sudden hearing loss

[Hamsterfun]

I woke up on 24 July this year with fullness and partial hearing in my right ear. Saw doc 4 days later who prescribed steroid tablets for 12 days. During that time I got a small improvement however when I stopped taking them the problems returned.

I had spikes of high temperature so perhaps virus related? Other thought was I had taken a statin Lipitor for 4 months which although rare can cause hearing loss ( small print on packet instruction leaflet).

Lying down at night the fullness goes away however standing up I feel as though I have cotton wool in my ear and a feeling of fluid moving against my eardrum.

In crowded places loud voices, music etc vibrate and echo in my ear so it’s hard to hear my companions. On my own in a quiet place the problem is much less of an issue.

I have an appointment with an audiology and ENT which I hope will give me some answers though I am not confident.

I am writing this in case others have a similar experience and give me some hope for the future 🤞.

[Happyrosie]

similar to you, though it was a few years ago. With pain. It was definitely an infection though and I had steroids and antibiotic ear drops. Sensation of fullness not related to my posture as far as I remember. This was while on hol in South Africa and it was all finished by the time of my return to UK a couple of weeks later, no further action.

[Hamsterfun in reply to Happyrosie]

Thanks for relating your experience. So glad your ear infection cleared up quickly. I am hoping my ear problems will resolve too.

[rabbits65]

I know roughly what your going through. I get a lot of fullness in my right ear especially when I’m tired or if I’m in places I’m not familiar with . I get a feeling of pressure too , I don’t have loss of hearing , but a certain amount of tinnitus. , I’ve learnt to try and ignore it all and just carry on and live my life. The best place for me is to keep going for poodle walks , my dogs keep me going. Mine started in 2020 , the stress of losing my mother I think triggered it . You will be alright. Good luck.

[Hamsterfun in reply to rabbits65]

Thank you. Yes I find walking my dog does help too. I’m sorry about your mum it’s very hard to lose someone you love.

[rabbits65 in reply to Hamsterfun]

yes your right , even though I knew she had to pass on because she was in her middle nineties it doesn’t help our well being. I think most of us seem to develop tinnitus and other similar things due to a trauma .

[Jakobala]

Sounds like hearing damage ,it will partially resolve but the ringing will stay forever

[waterfalls123456]

Yes a virus caused my hearing loss to worsen with similar fullness etc. Sadly I was not prescribed steroids. Good luck with ENT

[Hamsterfun]

thank you

[Jaycey]

I had a very bad cold in late April resulting in an ear infection. GP prescribed antibiotics that eased the ear pain. But the full feeling coupled with a hearing loss and increased tinnitus remained. I have been taking steroid nasal spray for about 12 weeks. Just this week the full feeling has eased slightly. I have been referred to ENT but the wait list is so long I doubt I will see anyone soon. Perhaps ask for the steroid spray. It takes awhile to work but it may help reduce your symptoms.

[Hamsterfun in reply to Jaycey]

Thank you

[Hamsterfun in reply to Jaycey]

I have been using a steroid nasal spray (as you suggested) twice a day prescribed by my doctor about 10 days ago. He said that it would dry up any fluid. My symptoms have lessened considerably! Feeling of pressure and fullness gone thank goodness. Some improvement is wonderful. Have a ENT appointment soon.

[Snappy001]

I have been diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss and the Big T I invested in Boots Hearing Aids and for a week everything was back to almost normal. Mt T was very much reduced and with the aids in my hearing was almost back to what it was 25 years ago.

Then a few days later I fell asleep on the couch for about 15 minutes. When I awoke I was almost totally deaf, everything that I could hear was muffled and all in bass tones, in both ears, there is a sensation of fullness like when you have a bad cold. I went to see the Boots audiologist who tested my hearing again and confirmed that my hearing was reduced at certain frequencies so he boosted the aids in those frequencies. Since then I have seen a NHS nurse practitioner who inserted a camera up my nose and had a good rummage around inside, not pleasant but also not painful and had my hearing tested again courtesy of the NHS who confirmed that the hearing in my right ear was very much reduced since my previous NHS test. Then she asked me if had I contracted COVID-19 to which I replied yes and was it around the time of my sudden hearing loss as she had experienced a rise in sudden hearing loss that she thinks is related to Covid however, there is no study that confirms this as yet. I am now waiting for an appointment to see an Ear Nose and throat consultant who will look at the data from my 2 tests before coming up with a diagnosis.

[Hamsterfun in reply to Snappy001]

Interesting to read about covid link I never thought to test as didn’t have any chest infection just raised temperature.

[Bs2024]

Get an mri. You'd want to rule out acoustic neuroma