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Sudden decline in hearing in one ear

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I have put my new audogram on my profile. I have worn hearing aids for thirty years due to a virus. It has been fairly stable with a slight decline. Recently I noticed that the current hearing aids were not working as well and I went to an audiologist who reassured me that they were programmed correctly with the recent hearing test. i went to the and had wax removed. Then I went to two more audiologists and both did new tests which showed a significant change in one ear just since the last hearing test of only four months ago. I will go to the ENT soon and wonder what tests I should request. I did have COvID a few months ago.

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This happened to me about 3 years ago. It’s very scary! My ears had always matched pretty closely on tests. No reason could be identified. I started exploring cochlear implants to be prepared and had it done in December 2022. Very helpful. HOpe you get some answers.

I’ve read that often there are no answers as to why it happens. Do the implants work for you in both ears or just one?

COVID-19 does affect your hearing in some way. I am sorry you got the virus. I have had four booster shots and pneumonia vaccine a few months ago. What brand and model are your hearing aids?

Thanks for your response. I had all the covid vaccines and boosters too. It was a one time thing where eleven people who were exposed at an event all got covid. The booster had worn off after about four months.

I wear Phonak Virto M70 in the ear mold. It is programmed to my old hearing test not the current one. I am considering a Phillips from Costco.

I had a big drop in my R ear (SSHL) in 2016. My hearing was there when I went to bed and gone when I woke up. It was after this SSHL that my audiologist started the ball rolling by referring me to the hospital for a . Incidentally it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
Good luck with your visit.

Thank you. That sounds frightening. The drop I have had in hearing is more suble, about 20% in few months in one ear.

I would suggest to the that he/she might want to order an to rule out an acoustic neuroma. It’s unlikely but not impossible that that might be the cause. If it is the cause, it would probably be a good idea to get it treated soon. I believe that an MRI is the only way to detect it.

Thanks for the suggestion. When you say soon do you mean same day emergency soon or within a month or so. I am not sure whenthe change happened because I put my hearing aids in first thing in the morning and only take them out to sleep. For that reason I thought that the problem was with the hearing aids and it didn’t occur to me that my hearing had changed in a few months time until I had the hearing test redone.

In reply to @Terost

Vaccines are not perfect, and they do generally wear off (some faster than others). I also was vaccinated and fully boostered and still got COVID. There were a bunch of us at work that had it at about the same time. Luckily, I don’t seem to have any lingering symptoms like some do.

I played safe by staying home. I avoid going to public areas except when groceries shopping and doctor visits. I always used an mask last year and early this year.

In reply to @user715

This is a loss which is not complete just significant in a few months time. Unfortunately I don’t know exactly when it occurred since I already had severe hearing loss in that ear and I wear hearing aids from when I get up in the morning until I go to sleep at night. So naturally I thought the problem was with the hearing aids not a new loss of hearing in one ear. It already has been at least a few months. My appointment is coming up in the next couple of weeks.

You should absolutely see an about this and get an of the brain and the internal auditory canal (IAC). This kind of loss is symptomatic of vestibular schwannoma, a tumor on the sheath of the nerve that transmits auditory signals to the brain.
Schwannomas are typically benign and slow-growing, so they don’t usually pose any real risk to your health, other than the hearing loss you are experiencing, but need to be monitored just in case. That generally means getting an annual MRI to check if there is any abnormal growth.
I have this condition myself and found out about it because the last time I went to Costco for new aids, the specialist noticed that my hearing had gotten subsantially worse in one ear and insisted that I see an ENT before she would fit me.

Thanks, this is another reason I like Costco. The Costco specialist also referred me to an . Is there treatment for you or is it just monitoring at this point?

Heres an update. I saw an and she referred me to have an . She told me that the MRI showed no tumor but there is toxicity which could be due to medication. Now she has referred me to Neurology department. They will review the MRI.

I recently had a follow-up with my (a brain tumor specialist within a large ENT practice connected to a teaching hospital) and the diagnosis is a very slow growing benign tumor. I will continue to be monitored with an annual , but unless something changes, I don’t expect any other treatment.
My ENT had nothing but praise for Costco. He said that he had operated on many patients who could have avoided serious problems if they had been sent to a doctor at the first sign of neurological damage, and that Costco is very good about this, unlike many independent practices or even audiologists, who should know better.

An update. I had follow up and there was no tumor so the cause of the new hearing loss is unkown according to the . She said there was some toxicity of the brain and she would refer me to a neurologist for more follow up. The primary doctor said it was inflammation and probably due to hypertension. Not sure if hypertension can cause hearing loss. I am working to get the hypertension under control.

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