Unexplained Deafness

[bigislandmama]

My dh has been deaf in his left ear for a little over a year. The deafness just came out of no where. He didn't have an ear infection or any kind of trauma. He just woke up one morning and it was ringing. Then a few days later after seeing several dr. who could see nothing wrong, he went deaf. He has tried acupuncture, herbs, western dr.s and medicine and nothing. Anyone gone through this or have any advice?

[mavery]

I've read that sudden hearing loss can be either viral (virus attacks some part of the ear's structure, and depending on where, the hearing loss can be temporary or permanent) or auto-immune.

Googling around I found this (which you may have read):
http://www.utmb.edu/otoref/Grnds/SuddenHearingLoss-010613/SSNHL.htm

which gives lots of possible causes of sudden hearing loss. But it sounds like after a year, the chances of recovering hearing aren't great.

[jassyp101]

Has your hubby had an MRI done?? If not, he should have an MRI of his brain and intraauditory canals. Sometimes, the vestibuar nerve can have a benign cyst like growth on it called a vestibular schwannoma or acoustic neuroma. Usually the hearing loss is gradual with this but in some cases, it can come on all of a sudden. Some people with this condition also have vertigo and dizziness, but not all.

[bigislandmama]

I've read that sudden hearing loss can be either viral (virus attacks some part of the ear's structure, and depending on where, the hearing loss can be temporary or permanent) or auto-immune.

Googling around I found this (which you may have read):
http://www.utmb.edu/otoref/Grnds/SuddenHearingLoss-010613/SSNHL.htm

which gives lots of possible causes of sudden hearing loss. But it sounds like after a year, the chances of recovering hearing aren't great.

Thanks for the info. I hadn't seen that yet. I am going to pass it on to my husband. I'm thinking he probably won't ever hear out of the ear again.
Unfortuantly, we don't have health insurance so going to a specialist is kind of out of the question right now.

[bigislandmama]

Has your hubby had an MRI done?? If not, he should have an MRI of his brain and intraauditory canals. Sometimes, the vestibuar nerve can have a benign cyst like growth on it called a vestibular schwannoma or acoustic neuroma. Usually the hearing loss is gradual with this but in some cases, it can come on all of a sudden. Some people with this condition also have vertigo and dizziness, but not all.

No, he hasn't had an MRI. He is so freaked out by western doctors I don't think he'd get one even if we could afford it. He'd probably tell them he'd rather be deaf than get put in one of their machines.