Sudden Hearing Loss (SSHL)

What to do if you suddenly experience hearing loss

As a Patient Care Coordinator, nothing is more alarming then getting a frantic call from a patient in panic mode because they suddenly lost their hearing. Working at the front desk and handling calls from patients at the Chicago office for the last six years, I’ve noticed an increase in these cases of sudden idiopathic hearing loss, or “sudden deafness”. This phenomenon, known as Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL) is often unexplained.  Although the exact cause, in many cases, is unknown, some causes for SSHL are barotrauma, certain medications, a viral attack and autoimmune disorders.  SSHL is characterized as a rapid loss, usually in one ear, either all at once or over the course of a few days.

It concerns me that patients often do not realize the severity of their sudden hearing loss. Permanent ramifications, such as irreversible hearing impairment and/or constant ringing in the ear, called tinnitus, can result if the loss is not treated immediately.

Working in one of the premier audiology offices in the world, I know what is at stake for these patients, and always find ways to fit them in to see one of our Doctors of Audiology.

The audiologist first determines that the sudden hearing loss is not due to allergies, sinus infection, earwax clogging the ear canal, or other common conditions.  If the loss is indeed SSHL, we refer immediately to an ENT (Otolaryngologist), or the nearest ER.  Oral steroids or steroid injections into the ear is the standard treatment for SSHL.  Steroids can minimize and/or reverse the hearing loss.

Most importantly, know that you are not alone.  If you experience sudden deafness, the hearing professionals at the Hearing Health Center will do everything they can to combat the hearing loss and return your hearing back to normal.

Resources:

NIDCD (National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders) Fact Sheet

(1) Sudden Deafness
NIH Pub. No.  00-4757
March 2018

The NIDCD maintains a directory of organizations that provide information on the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech and language.  Visit the NIDCD website at https://nidcd.nih.gov/directory to search the directory.

NIDCD Information Clearinghouse
1 Communication Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20892-3456
Toll Free Voice:  800-241-1044
Toll Free TTY:  800-241-1055
Email:  nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov
Web:  www.nidcd.nih.gov

Ronna Fisher

Dr. Ronna Fisher, AuD, CCC-A, FAAA is the founder and president of Hearing Health Center, which she established in 1984 in memory of her father, who suffered from untreated hearing loss and died at 53. That personal loss has shaped her entire career. Under her leadership, Hearing Health Center has been voted the best hearing practice in Illinois three years in a row by Hearing Review. In 2005, she expanded her mission by founding the Fisher Foundation for Hearing Health Care, a nonprofit dedicated to making auditory care more accessible. Dr. Fisher earned her doctorate in audiology from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and a member of the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists. Today, Dr. Fisher is focused on the growing body of research linking untreated hearing loss to dementia and cognitive decline, and committed to making sure both patients and the medical community understand what is at stake. As she puts it: You can't remember what you didn't hear.

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