It can certainly be concerning when sudden hearing loss occurs in one of your ears, and you have no idea why it's happening or how serious it is. Both men and women suffer from sudden hearing loss at an equal rate, and people in their mid-40s to mid-50s are the ones most typically affected. It can be scary when an issue like this occurs, but the good news is that 85 percent of people who acquire medical attention promptly get some or all of their hearing back.

There are things that many people are unaware of when it comes to sudden hearing loss, and here we will try to explore the answers to some of the questions you may have.

Causes of Sudden Hearing Loss

One frustrating thing about sudden hearing loss is that the cause is usually unknown. Overall, specialists can only identify the specific cause in roughly ten to 15 percent of cases. However, several conditions are known to result in sudden hearing loss:

• Infection (bacterial or viral)
• Migraine headaches
• Inner-ear problems
• Head injury
• Tumors
• Poor circulation
• Autoimmune diseases

Because it's so hard to determine which, if any, of these issues is the actual cause of the hearing loss, the first resort for treatment is usually steroid administration. A benefit of steroids is that they can treat a wide variety of conditions, which is why they're often effective for treating the symptoms of sudden hearing loss.

What Are the Symptoms?

Most of the time, sudden hearing loss is straightforward to identify. To put it simply, you won't be able to hear as well (or at all), most likely in just one ear. You may wake up in the morning and notice it for the first time, but in some cases, it first begins with a loud 'pop' noise in your ear. Another symptom is having a strange feeling in your ear or on one side of your head, as hearing a sudden ringing.

Getting Treated

As made clear by the information above, sudden hearing loss can have severe causes, such as a tumor or a head injury. For that reason alone, it's important that you don't put off getting the problem checked out by a professional—especially if it lasts for more than a few days.

It's necessary to remember that sudden hearing loss should be treated as a medical emergency. The quicker the issue is treated, the better the chances of hearing being fully recovered. If it goes untreated, within a few weeks, the time window in which you're able to regain your hearing will close.

If you need more information or have any questions about the issue of sudden hearing loss, don't hesitate to give us a call. We are always available to provide you with any help possible at our hearing aid center.

Sources:
https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/52462-Sudden-hearing-loss-getting-to-the-bottom-of-it
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/sudden-deafness