not sure if this is the right place to post or not-medical question!

[HOH33stars]

Hey all!
So I "celebrated" my one week anniversary with having hearing aids last wednesday by visiting my audi. Before that though, the clinic here that originally diagnosed me (they had requested to monitor my hearing) so I went in to having another hearing test.
The result was that within 2 months I've already lost another 15-20db in both ears. Now, when i was diagnosed in June I was between 30-40db across the board...August it had gone between 45-55db...NOW it's 60-70+db. also my speech recognition even with aids is going down quickly also. At this rate I will be almost deaf by december! SO needless to say this has caused a little bit of panic with my audi...so she wants to send me to a neurology/ear doctor. I have an appointment with an ENT in december...but everyone wants me to get in earlier (obviously).
The biggest question I have is...what can be causing this??? I'm a healthy 22 year old female in college! I feel fine! In fact, everyone else around me is constantly getting sick and I haven't been sick once! So what's going on??? What can be happening??? Any thoughts would be very much appreciated...

 

[Bottesini]

You really need the ENT doctor not us.

There can be many causes.

One cause: Vitamin D deficiency. That is unlikely to be your reason, but I am giving you a true possibility.

There are really many, so see the doctor as soon as possible.

Good luck.

 

[Jolie77]

Mod's Note;

The thread is moved to it's proper place.

 

[Hear Again]

Hey all!
So I "celebrated" my one week anniversary with having hearing aids last wednesday by visiting my audi. Before that though, the clinic here that originally diagnosed me (they had requested to monitor my hearing) so I went in to having another hearing test.
The result was that within 2 months I've already lost another 15-20db in both ears. Now, when i was diagnosed in June I was between 30-40db across the board...August it had gone between 45-55db...NOW it's 60-70+db. also my speech recognition even with aids is going down quickly also. At this rate I will be almost deaf by december! SO needless to say this has caused a little bit of panic with my audi...so she wants to send me to a neurology/ear doctor. I have an appointment with an ENT in december...but everyone wants me to get in earlier (obviously).
The biggest question I have is...what can be causing this??? I'm a healthy 22 year old female in college! I feel fine! In fact, everyone else around me is constantly getting sick and I haven't been sick once! So what's going on??? What can be happening??? Any thoughts would be very much appreciated...

Have you had any ear infections recently or in the past? Ear infections were one of the reasons I lost my hearing.

Sometimes hearing loss can be idiopathic meaning that it has an unknown cause.

 

[JennyB]

There are some forms of genetic rapidly progressing late on-set hearing losses. One of them being DPHL, or Dominant Progressive Hearing Loss. It is one of the causes of mine, coupled with many other things. That being said, half of my family has the exact same thing, exact same progresssion. If you are the only one...well...then that wouldn't be it.

There are also tumors in your hearing nerve, calcification of your cochlea or the bones in your middle ear...many things. Go to the ER tomorrow and say you have a rapidly progressing suddon onset hearing loss...that should get you in to see and ENT by the end of the day.

 

[etalton]

There are so many variables and possibilities that you really need to see an ENT specialist asap. Let them run the tests and rule out the impossible to see what is left. It could be genetic (defective genes do skip generations), a virus, ear infection, or idiopathic, any number of other things. For me it was Meniere's disease and a genetic defect, so I got a double whammy, so to speak.
Once you see an ENT he/she will most likely order blood work, an MRI and or CT scan. These will help narrow the field.
See if you can get in sooner, rather than waiting till December.
Keep us posted.

 

[HOH33stars]

Have you had any ear infections recently or in the past? Ear infections were one of the reasons I lost my hearing.

Sometimes hearing loss can be idiopathic meaning that it has an unknown cause.

There are some forms of genetic rapidly progressing late on-set hearing losses. One of them being DPHL, or Dominant Progressive Hearing Loss. It is one of the causes of mine, coupled with many other things. That being said, half of my family has the exact same thing, exact same progresssion. If you are the only one...well...then that wouldn't be it.

There are also tumors in your hearing nerve, calcification of your cochlea or the bones in your middle ear...many things. Go to the ER tomorrow and say you have a rapidly progressing suddon onset hearing loss...that should get you in to see and ENT by the end of the day.

There are so many variables and possibilities that you really need to see an ENT specialist asap. Let them run the tests and rule out the impossible to see what is left. It could be genetic (defective genes do skip generations), a virus, ear infection, or idiopathic, any number of other things. For me it was Meniere's disease and a genetic defect, so I got a double whammy, so to speak.
Once you see an ENT he/she will most likely order blood work, an MRI and or CT scan. These will help narrow the field.
See if you can get in sooner, rather than waiting till December.
Keep us posted.

