TREATMENT
The most common treatment for sudden hearing loss is steroids. (NIDCD, 2018) The majority of SSHL support group survey participants identified oral steroids, inner ear steroid injections, or both, as treatment they received in the wake of developing their hearing loss.
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Steroids, whether taken in pill form or injected directly into the inner ear, work by reducing inflammation, decreasing swelling and fighting off disease. It's important that steroids be used as soon as possible to get the best results. If delayed more than 2-4 weeks after onset of hearing loss, steroids may do little to reverse/reduce it. (NIDCD, 2018)
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There are a number of treatments that a person may benefit from in addition to steroids.
If an underlying infection is identified, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics. (NIDCD, 2018)
Chiropractic adjustments may help alleviate misalignments in the cervical portion of the spine that contribute to insufficient blood flow to the head and irritation of the sympathetic nervous system that affects the inner workings of the ears. (The Joint Corp., n.d.)
Acupuncture may restore hearing and/or relieve tinnitus by starting a chain reaction of releasing chemicals in the brain, spinal cord and muscles. Western culture is just beginning to understand why the chemicals and hormones released by tiny needles inserted into the body cause healing. (Teague, 2020)
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment involves entering a special chamber in which one will breathe pure oxygen, increasing oxygen supply to the ear and brain to reduce the severity of hearing loss and/or tinnitus. (Bennett, Kertesz, Perleth, Yeung, & Lehm, 2012)
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HEARING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Hearing aids are appropriate for most people with uncorrectable hearing losses (Schow and Nerbonne, 2018), though most hearing professionals recommend waiting 4-6 months after the onset of sudden hearing loss to wait for hearing to stabilize before being evaluated for a hearing device. Â
The type of assistive hearing device that will be most helpful to you depends on the kind and severity of your hearing loss, your dexterity skills and your need for specific features. (Schow and Nerbonne, 2018). Some common options include:
TRADITIONAL HEARING AIDS
Traditional hearing aids simply serve to amplify sounds, however, if you have a severe-profound hearing loss these likely will do little to help. (Arizona Hearing Specialists, 2019) Hearing aids consist of a microphone, amplifier, receiver, battery and controls, as well as some other optional features. More amplification can be provided with increasing hearing aid size, and they come in a variety of styles depending on the needs of the wearer (ex: behind-the-ear, in-the-ear, in-the-canal, etc) (Schow and Nerbonne, 2018)
CROS & BICROSÂ HEARING AIDS
Contralateral routing of signal hearing aids are most beneficial for people with a profound unilateral hearing loss. Sound is sent wirelessly from the impacted ear to the receiver on the unaffected ear. This way, a person can hear from both sides of the head, which helps with localization of sound. (Schow and Nerbonne, 2018)
A person with a bilateral hearing loss in which one ear does not benefit from amplification will likely need bilateral contralateral routing of signal hearing aids. In this case, sound from microphones worn on both ears is sent to the receiver and amplifier worn on the better ear. (Schow and Nerbonne, 2018)
IMPLANTABLE HEARING TECHNOLOGY
Instead of increasing incoming sound signals, surgically implantable hearing devices like cochlear implants directly stimulate the auditory nerve, completely bypassing the peripheral auditory system. (Arizona Hearing Specialists, 2019) Cochlear implants are for those with a severe-profound hearing loss who cannot benefit from hearing aids. They do not "cure" a person's hearing loss but rather give one the sensation of sound/speech information. Possible benefits of wearing a cochlear implant include better auditory awareness, greater detection of environmental sounds, improvement in lipreading skills, better speech perception without visual cues, and easier telephone conversations. (Schow and Nerbonne, 2018)
Middle ear implantable hearing aids may either be implanted partially or fully in those with sensorineural hearing loss. Like cochlear implants, these do not amplify sounds- instead, they directly stimulate the bones of the middle ear. (Schow and Nerbonne, 2018)
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
In addition to medical intervention, SSHL symptoms may subside in response to several lifestyle changes.
Increased sleep improves blood circulation. Poor blood flow can starve the hearing organ of oxygen and nutrients it needs for inner hair cells to function properly. (ListeningLab Malaysia, 2018)
Do things to decrease stress. High stress levels restrict circulation in the body, and inner ear hair cells require good circulation to translate noise to electrical impulses. Stress and high blood pressure can also cause a tinnitus flare-up. (Clason, 2020)
Exercise. Those with a BMI of 25 or higher are at a greater risk of developing hearing loss. Decreasing BMI and getting more movement in each day can improve blood circulation and oxygen levels, as well as prevent the loss of neurotransmitters in the cochlea. (Hayes, 2020)
Eat a more balanced diet. Nutrient deficiencies can impair hearing by as much as 39%, while increasing nutrients may protect hearing by up to 20%. (Visit Resources for more information on what foods you might want to incorporate, or eliminate, from your diet) (Hearing Health Associates, 2017)
Listening to music may help to distract from persisting tinnitus. Based on a neuro-rehabilitative approach, constraint-induced sound therapy (CIST)- involving plugging the unimpaired ear (constraint) while stimulating the effected ear with music- has proven to prevent the brain from losing responsiveness to acoustic information from the impaired ear. (Visit Resources to read a study detailing the effectiveness of CIST) (Okamoto et al., 2014)
