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First sign of hearing loss: seek
treatment
by
Heather Woolwine
Public
Relations
When rap star Foxy Brown suffered sudden hearing loss, the effect was
dramatic and swift. As she told People magazine, “I started breaking
down in tears and screaming, and I couldn’t even hear myself scream,”
she said. “I ran outside to my truck and honked the horn. Nothing. I
ran back inside and dialed a number on the phone. Nothing. Then I
started breaking down in tears and screaming and I couldn’t even
hear myself scream. That’s when I knew there was a problem.”
While some type of hearing loss affects more than 40 million people in
this country, what Brown experienced is rare, according to Ted Meyer,
M.D., Ph.D., Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery. Her loss was sudden
and severe and in both ears. Brown’s biggest mistake however, by her
own account, was not seeking treatment with the first signs of hearing
loss.
There are two types of hearing loss, conductive and sensorineural.
Problems associated with the structures of the outer or middle ear
block sound from entering the inner ear and results in conductive
hearing loss. Symptoms of this type of hearing loss include hearing
loss itself, ringing or pressure, and acute conductive hearing losses
often follow an upper respiratory tract infection, trauma, swimmer’s
ear, or too much ear wax.
These problems are often easily treated through removal of wax and
debris or surgery, such as tubes or a procedure to repair the eardrum
or ossicles (middle ear bones). If they’re needed, hearing aids work
well for patients with this kind of hearing loss.
Sensorineural hearing loss is typically harder to deal with and
involves damage to the structures of the inner ear or auditory nerve.
Numerous causes exist for this type of loss, and a very common problem
that everyone faces today is exposure to excessive noise.
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, the kind that Brown experienced, is
typically harder to deal with than a gradual loss. Those who experience
this type of hearing loss often present with symptoms like an upper
respiratory infection, fullness or pressure, or a ringing or buzzing in
the affected ear. This type of loss pounces all at once, and indicates
a serious problem with a person’s inner ear. Because of the nature of
the inner ear’s fluid-filled structures, surgeons cannot operate on it;
therefore the loss suffered this way is often permanent.
“The more dizziness or vertigo associated with hearing loss, the worse
it is,” Meyer said. “Patients with vertigo and hearing loss experience
less recovery than those who just have hearing loss. Most patients only
experience loss in one ear. Foxy’s case is actually very rare.”
The causes of sudden hearing loss are numerous and include noise
exposure, head trauma, drug toxicity, vascular problems, infections,
and even certain autoimmune diseases. “One form of sudden hearing loss
occurs when someone goes to a concert and comes home with tinnitus and
is not able to hear well. Most people recover their hearing from this
noise trauma during the next couple of hours, but after multiple noise
exposures, the hearing loss becomes permanent.
“When most sudden hearing loss occurs, patients do nothing and hope
that their hearing returns,” Meyer said. “Up to 50 percent of patients
who experience sudden hearing loss regain some or all of their hearing
without treatment. Some patients seek out their primary care physicians
or go to an emergency room. ”
Meyer also noted the importance of a prompt referral from a primary
care or emergency room physician to an otolaryngologist. It is standard
procedure for Meyer to see any patient with sensorineural hearing loss
the day he receives the call from the referring physician. “The sooner
we make the right diagnosis and start appropriate therapy, the better
the chance we have to improve a patient’s hearing,” he said.
With a broad range of minimal to profound hearing loss associated with
sensorineural hearing losses, numerous treatment options were proposed
during the last 100 years. Treatment includes high-dose steroids, and
during Meyer’s fellowship, the protocol was to give the patient two
intravenous medications to improve hearing. Patients experiencing this
type of loss, whether hearing returns or not, should undergo an MRI
scan to rule out the presence of an acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor on
the balance nerves.
If hearing loss does not improve with treatment, it usually
becomes permanent. When the loss is in the severe-to-profound range in
both ears, then hearing aids produce little benefit. This may be the
case for Brown, and Meyer mentioned that someone in the same situation
is a prime candidate for cochlear implantation.
The bottom line for Meyer and his colleagues, “if patients experience
sudden hearing loss and it doesn’t go away on its own within a few
days, then you need to see a physician as soon as possible. The earlier
a patient receives treatment, the better chance he or she has at making
a better recovery.”
For more information, visit http://wwwmuschealth.com/ent/.
Friday, Nov. 25, 2005
Catalyst Online is published weekly,
updated
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