Thanks. Pretty sure there is no break in the eardrum. I had one of those one time when I fell waterskiing and my ear hit the water. When I would clear while there was a break, I could hear a whistling air noise. Once the drum healed, I quit hearing that.
Can't hear after diving
- Thread starter sprklep
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I agree with doctormike. It may not be simple. I have hearing loss right now from dives in November. Middle ear damage that may never heal. I'm resting it for a few months to see.
sprklep,
I tried to send you a PM but you've got them turned off. Did DAN provide a rationale for not sending you to the ED to be evaluated? Specifically, how did they rule out inner ear DCS? Your description of your symptoms and your aggressive dive profiles are concerning.
Best regards,
DDM
I tried to send you a PM but you've got them turned off. Did DAN provide a rationale for not sending you to the ED to be evaluated? Specifically, how did they rule out inner ear DCS? Your description of your symptoms and your aggressive dive profiles are concerning.
Best regards,
DDM
OK, here is the latest...just got back from ENT guy. Whe was not a diver and did not seem to know about DAN so I was not overly fond of him but wanted to see someone today and with the holidays, he was who I got.
He thinks i just had sudden hearing loss at the same time I was diving. He does not think they are related. My ears were clean, no wax or gunk. He did a hearing test and I am down 20 decibells from the other ear. Before I would say both ears were the same.
He put me on Predinisone 20 MG .
I was like....is that all he was going to do. Then he said, we can do a MRI. I said, yes, lets do it so I have one for tonight at 6pm. I then mentioned DCS/etc and asked if I might should go to the chamber. He said it has been a week now for hearing loss and all bubbles would be gone and not much good could be gained. I told him I did not think so. He said he would call the chamber people and see what they thought. I offered to give him DAN's # and he said, no, he would only talk to doctors about it. He does not understand who DAN is. So, if his people come back and are open to the chamber, he will put me there but not for diving reasons since he thinks this is not dive related. He said they do treat folks for hearing loss in Europe using the chamber so maybe I could benefit.
DAN and I did discuss DCS hit in the inner ear but these are suppose to be rare and I am not having any other symptoms. Vertigo, nausea, dizziness, or any other DCS signs anywhere else. DAN just said see ENT guy as soon as I could and just said for me to go to ER if I just did not feel comfotably waiting until today. Had I not been able to get an appt with ENT today, I would have gone to the ER.
He thinks i just had sudden hearing loss at the same time I was diving. He does not think they are related. My ears were clean, no wax or gunk. He did a hearing test and I am down 20 decibells from the other ear. Before I would say both ears were the same.
He put me on Predinisone 20 MG .
I was like....is that all he was going to do. Then he said, we can do a MRI. I said, yes, lets do it so I have one for tonight at 6pm. I then mentioned DCS/etc and asked if I might should go to the chamber. He said it has been a week now for hearing loss and all bubbles would be gone and not much good could be gained. I told him I did not think so. He said he would call the chamber people and see what they thought. I offered to give him DAN's # and he said, no, he would only talk to doctors about it. He does not understand who DAN is. So, if his people come back and are open to the chamber, he will put me there but not for diving reasons since he thinks this is not dive related. He said they do treat folks for hearing loss in Europe using the chamber so maybe I could benefit.
DAN and I did discuss DCS hit in the inner ear but these are suppose to be rare and I am not having any other symptoms. Vertigo, nausea, dizziness, or any other DCS signs anywhere else. DAN just said see ENT guy as soon as I could and just said for me to go to ER if I just did not feel comfotably waiting until today. Had I not been able to get an appt with ENT today, I would have gone to the ER.
It sounds like you have - correct me if I am wrong - a sensorineural (nerve, inner ear) hearing loss in your left ear, with no middle ear problem (no fluid or blood) and no outer ear problem (no wax, debris or swimmer's ear).
There are many causes of sudden hearing loss like this, lots of them are related to systemic diseases (stroke, Lyme disease, Meniere's disease, etc...) but I would think that there are four main diagnoses that are being considered in your case:
1) Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) - no one knows exactly what causes this, it is though to be an autoimmune response to a virus or some other agent, and the classic treatment is steroids. You should know that a recent large study found no overall definitive benefit to steroids, but this is a hard thing to study scientifically, and I think that if I had it I would also take steroids - not much of a down side and possibly some chance of improvement. If you want to read more, here's something...
