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An estimated 4,000 Americans experience something called sudden deafness, or sudden sensorineural hearing loss, every year. Many think it's nothing more than a plugged ear from a cold, but it's critical that people don't wait to see if it gets better, reported WCVB-TV in Boston.
Matt Sotir had no problem hearing from both ears six weeks ago. Then without warning, one side went silent.
"I noticed the volume of the TV going down," Sotir said. "I didn't really recognize what was going on, so I turned the volume up and then it went down again a few minutes later. And then I realized there was something wrong."
Convinced it was an ear infection, he waited one day and might have waited longer if it hadn't been for a call from his sister.
His sister is an emergency room doctor and recognized the sudden deafness symptoms. He was brought to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary right away.
Many people notice sudden deafness when they wake up in the morning. Others first notice it when they try to use the deafened ear, such as when they make a phone call, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Still others notice a loud, alarming "pop" just before their hearing disappears.
The condition is often accompanied by dizziness, a ringing in the ears, or both.
Many people wait too long to be treated, which can cause irreversible damage. About 65 percent of people could have hearing partially restored with steroids -- either injected into the inner ear or taken orally.
"The problem is there's a window of opportunity for doing that treatment, and it's not all that long," said Dr. Steven Rauch, of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Doctors don't know what causes sudden deafness. It's possible it's a virus. But it could happen to anyone. Rauch said that people need to know the difference between a stuffy ear or something serious. And there's a simple trick.
"Stick your finger in your ear, count out loud -- 1, 2, 3 -- and I hear my voice in the blocked ear when it's a conductive hearing loss, and that's not an emergency," Rauch said. "If I count out loud and I hear my voice in the other ear, the one that's not blocked, that means the other ear has lost nerve function. That's nerve damage, and that's the emergency."
Sotir got oral steroids within a day and hopes time heals, but there's no guarantee.
"I still really can't hear a normal conversation out of my left ear, but I'm hopeful," Sotir said.
The good news is sudden deafness rarely strikes both ears.
From Internet Broadcasting Systems
Matt Sotir had no problem hearing from both ears six weeks ago. Then without warning, one side went silent.
"I noticed the volume of the TV going down," Sotir said. "I didn't really recognize what was going on, so I turned the volume up and then it went down again a few minutes later. And then I realized there was something wrong."
Convinced it was an ear infection, he waited one day and might have waited longer if it hadn't been for a call from his sister.
His sister is an emergency room doctor and recognized the sudden deafness symptoms. He was brought to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary right away.
Many people notice sudden deafness when they wake up in the morning. Others first notice it when they try to use the deafened ear, such as when they make a phone call, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Still others notice a loud, alarming "pop" just before their hearing disappears.
The condition is often accompanied by dizziness, a ringing in the ears, or both.
Many people wait too long to be treated, which can cause irreversible damage. About 65 percent of people could have hearing partially restored with steroids -- either injected into the inner ear or taken orally.
"The problem is there's a window of opportunity for doing that treatment, and it's not all that long," said Dr. Steven Rauch, of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Doctors don't know what causes sudden deafness. It's possible it's a virus. But it could happen to anyone. Rauch said that people need to know the difference between a stuffy ear or something serious. And there's a simple trick.
"Stick your finger in your ear, count out loud -- 1, 2, 3 -- and I hear my voice in the blocked ear when it's a conductive hearing loss, and that's not an emergency," Rauch said. "If I count out loud and I hear my voice in the other ear, the one that's not blocked, that means the other ear has lost nerve function. That's nerve damage, and that's the emergency."
Sotir got oral steroids within a day and hopes time heals, but there's no guarantee.
"I still really can't hear a normal conversation out of my left ear, but I'm hopeful," Sotir said.
The good news is sudden deafness rarely strikes both ears.
From Internet Broadcasting Systems
