Deaf in One Ear Due to Common Cold!

[steamloco76]

I've had a 20% or so hearing loss in my right ear since I suffered a ruptured eardrum as a child. My left ear had above average hearing. Well, not anymore! Apparently the common cold virus has left me profoundly deaf in my left, formerly good ear and it wasn't die to a lack of medical attention.

Four weeks ago today I went to the Doctor because my left maxillary sinus and ear were congested. My nasal discharge was just slightly greenish, so they gave me Amoxillin and told me to use an antihistamine in addition to my allergy nasal spray.

Within the week, the "congestion" in my ear got worse, to the point where I couldn't hear much and I had tinnitus all the time. Back at the Doctor, they said my eustation tube was swollen shut and I had some fluid in the ear. They gave me a week's worth of prednisone. Other than raising my blood sugar (I'm diabetic) it didn't help my ear, so Back to the Doctor and they refered me to an ear, nose and throat specialist. Problem is, as you know with specialists, it takes time to get an appointment, in this case only five days, but still it seems like forever when you have a problem!

The ENT (Audiolarynologist) specialist used an endoscopic camera to examine my nose and sinus passages, plus my throat. He found no infection and the nasal spray and antihistamine had opened up my eustaction tube. My eardrum and ear were clear. The hearing loss is not conductive but auditory nerve related and is probably permanent.

Apparently, the common cold virus causing congestion and thus pressure is one of the single most common causes of permanent nerve deafness. I have to see an audiologist for a hearing evaluation. Then have a blood test to see if I have Lyme Disease. Next am MRI to be sure I don't have a clot or some other damage which would be repairable. If the don't find another cause, then the only treatment to help salvage or regain some percent of hearing is inner ear high dose steroid injections. Normally, people take high dose oral steroids for this, however, diabetics lose blood sugar control and can suffer extreme kidney damage with the oral treatment.

I'm praying that the Lord will let me be one of the 25% of people whose hearing returns to somewhat normal levels is a couple of weeks. The treatment options, well the ENT said 25% of patients recover about 25% of their hearing, meaning 75% are not going to get any better.

Of all the ways I could have lost my hearing, loud steam locomotive whistles, many years of exposure to loud equipment in an enclosed room, gunfire, idiots pranking my with fireworks, I lose my hearing due to the common cold.

 

[don44]

That Sucks!

 

[vito]

I never heard of this problem, and wish you the best of luck with your treatment. I lost most of the hearing ability in my left ear when I was in Vietnam, and over the last 40 years my overall hearing has deteriorated. But I can still do OK when I wear my hearing aids. Hopefully they can give you some help with hearing aids if all else fails.

 

[mistermills357]

The body is a frail thing, and everything that ever goes wrong with it, leaves a mark. You will probably regain your hearing, that is my thinking anyway.
I went stone deaf one time, I could not hear a bomb go off, and here is why. I cut down a hedge, and the stuff that flew off of it, went into my lungs, and then infected my ear canals.
I had to go to a doctor for anti-biotics, and that fixed it. It was one more strange event in a strange life. :roll:

PS: I had to read the doctors lips. I was yelling at everybody too, they thought that I had gone nuts.
PSS: I have learned to pray about everything. It seems to me, that there is a little disease devil, waiting to zap anyone he can.

 

[SamV]

I have always been amazed at our bodies. Sometimes the smallest of things can be catastrophic to us. Other times our bodies can sustain almost unimaginable trauma and we recover. I have a friend who is always sure something big is going to kill him. Tornadoes, earthquakes, large scale terrorism, etc. I tell him it is more likely to be some microbe that sets off a disastrous course.
I hope you are able to regain as much hearing as possible.

 

[mohavesam]

Have a pal who, in his early 20's, ralphed on red wine but somehow plugged his nose to avoid painting his friend's interior - a gentleman's move. The vomit backed up in hie eustachian tubes and rotted there, causing 90% deafness in one ear. 26 years later he is still deaf as a dinner plate in that ear.

Any manner of injuries or illness can impair or destroy our hearing, and it doesn't "grow back". too bad it takes us so long to learn that lesson.

- there, I've said my piece and am turning my store-bought ears off.

 

[exavid]

I hope your hearing improves soon. I've been living with AIDS for quite a while now.




In fact if I didn't have my hearing aids and seeing aids I wouldn't know what's going on around me.

 

[375supermag]

Hi...
I received a prescription for an antibiotic about 10 years ago to counteract an infection in my foot from a piece of wood that penetrated my boot while clearing some brush on the estate.
The side effects were deafness in my left ear with tinnitus which lasted a little over two weeks.
I don't recall what antibiotic I was prescribed for that particular malady but I don't recall my doctor being concerned and it did resolve with no lasting effects.

Hopefully your issue will resolve as well.