What Causes Sudden Hearing Loss and Why You Shouldn't Ignore Your Symptoms

There are few things more troubling than the sudden loss of one of your senses. Typically, you'll experience a gradual loss, giving you time to see your doctor and understand what's happening. However, this is not the case with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss, also known as sudden deafness.

The National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) describes sudden deafness, which often occurs in just one ear, as an unexplained rapid loss of hearing that takes place all at once or over a few days.

Despite sudden deafness being so disruptive, the NIDCD says that it often goes undiagnosed, making it difficult to know how many cases actually occur across the country each year.

Additionally, the NIDCD says you might think your hearing loss is caused by allergies, a sinus infection, earwax or some other common condition, but sudden deafness should be considered a medical emergency.

What Happens When You Have Sudden Deafness?

So, what might you experience if you have sudden deafness, and what causes it?

If you experience sudden hearing loss, you'll likely discover your symptoms when you wake up in the morning.

You could also experience at least one of these symptoms:

• Feeling of fullness in one or both of your ears
• Dizziness
• Ringing in one or both of your ears, similar to tinnitus

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should reach out to your primary care provider as soon as possible. If symptoms persist, you should seek emergency care.

What Causes Sudden Deafness?

There are a number of conditions, reactions and disorders that can cause sudden deafness, all of which are serious and should be discussed with your doctor.

Some common conditions that can cause sudden deafness include:

• An infection like meningitis, mumps and even the common cold
• Head trauma
• Autoimmune diseases
• Reaction to certain cancer- or infection-fighting medicines
• Issues with your blood circulation
• Inner ear conditions

To determine if you are experiencing sudden deafness and begin your diagnosis, your doctor will likely order a test called pure tone audiometry within just a couple of days after you first experience symptoms. The audiology test lets your doctor find out how loud different frequencies of sounds need to be before you can hear them.

Once you're diagnosed with sudden hearing loss, your doctor will likely order additional tests to determine the underlying cause.

How Do You Treat Sudden Deafness?

The NIDCD says that the most common treatment for sudden hearing loss, especially when an underlying cause is unknown, is steroids. These medications can be taken by mouth or injected through your eardrum and work to decrease swelling, reduce inflammation and help your body fight illness. Hyperbaric treatment in conjunction with steroids is also used to treat sudden hearing loss.

Additional treatments may be needed to treat the underlying cause. These could include antibiotics to treat any underlying infection, a change in medication if the one you're taking caused a reaction in your ear, or a drug that suppresses your immune system if you have an autoimmune condition in which your body attacks the inner ear.

All these treatments are only possible once you've seen your doctor and received testing and diagnosis, which is why it is important you seek medical care as soon as you experience sudden deafness in one or both of your ears.