Wednesday, March 25, 2015

March 25, 2015

Sudden Hearing Loss  -
A Medical Emergency
March 25, 2015



This blog was started almost 2 years ago.  The main reason I started it was to help others who had suffered from Sudden Hearing Loss as I had in January of 2013.  It was also to help all people with various types of hearing loss and those who care about them, to better understand the world of a person who is deaf or hearing impaired. 

For many years I had been hearing impaired, but on that Friday in January, 2013, I lost almost all the remaining hearing that I had.  My diagnosis was Sudden Hearing Loss.  We had never heard of the condition and almost everyone I have talked to says the same thing - they never heard of it. 

What has struck me as very strange now, is that just over 2 months ago a friend of ours, a former staff member at our church seems to have suffered Sudden Hearing Loss in one ear.   I say "seems to" because I don't think all testing and treatments have been completed.  Now this evening, we have heard of another man we know well, has lost hearing in one ear.  He is to see a specialist tomorrow for more examinations.

Normally, Sudden Hearing Loss is just in one ear, and that is probably the case with me.  I was so near deaf in the other ear that it just seemed I had lost hearing in both, when actually I truly was already half deaf.  I was blessed to have a friend from high school years who was a facebook friend and she was often up in the middle of the nights.  She has a daughter-in-law who is a Doctor of Audiology and she gave me a lot of wonderful advice.  Much of the advice I got from others was not helpful, but her advice was amazing.

The friend I mentioned is named Sharon and she pushed me for early treatment, saying there is only a tiny window of time where medical intervention has proved to be helpful.  I did not get as much treatment as quickly as she suggested and there were many factors.  At the time I went deaf, Ron was seriously ill with the flu.  He had been in the ER just a couple of days before I lost the hearing and was too weak to really do much to help me.  My GP felt it was an emergency but the specialist he sent me to didn't pay enough attention to realize what was going on. 

As I have said in this blog before, "If you or someone you know suffers from Sudden Hearing Loss, get medical help at once.  Go to the Emergency Room.  Keep seeking help until you find someone who will listen."  The ENT I was sent to, scheduled me for a hearing test in two weeks after the initial exam.  I returned to my office, got on the computer, chatted with Sharon, did more research, and called and canceled the appointment with the ENT for two weeks away.  His nurse asked why and I said I wanted someone who would fight to save my hearing.  That doctor called back soon and got me an appointment for the next day for the hearing test.

In my case, my hearing did not return.  For many it does.  In my case, my hearing had been so bad before the Sudden Hearing Loss, that in the end, I was better off with the Cochlear Implant than I would have been if my hearing had returned to its previous level.  The hearing can return in 2 weeks, 2 months, or up to 6 months, with 6 months being rare.

In a comment to the man who just lost his hearing this week, I said he needed to get help quickly since there was a very small window of time in which he might be helped.  I also told him that there is not a small window of time in which God can work.  God can still bring healing.  Both of these men have normal hearing in their other ear (the one not suffering the Sudden Hearing Loss).  Because of that, probably neither would qualify for a Cochlear Implant by Medicare guidelines, but neither of them is old enough to be on Medicare.  Each insurance company has their own guidelines.

Earlier in this writing, I mentioned that my friend Sharon was often up in the middle of the night.  That was important to me because one of the treatments for Sudden Hearing Loss high doses of steroids and steroid injections into the ear.  Steroids made it next to impossible for me to sleep and I would sit up most of the night doing research on the computer and I began to notice Sharon was almost always online.  She would pray for me, encourage me, and advise me.  She was such a blessing during that time.  I can't imagine having gone through that without her.

Tonight I just felt it was important to again share about the need to treat hearing loss as an emergency.

Today for me was pretty routine.  After I got to the office, Ron left on jobs and didn't return until late in the afternoon.  I worked a little with some fabrics,  did some filing, some bookkeeping, and waiting on lots of customers.  It was a good day, but nothing special.  Sometimes, that is good!

After work I picked up a prescription and some staples - milk and bread, and came home.  I had supper alone as Ron continued finishing the tax things.  Later I sewed for a while and read for a while.  It was a nice evening.


No comments:

Post a Comment