2) Barotrauma induced inner ear injury (perilymph fistula) - a leak of fluids from the inner ear, usually associated with rapid pressure change, and symptoms of dizziness. This is the one that you operate on with no way of proving it ahead of time. Can't see it on a scan, can hardly see it at surgery, but sometimes you can see fluid welling up around the oval window and you put some fat in there. If you have just seen a regular ENT doc and not an ear specialist (an otologist) you might want that consultation - PM me if you want me to see if I can give you a local referral.
3) Inner ear DCS - bubbles in the inner ear fluid. Again, usually associated with dizziness. Treatment is recompression, I will leave it to DDM and the other experts to comment on this, but my understanding is that a week is sort of late for a chamber ride. Interestingly, SSNHL is sometimes treated with hyperbaric oxygen, but this is not really standard therapy, and the data is mixed. So if you get a chamber ride for inner ear DCS and your hearing improves, that doesn't necessarily mean that it was DCS and that your doc could be right about the coincidental SSNHL.
4) Acoustic neuroma - a benign tumor of the nerve of hearing. That is the reason to get an MRI. 1, 2 and 3 won't show up on an imaging study.
SO, given that this happened after diving, and after fairly aggressive diving, I would say that it would be quite a coincidence for you to just randomly develop SSNHL at that exact time, or for an acoustic neuroma to suddenly cause the acute onset of hearing loss. Remember, I can't diagnose ANYTHING over the internet, but I'm just making some observations about what sounds likely and what is not likely.
Good luck, keep us posted!
There are many causes of sudden hearing loss like this, lots of them are related to systemic diseases (stroke, Lyme disease, Meniere's disease, etc...) but I would think that there are four main diagnoses that are being considered in your case:
1) Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) - no one knows exactly what causes this, it is though to be an autoimmune response to a virus or some other agent, and the classic treatment is steroids. You should know that a recent large study found no overall definitive benefit to steroids, but this is a hard thing to study scientifically, and I think that if I had it I would also take steroids - not much of a down side and possibly some chance of improvement. If you want to read more, here's something...
2) Barotrauma induced inner ear injury (perilymph fistula) - a leak of fluids from the inner ear, usually associated with rapid pressure change, and symptoms of dizziness. This is the one that you operate on with no way of proving it ahead of time. Can't see it on a scan, can hardly see it at surgery, but sometimes you can see fluid welling up around the oval window and you put some fat in there. If you have just seen a regular ENT doc and not an ear specialist (an otologist) you might want that consultation - PM me if you want me to see if I can give you a local referral.
3) Inner ear DCS - bubbles in the inner ear fluid. Again, usually associated with dizziness. Treatment is recompression, I will leave it to DDM and the other experts to comment on this, but my understanding is that a week is sort of late for a chamber ride. Interestingly, SSNHL is sometimes treated with hyperbaric oxygen, but this is not really standard therapy, and the data is mixed. So if you get a chamber ride for inner ear DCS and your hearing improves, that doesn't necessarily mean that it was DCS and that your doc could be right about the coincidental SSNHL.
4) Acoustic neuroma - a benign tumor of the nerve of hearing. That is the reason to get an MRI. 1, 2 and 3 won't show up on an imaging study.
SO, given that this happened after diving, and after fairly aggressive diving, I would say that it would be quite a coincidence for you to just randomly develop SSNHL at that exact time, or for an acoustic neuroma to suddenly cause the acute onset of hearing loss. Remember, I can't diagnose ANYTHING over the internet, but I'm just making some observations about what sounds likely and what is not likely.
Good luck, keep us posted!
