Headlines
As reported by The Hartford Courant, May 22, 2008.
Quick Treatment Essential in Treating Sudden Hearing Loss
By Korky Vann
With stunts like his recent "Operation Chaos," it's not unusual for conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh to grab headlines. But in 2001, the broadcaster was in the news for a different, more personal reason. Limbaugh revealed that he had experienced sudden hearing loss, a condition that develops within a few days.
He's not the only celebrity to experience the condition. Singer Phil Collins developed "sudden deafness syndrome" in 2000, when he lost hearing in one ear during a recording session. Rap star Foxy Brown was diagnosed in 2005. An estimated 4,000 Americans develop sudden sensorineural hearing loss, or SSHL, each year, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, part of the National Institutes of Health.
SSHL often occurs without warning. Some of those affected report experiencing a loud "pop" just before their hearing disappears. Others go to bed with their hearing intact and discover hearing loss when they wake up the next morning. Still others first notice it when they try to make a phone call and can't hear the conversation. A majority of those with sudden hearing loss are affected in only one ear.
Though there are more than 100 possible causes for the condition, including infectious diseases, trauma, drug reactions, (last fall, after investigating a possible link between sudden hearing loss and erectile dysfunction drugs, the FDA required Viagra, Levitra and Cialis to update labels to reflect the risk), auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, circulatory or vascular problems and vital infections, only 10 percent to 15 percent of patients ever learn what caused their loss.
"The majority of time we never figure it out," says Dr. Kourosh Parham, director of research in the Division of Otolaryngology at the UConn Health Center in Farmington. "So much of the condition is still a mystery."
Equally mysterious is the recovery process.
"About one-third of patients regain their hearing," says Parham. "But the rest either never get their hearing back or only partially regain function. Those who do regain hearing often continue to experience ringing in their ears and have difficulty discerning speech."
Anyone who experiences a sudden loss of hearing should seek treatment immediately. Once head injury, tumor, stroke or other causes have been ruled out, treatment with oral steroids, anti-viral medications or steroid injections directly into the middle ear is started.
"People tend to put off seeing the doctor," says Parham. "They report feeling a 'fullness' in their ear and assume the hearing loss is due to a sinus condition, a blocked ear from a cold, wax buildup, or if they're older, age-related hearing loss. But there's a window of opportunity for treatment. The longer you wait, the poorer your prognosis."
Cochlear implants restored some of Limbaugh's and Foxy Brown's hearing. (Parham says only a small number of those with SSHL are candidates for the procedure.) Collins was given steroid injections. According to information posted on his website, the state of his hearing has neither improved nor deteriorated. While sudden hearing loss can affect people of any age, most of those diagnosed with the condition are middle-aged or older.
"We need to educate both the public and primary care physicians on the need for immediate response to this condition," says Parham. "In our book, it's a medical emergency."