Sudden Hearing Loss

It's been kind of a rough month or so, but things are looking better. It started when I got sick about 5 weeks ago with some kind of upper respiratory virus. After dealing with it for about 2 weeks, I experienced a sudden loss of hearing in my right ear. Idon't think I could hear anything out of that ear for about 4 hours. When I could suddenly hear again, my ear was ringing. It was pretty annoying.

I went to a nurse practitioner twice that week and finally got into my ENT about 1.5 weeks after this started. She ran some tests and found that besides the ringing in my ear, I'd also lost some hearing abilities. I knew I was having trouble hearing, but I really thought it was just from the ringing.

She decided to run more tests - blood & an MRI of my brain - and send me back to my hematologist... just in case it was another blood clot. But, she thought I probably had experienced something called Sudden Hearing Loss. This is usually caused by a virus inflamming your 8th nerve and then it causes abrupt hearing loss. When it returns, 2/3rds of people experience ringing in their ear. And, to be considered Sudden Hearing Loss, you must have lost a certain percentage of your hearing.

So, this week I had an MRI early Monday morning (I left the house at 5:45 am), went to my hematologist Wednesday (he ran more blood tests, but thinks I have not had another clot) , and went to a neurologist today. The neurologist was able to read my MRI and told me it was normal. Praise God! And, she agreed with my ENT saying it sounded like a classic case of Sudden Hearing Loss. But, she said it could continue to get better as the nerve heals, where my ENT had told me I would not improve. So, I will pray for the best but be prepared for the worst!

I go back to my ENT on Wednesday to have my hearing rechecked. My left ear has started ringing since I first saw this doctor, but it is not as bad as my right. The hearing loss is more of an annoyance than a disability. And, the ringing has either gotten better or I'm adjusting to it. It is non-stop, but I only hear it when things get pretty quiet. It was hard to go to sleep the first few nights, but I'm used to it now. I just would love some total quiet!!!

I would appreciate prayers for complete healing! And, I hope to post more "fun" posts next week. We have been doing a lot this week, but I've been preoccupied with my health lately.