Thanks so much for your time !! I took 3 of the 20 MG Predinisone tablets as presribed and I think I am already seeing some improvement in just hours!! I hope I hope!! I called DAN again after my ENT appt and they really think it is Middle Ear Barotrauma since I never had dizziness, was naseuous or anything like that. Now,,,I will admit now....after the 60 MG, I am feeling a bit weird NOW....but have not felt weird until now. Kind of light headed or something. The doc said the drug would make me hyper. I found out from DAN that Jeff Stone formerly of DUKE/DAN runs the chamber at Presby Dallas should I need to go there. They spoke highly of him That was who my ENT doc was to call and consult with. Thanks everyone !!! I already have very bad hearing and sure dont need to lose anymore. And I dont want to lose my diving!! I know you guys think the profiles were aggressive. My console computer was No Deco the entire time. Wrist went just a tad deco, but not much. I have been doing dives like these in Cozumel for 20 years. Yeah they are long but we stay w/i the limits. Thanks !!!
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Sounds like you're making good progress in your explorations, and that I was wrong on my ear wax guess - but right on my guess on seeing a doctor soon. :laughing: That was an easy one as the need for an exam was kinda' obvious. It's great that you're getting the top notch professional counseling here along with your there exams. Ear problems in general are the most common issues it seems, and DoctorMike is super with his help especially. 
Good luck with your continued exams and please do let us know. That med you're taking seems to have some warnings "because it suppresses the immune system, it leaves patients more susceptible to infections." Have you looked it up? Good luck on avoiding the bugs that sweep thru Texas this time of year.
I drove without seat belts for years before they became available in cars, but was danged sure glad I had one on when I rolled one later. What we got away with in younger years doesn't always work for us. I keep telling myself to be more careful as I know I don't bounce or heal like I used to.
My brother got a nice hearing aid at the med school in Lubbock, really brags on it, and tells me I need to go get one. I think mine is still ok, at least marginally, but I might have to go along with this idea sometime. Of all the things that can go wrong with us in age and life, this is one of the easier ones to deal with.
Good luck with your continued exams and please do let us know. That med you're taking seems to have some warnings "because it suppresses the immune system, it leaves patients more susceptible to infections." Have you looked it up? Good luck on avoiding the bugs that sweep thru Texas this time of year.
Thanks. Yes, my hearing was already bad and the doc today said how was I getting along w/o a hearing aid up until know, assuming my left and right were operating the same before this incident. But that is just how it has been..I have never had the hearing, this goes back to when I was a baby. I do fine until I am in courtrooms, churches, etc. One on one and groups, I am fine. OK, about to go for the MRI. I am seeing much improvement from this morning after taking the 60 MG Predisinone. I am suppose to take it only once a day but what if I took another 60 MG tonight...would that be bad? That would be the dose I would be taking in the morning...just push it up??
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OK, I will wait on the next 60 MG dose until morning. Plus, that stuff made me so hyper. I prob would not sleep tonight.
BOY was the MRI loud...how do folks with normal hearing stand it.
Wait & see on MRI results and also hear back from ENT doc who was to speak with the Presby Dallas Chamber guy who I think and hope is Jeff Stone who use to work with DAN.
Thanks everyone !! I have seen improvement today with the Prednisone.
---------- Post added January 3rd, 2014 at 01:55 PM ----------
OK, had my 2nd dose of my Prednisone today and did not see great gains like yesterday
. OK, the hearing loss was a SNHL, not a CHL so now I am thinking it is inner ear, not outer. So if my fistula got injured, can I dive again? What if my Round or Oval Windows were injured? I have a call into the doc to ask him this but yest he just thought the sudden hearing loss was unrelated to diving. I dont think they are unrelated. Too conincidental. Thanks DoctorMike and DukeMedicine.
BOY was the MRI loud...how do folks with normal hearing stand it.
Wait & see on MRI results and also hear back from ENT doc who was to speak with the Presby Dallas Chamber guy who I think and hope is Jeff Stone who use to work with DAN.
Thanks everyone !! I have seen improvement today with the Prednisone.
---------- Post added January 3rd, 2014 at 01:55 PM ----------
OK, had my 2nd dose of my Prednisone today and did not see great gains like yesterday
. OK, the hearing loss was a SNHL, not a CHL so now I am thinking it is inner ear, not outer. So if my fistula got injured, can I dive again? What if my Round or Oval Windows were injured? I have a call into the doc to ask him this but yest he just thought the sudden hearing loss was unrelated to diving. I dont think they are unrelated. Too conincidental. Thanks DoctorMike and DukeMedicine.Similar threads
