weeks of treatment (3-injections) my hearing came back.

Prompt treatment is key to success. There is a lot on the internet to read about SSHL.

Good luck

A little different situation than yours, but when I was down with the mumps when I was 14, I woke up one morning with a loud ringing in my right ear and a complete loss of hearing. Tests showed nerve damage. Did it happen cause I wouldn’t stay in bed and stay quiet like my mother told me? Side affects from the mumps? I don’t know, and never found out. After a few months the loud ringing went away, but I ended up with a 96% hearing loss in my right ear. I’m 72 now, and if there was some kind of surgery that would return my hearing, it would probably scare the crap out of me to be able to hear out of that ear all of a sudden.

Thanks for the replies and good wishes.
Urgent Care sent me a summary. They called it Serous otitis media.
The strange part of this is no vertigo. I have bouts of that usually when I have a sinus infection. When it comes on it is short, around 2 minutes. I'm lucky in that respect. I can't imagine have to deal with it constantly for weeks or months full time.
Yea getting old is real hilarious Alice lol.

I am almost exactly in the same boat as Para. I thought I wanted to die in my mid-late 30s. My episodes are not very often, but this is a serious disease. Our hearing is precious. I wish you the very best of luck friend!

I lost my left eardrum in the sixties. I had an inner ear infection and went into surgery to have a small drain tube put in. Well, the knucklehead surgeon mistakenly removed my eardrum during an eight hour surgery.

In the eighties, a ENT specialist, said that he could restore my hearing in that ear. I decided to pass and live with one ear to this day.

If that would have happened in today's sue happy society..........

Wow Para! I too have Menieres and experienced the same symptoms you described and at about the same age. As I am sure you will agree there is no way to adequately describe how horrible that experience is. As in your case, mine has also subsided somewhat with age. I did have surgery to implant a shunt in my right ear that provided relief for many years.

Same thing happened to me one day in the shower..all of a sudden I lost like 30% of the upper frequencies in my right ear. Just like that, it was gone. ENT said that a virus had settled in my ear and the hearing has never come back.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
Thanks for the replies and good wishes.
Urgent Care sent me a summary. They called it Serous otitis media.
The strange part of this is no vertigo. I have bouts of that usually when I have a sinus infection. When it comes on it is short, around 2 minutes. I'm lucky in that respect. I can't imagine have to deal with it constantly for weeks or months full time.
Yea getting old is real hilarious Alice lol.

Count your blessings, could be a lot worse. Lemme know if I can help you, Rich.