Hello!
On July 7, 2008, I was folding clothes in my laundry room when I suddenly heard a very loud "pop" in my left ear. After asking my husband if he heard a deafeningly loud noise and hearing his response of "no," and then checking outside to see if there had been a wreck in front of our house, I realized that it was 11 p.m. and I was the only one in our house who heard the pop. I then lifted the phone to call time and temperature (hey, it was 11!) and instead heard a sound similar to tinfoil crunching where a voice was supposed to be.
Within 72 hours of the pop, I had received my first intra-tympanic steroid injection--followed by two more within the next two days. Within the six months after the pop, I had taken a 3 week long high dosage of Prednisone (sp) with diuretic treatment, daily Lipoflavonoids, daily Niacin, daily Benadryl, and a special concoction of something that went under my tongue.
In those six months, my hearing loss moved from severe to profound. At the end of the six month "window," I decided on a TransEar hearing device.
I continue to search for answers and to hope that stem cell research will lead doctors to have the ability to regenerate the auditory nerve. I also continue to hear of more and more people who share my experience--almost exactly.
This site is intended to be a forum for those of us who suffer from SSNHL--a place to share your experience, and to try to find out as much as we can about this rare condition. Also, I live in a small town of under 40,000 people. In the past year and a half, I personally know of three women who have had this happen to them. So now I wonder--is it actually more common than reported? Or do environmental factors lead to this? I was 35 when this occurred--and I plan to be around long enough to see a cure for it and a more definite reason for what makes people instantaneously lose their hearing.
I look forward to your stories and experiences with SSNHL and will post them on the wall. . . . thank you!
