Am I stupid to worry about my loss of hearing?

[Bigpinkbubblebath]

I woke up on Tuesday morning with limited hearing in my left ear and tinnitus. I went to the doctors on Wednesday and was seen by a nurse who looked in my ear and advised everything looked normal. She prescribed steroid drops for my ear

I was increasingly annoyed yesterday so took myself of to an Urgent Care Centre. Another nurse looked at my ears and throat and again confirmed everything looks fine. No sign of infection.

I’m seriously anxious about losing hearing in my ear with no obvious cause. Nobody I’ve seen seems to think it’s a big deal.

Am I being overly anxious?

I don't think you're being overly anxious

If it's not come back I'd ask to be referred for a hearing test if there's nothing else the doctor can do

Did the nurses not have any theory for your hearing loss? Or say something like ‘come back if it’s not normal by x date’?

Did you try to "pop" your ears, like when in a plane? Gently pinch nose and blow. Sometimes that works to unblock whatever is causing the sudden deafness.

If that doesn't work, try a nasal decongestant, sometimes the eustachian tube (google it) gets blocked and causes deafness often in just one ear.

If THAT doesn't work after a little while, then GP for referral, or hearing test.

Ask me how I know all this!! In my case initially it was blocked tubes. Sorted with antibiotics for an infection in that area.

I woke up 3 years ago with tinnitus and hearing loss in my right ear. Various examinations over the years but symptoms still remain. I have accepted the tinnitus and just hope my hearing doesn't detiorate any further.

I’ve been trying to pop them. I’ve been taking loads of hot baths and showers too for the steam. I had a similar incident with my ear a couple of years ago but it was quite obviously due to an infection. In this case, there’s nothing obvious causing it.

The nurses didn’t provide any theories. They both said they were at a loss and to wait and see what happens next.

Ask your GP for an Audiology and ENT referral if it doesn't get any better after the steroid drops.

unilateral, sudden onset hearing loss with tinnitus? Have you been referred to ENT (routine not urgent)? I don’t think you should leave it though.

Referral to ENT .
Personally I think urgent.

I’d suggest googling how to do a eustachian tube massage in case that’s blocked as a PP has suggested. When I’ve had this following a cold in the past the massage has immediately fixed the problem - albeit only for a short period while the infection worked its way out, but at least it proved to me what was wrong!

Are you sure they aren’t full of impacted wax? Sometimes this can be fine for ages and then you move or wear earphones and the wax shuffles itself into a place of blocking your ear. Try some otex drops you can get in the pharmacy aisle and after a few days you can use a water pipette to draw any wax out safety. I have just got two humongous blobs out of my ears after feeling like I had my head under water. Worth a shot while you wait.

I’m also not sure a nurse is the right person to see - you need an audiologist. You can see them at specsavers.

I had this once. I went to the GP who took it pretty seriously. They phoned ENT there and then and they saw me pretty quickly. I had a hearing test which showed moderate-severe loss in the ear and no obvious cause (eg recent cold). The treatment was a horrible steroid injection into my ear drum, which was more painful than childbirth, but worked.

No wax. Both ladies confirmed my ear canals are clear. No fluid behind the ear drum that they can see either. I’ve just lost most of my hearing in that ear.

Strange timing also as my Dad is currently living with me and came down with the Shingles a couple of days before I lost my hearing!

You really should see an ENT doctor urgently - they would consider this an emergency. There is a narrow window for giving oral steroids which can reverse sudden hearing loss. You should go to A&E today (I'm a doctor)

my friend is an audiologist and he said that if you get sudden hearing loss you should see someone immediately. There is a two week window if it’s a certain thing and if you’re seen within that window it can be rectified but if you leave it longer you risk permanent hearing loss. Get a referral
as soon as possible. It might not be the specific problem he was talking about but better to be safe than sorry.

Oh my goodness, some of these are terrifying. Not sure what to do now. A&E seems extreme.

This is serious. Is it complete hearing loss in the heat? You need steroids and an ENT referral. My GP was brilliant when this happened to me. I was so impressed. He tried to get me into hospital that afternoon. I had an MRI, a CT scan and a steroid injection in my ear drum. That's the minimum they should be doing for you.

Not complete loss. I can hear a very small amount of sound. The tinnitus is really loud.

Agree. Sudden hearing loss is an emergency. A&E is entirely appropriate (unless you have a working 111 service who could get you a direct referral to ENT)

Well, you're worried about your hearing and you've been told that it could be an emergency - potentially fixable with the correct treatment but potentially leading to permanent hearing loss without treatment.

So why do you think that Accident and Emergency dept is "extreme"? People turn up there for all sorts of non-emergencies!

The fact that you hace tinnitus means less likely to be due to blocked eustachian tube or wax and makes it even more important to be be seen.

Even Dr AI/google agrees!

This happened to me: ask your GP for an ENT referral for audiometry and a partial brain MRI. In my case the hearing loss proved to be permanent and caused by a vestibular schwannoma, a rare benign tumour on the aural nerve.

Omg I’d be devastated to lose my hearing

Thanks all. I’ve called 111 and in the callback queue!