Now Hear This
Losing your hearing suddenly, even if there is no pain, is always urgent
“You’ve lost about 60 per cent of your hearing in your right ear and it’s permanent.”
“What?!” I stared at the audiologist.
So he repeated himself, louder this time. He thought I couldn’t hear him, which I suppose makes sense given that his entire job is assessing hearing problems. But I had heard him. I was just in shock. I was relatively young—45 years old—and healthy. I am a fitness instructor. A wife, and mom of five kids. How had this happened? How am I supposed to live my life with one ear? I burst into tears.
Losing my hearing overnight
Right before Thanksgiving 2023, I got what I thought was a minor head cold. No fever, no pain, no cough—just some congestion and stuffiness that made my right ear feel as if it was underwater. I told people it was probably just a sinus thing as I instructed them to “talk to my good ear.” I figured it would resolve on its own eventually.
It didn’t. One month went by, then two, and I still couldn’t hear well, but because of holiday busyness I didn’t get it checked out. It wasn’t until the end of January, when I went to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor for an unrelated issue, that I thought to mention it. As soon as I did, the doc looked at me in alarm and told me to make an appointment for a hearing test the next day.
His reaction isn’t surprising, says Courtney Voelker, a board-certified neurotologist (an ENT doctor who specializes in hearing) at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California.
“With any type of sudden hearing loss, time is of the essence—and it’s a pretty short time frame,” she says. “Ideally you should be seen within a few days to a week. When caught early, it’s very treatable. After that, your chances of being treated successfully diminish quickly.”
I had wait...
“You’ve lost about 60 per cent of your hearing in your right ear and it’s permanent.”
“What?!” I stared at the audiologist.
So he repeated himself, louder this time. He thought I couldn’t hear him, which I suppose makes sense given that his entire job is assessing hearing problems. But I had heard him. I was just in shock. I was relatively young—45 years old—and healthy. I am a fitness instructor. A wife, and mom of five kids. How had this happened? How am I supposed to live my life with one ear? I burst into tears.
Losing my hearing overnight
Right before Thanksgiving 2023, I got what I thought was a minor head cold. No fever, no pain, no cough—just some congestion and stuffiness that made my right ear feel as if it was underwater. I told people it was probably just a sinus thing as I instructed them to “talk to my good ear.” I figured it would resolve on its own eventually.
It didn’t. One month went by, then two, and I still couldn’t hear well, but because of holiday busyness I didn’t get it checked out. It wasn’t until the end of January, when I went to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor for an unrelated issue, that I thought to mention it. As soon as I did, the doc looked at me in alarm and told me to make an appointment for a hearing test the next day.
His reaction isn’t surprising, says Courtney Voelker, a board-certified neurotologist (an ENT doctor who specializes in hearing) at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California.
“With any type of sudden hearing loss, time is of the essence—and it’s a pretty short time frame,” she says. “Ideally you should be seen within a few days to a week. When caught early, it’s very treatable. After that, your chances of being treated successfully diminish quickly.”
I had waited three months. It was too late.
After a course of high-dose steroids and much testing, including an MRI to rule out a brain tumour, I was diagnosed with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL). That’s medical speak for ‘I suddenly lost my hearing for no apparent reason.’ Within weeks I was the proud owner of a shiny new hearing aid, and my life had changed forever.
What is sudden hearing loss?
Sudden hearing loss is defined as a change in hearing that affects three frequencies or more and happens in 72 hours or less, says Nicole Raia, senior clinical audiologist at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. The symptoms can be subtle: In addition to the hearing loss, people may experience tinnitus (ringing in the ear), severe vertigo or a feeling of stuffiness in the ear, but it’s not uncommon to have no other symptoms or very minor ones, she says. She adds that it’s more common than not to have no pain.
We may never know exactly what caused my hearing loss, but the most likely cause was a viral infection in my inner ear that damaged my cochlea, the part of the ear responsible for translating sound vibrations from the environment into information for the brain.
There are other causes for sudden hearing loss, which is divided into two types: conductive and sensorineural. Conductive hearing loss comes from wax or other obstructions in the ear canal, a ruptured eardrum (“Don’t stick Q-tips in your ears!” Dr. Voelker cautions) or a middle ear infection. These causes are often simple to diagnose and treat, and the hearing loss is rarely permanent, Dr. Voelker says.
On the other hand, sensorineural hearing loss is usually caused by a viral infection in the inner ear. Less often, it’s caused by a bacterial infection or a benign tumour on the auditory nerve. These are treatable if you catch them early, she says.
What if you suddenly can’t hear?
See a doctor immediately. Dr. Raia recommends starting with your general practitioner or urgent care, as they can rule out or treat things like ear wax. If you’re still having hearing issues, ask for an urgent referral to an ENT for a medical check and an audiologist for a hearing assessment. If you do have SSHL, it’s important to get a hearing aid—and wear it.
“Hearing loss is the No. 1 contributor to cognitive decline, which is reversible with a hearing aid or cochlear implant,” Dr. Voelker says.
This condition is more common than most people realize, affecting 1 to 6 in every 5,000 people, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Yet very few people have heard of it or know the warning signs.
“Not even all doctors recognize the seriousness of sudden hearing loss,” says Dr. Voelker, “so you may have to advocate for yourself and insist on being seen quickly.”
“It can feel minor, but it isn’t,” says Dr. Raia. “I always tell people, ‘If you lost your vision suddenly, would you ignore it? No! So treat your hearing as important as your vision—it’s just as important a sense.’ ”
The gift of hearing
A month after being diagnosed, I was fitted with my new hearing aid. I was nervous, but the second the audiologist turned it on, it was absolutely magical. I hadn’t realized how much I was missing with my compromised hearing until the moment it was given back to me. I burst into tears again—but this time, happy tears. This isn’t what I would have chosen, but I’m so grateful for all the medical professionals and technology that gave me back my hearing.
Oh, and my hearing aid also functions like an AirPod—only better! Not only can I stream music, make phone calls and dictate texts on it, the quality is better than a regular earbud and way more comfortable. (Plus sometimes I get mistaken for a Secret Service agent!)