No ear infections...but now that you mention it, I remember a few times when I was working over the past year and a half that my ears "bothered me"...like they were sore almost like I had an ear infection only I didn't feel sick. Since the spring though they haven't bothered me or been painful.
No one else in my family is HOH or deaf-in fact my grandparents have perfect hearing still! Granted I don't know my biological father's family history, however my mother has never mentioned anything huge about his medical history.
I'm calling a doctor tomorrow (tried today-closed because of Columbus day) and i'm going to see how soon I can get in. the one audi who tested me thinks they'll put me on steriods even if they're not sure what it is...but no one has a clue as to what it might be...i'm pretty scared.

 

[JennyB]

No ear infections...but now that you mention it, I remember a few times when I was working over the past year and a half that my ears "bothered me"...like they were sore almost like I had an ear infection only I didn't feel sick. Since the spring though they haven't bothered me or been painful.
No one else in my family is HOH or deaf-in fact my grandparents have perfect hearing still! Granted I don't know my biological father's family history, however my mother has never mentioned anything huge about his medical history.
I'm calling a doctor tomorrow (tried today-closed because of Columbus day) and i'm going to see how soon I can get in. the one audi who tested me thinks they'll put me on steriods even if they're not sure what it is...but no one has a clue as to what it might be...i'm pretty scared.

Steroids are a common treatment for sudden onset hearing loss. I had a sudden loss of 30 dB once, in the matter of a second. I didn't take the steroids though because we knew it was genetic and of no use. Having said that I know that rapidly decreasing hearing can be scary!

 

[Hear Again]

Steroids are a common treatment for sudden onset hearing loss. I had a sudden loss of 30 dB once, in the matter of a second. I didn't take the steroids though because we knew it was genetic and of no use. Having said that I know that rapidly decreasing hearing can be scary!

When my hearing loss reached the severe-profound range, I was prescribed Prednisone. However, I refused to take it due to the possibility of experiencing side effects which included depression and mood changes. Note: There are a variety of steroids that can be given which do not have the side effects I mentioned.

 

[Hear Again]

No ear infections...but now that you mention it, I remember a few times when I was working over the past year and a half that my ears "bothered me"...like they were sore almost like I had an ear infection only I didn't feel sick. Since the spring though they haven't bothered me or been painful.
No one else in my family is HOH or deaf-in fact my grandparents have perfect hearing still! Granted I don't know my biological father's family history, however my mother has never mentioned anything huge about his medical history.
I'm calling a doctor tomorrow (tried today-closed because of Columbus day) and i'm going to see how soon I can get in. the one audi who tested me thinks they'll put me on steriods even if they're not sure what it is...but no one has a clue as to what it might be...i'm pretty scared.

I know how you feel. Until I received my first CI, I never knew the various causes of my hearing loss (except for ear infections).

JennyB gave you excellent advice in suggesting that you go to the ER.

I hope you'll keep us updated on what you find out and how you are doing.

 

[etalton]

I did the prednisone thing and all I did was gain weight. Sigh...and after all the good work the lo-so diet did too. But, there are cases where it can "kick-start" your hearing so for me, it was worth the risk. I was weaned off it gradually and the weight gain was the only bad thing. I have since lost half of what I gained so I really can't complain. In my mind there was always the "what if" factor to deal with.
Side note...my ENT did several "second opinions" and found that there was not much difference between the shot and the oral..the oral is a lot less painful.

 

[Hear Again]

I did the prednisone thing and all I did was gain weight. Sigh...and after all the good work the lo-so diet did too. But, there are cases where it can "kick-start" your hearing so for me, it was worth the risk. I was weaned off it gradually and the weight gain was the only bad thing. I have since lost half of what I gained so I really can't complain. In my mind there was always the "what if" factor to deal with.
Side note...my ENT did several "second opinions" and found that there was not much difference between the shot and the oral..the oral is a lot less painful.

I completely agree that it's always worth taking the chance. However, in my case, since I was already experiencing depression (which began when I was diagnosed with severe-profound hearing loss), I didn't want to face the possibility that it could become worse due to the Prednisone.

Interesting re: oral vs. injection. I was given Prednisone orally.

 

[JennyB]

They offered me the same thing, it's late I am not trying to spell it , but really in the end...I might be able to hear 2500Hz at 120dB again...what good does that do me :P