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Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss September 2025 - NHS Treatment

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Edited

Hello everyone. I’ve been visiting the form recently looking for information following my recent experience with which began at the end of August 2025.

Edit
TL;DR
Symptoms: Unilateral severe loss of hearing which happened instantly in the middle of the day, accompanying dizziness, positional vertigo, feeling of ear fullness. No signs of ear infection, no facial/nerve/single-sided weakness or numbness. Weber/Rinne test confirmed no conductive loss, sensorineural loss.
NHS Treatment as of 09/2025: 60mg (12 x 5mg once a day) Prednisilone for 7 days only with no taper.

Mostly I was looking at other peoples experiences to try and determine what I could expect in terms of treatment and what options there were. I wanted to briefly summarise what the UK NHS department explained to me was the current treatment protocol (at least at my hospital in the West Midlands) based on my symptoms as presented as of September 2025 in case it proves helpful to others as to what they maybe could expect as I had very little information at the time about what the plan was, or that there even was a plan beyond ‘here is a course of meds, take those’.

Each case and person is unique so this may not be your experience if you are unfortunate and experience this type of loss.

My symptoms were unilateral severe loss of hearing which happened instantly in the middle of the day, dizziness, positional vertigo, feeling of ear fullness. No signs of ear infection, no facial/nerve/single-sided weakness or numbness.

As of September 2025 so far as I understand it is for SSNHL the NHS will perform some basic tests to rule out infections and other causes and perhaps a hearing test with an Audiologist. If you get a sudden loss of hearing as others have stated elsewhere go straight to the hospital to A&E and get checked. I didn’t see an ENT via an appointment at my hospital until two and a half weeks after symptom onset (thinking initially it was just ear wax blockage), luckily I got to see my GP 5 days after onset and they performed a Weber/Rinne test (tuning fork) to determine if the loss was conductive or sensorineural and then spoke to the ENT team at my local hospital before my GP started the treatment regime with medication. In the interim I had no idea what I should expect and no-one to talk to in order to find out what the plan was so I felt a bit out there on my own.

I was prescribed 60mg (12 x 5mg once a day) Prednisilone for 7 days only with no taper following it. This glucocorticosteroid for this period and then perhaps a follow up audiology test was, so far as it was explained to me when I finally saw an ENT the current treatment plan for idiopathic SSNHL cases where there are no other symptoms and no contraindications for the use of steroids.

After that it is a case of ‘Watchful waiting’ which is where I am now. Hoping nothing further goes wrong to indicate something further is at play.

Of note I decided while on the steroids to see a private ENT as I could get an appointment before seeing an NHS ENT. The private consultant offered me an Intratympanic injection of steroid into the affected ear alongside the Prednisilone. Potential benefits as explained to me where the lack of side effects of the oral steroids and the possibility (not certainty) of (unproven) increased effectiveness by going straight into the area of inflammation. I did have the injection but just the one. Further injections were an option but the consultant wasn’t convinced further injections would provide much more benefit, in his opinion. I’m not sure if the injections would be available via the NHS in addition to or in place of the oral steroids (possibly in place of in the case of contraindications for the oral route).

No other treatment options were discussed by the NHS or private ENT (no mention of hyperbaric treatments etc).

I’m hoping if you come across this post and are in somewhat the same predicament I found myself in that this in some small way helps you in what you could potentially expect. I also hope it doesn’t add confusion.

One thing I will humbly advise if I may is to get the number for your local ENT department if possible and reach out to them with your questions, alternatively try your GP or NHS 111, and try and stop reading forum and reddit posts and endlessly searching the internet like I did. It probably won’t help, it may do more harm than good and it will leave you tired and confused.

Now I’ve said that I’m not sure if this post will help or hurt. I hope it may help, but if it doesn’t I hope you find the answers you are looking for elsewhere and maybe some calm and peace of mind.

Best wishes on your hearing loss journey.

Chris

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Edited

I’m a physician in the United States who experienced exactly what you are going through in 2022. That is very similar to what we do. I work in urgent care, which is like primary care one step below the emergency room. When people present to me I place them on the steroids, same dose as you, and get them into ent. That really is the only thing proven to help. We reserve transtympanic steroid injections for people with comorbidities who can’t tolerate prednisone. Hyperbaric is sketch, without clear evidence, but doesn’t hurt unless they go Apollo 1.

I have tympanostomies because every time I get Covid my ears are affected and got sick of being on too much prednisone. I start a steroid drop regimen when needed.

Cheers.

Thanks that’s really useful to know it’s a similar approach where you are as well. I was reading all kinds of threads about people receiving all kinds of different treatment regimes and tests including ’s and blood work to rule out potential causes or related complications so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Thanks for taking the time to post this.
It appears from reading other posts on here that it is time critical to get treatment immediately. Yet another losing facility for our failing NHS sadly.

In reply to @michael1

I’m assuming healthcare has adopted the most straightforward approach to treat the majority of cases to balance the cost and time implications of running all tests in every case. While I can understand it from a pragmatic perspective I’d hopefully feel better having the tests should they rule out further issues, or failing that at least know and start to deal with anything else).

In reply to @DrJimmyJoeJimbob

Agreed. I’d like the certainty of an hopefully ruling out further issues, though the thought of a contrast MRI does make me somewhat anxious. Private has said that following review of my hearing with another audiology test in around 6 months from the time of the loss we could then determine if an MRI or blood tests may be required.

In the meantime, unless something further occurs, I will have to try not to worry too much about it. That will be hard for someone who constantly overthinks things but I don’t feel like I have a choice.

Yeah, it sucks being in that position. I’m not sure what the blood tests would show. Nothing really to do other than take the steroids.

The is specifically to rule out an acoustic neuroma.

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