[Debbie D]

I woke up this morning hardly able to hear out of my left ear. I cleaned it real good, and am going to take a decongestant in case I have congestion, but it feels really weird...

[Kitty]

I have lost considerable hearing in my left ear, too. I've never asked the Neuro about it but plan to at my next visit. I can only assume it's MS related - nerve damage. My Dad had extensive hearing loss in his left ear and I'm now convinced it was from MS.

[SallyC]

I had a MS attack, where it felt like my ear was clogged shut. The Doc said there was nothing there.. After IVSM it went away, but I do have a slight loss of hearing, either because of damage the attack did or aging?

[TXBatman]

Hearing loss was my first, and only distinctly definable MS symptom. I was sitting at my desk and lost all the hearing in my left ear over about 10 seconds. It stayed gone completely for about 4 weeks and slowly started coming back. By about 8 weeks after the initial loss, it was mostly back, but it is not the way it was before the loss. I now have nearly constant tinnitus and have very bad directional hearing now. I also have a terrible time understanding what people are saying anytime there is other noise in the background.

On the other hand, sudden hearing loss can be caused by many other things that are treatable. It is considered by ENTs to be a medical emergency to see them as soon as possible after you note the loss, because the success rate of the treatment declines the later the treatment (usually oral steroids) is started. Please call your PCP or ENT today and explain. If the PCP doesn't take it seriously, call an ENT. If it is not MS-related, those treated within a couple of days have a much better chance of getting their hearing back than those who wait a week or longer to seek treatment. Good Luck!

[Debbie D]

Thanks all...I'm seeing the neuro at a lecture tonight so I'll ask him & work from there. I do have occasional tinnitus that jumps from ear to ear but this is so sudden, & decongestants aren't clearing it up...
I've
E had an uptick in Sxs the past couple of weeks...trouble walking, pain, & bladder troubles. Perhaps it's a flare...

[BlueJ]

My daughter, who was diagnosed with MS this April, recently complained of hearing loss in one ear. Her family doctor suggested she report it to her Neurologist if it persisted beyound two weeks. When she saw her Neuologist she was told hearing loss was rarely caused by MS. The test she performed was to place a vibrating tuning fork in the centre of her forehead. She could hear the tone equally on both sides which indicated that the auditory nerves where ok and the problem was likely something, probably fluid, blocking the canal.

[aussiemom]

DH lost hearing in right ear, over night, from a cold. Blowing too hard, much. Like a lot of guys, waited a few weeks to see PCP, who sent him to ENT, who said it's gone, can't do anything to get it back. There were treatments available had he gone earlier.

Please see a doc to be checked soon!

[SallyC]

Originally Posted by TXBatman

I also have a terrible time understanding what people are saying anytime there is other noise in the background.

Me too!! And do you notice having the same problem, while watching a tv movie, hearing what people are saying with music playing in the background? I swear, the music is actually louder than the speech, sometimes!!

[TXBatman]

Originally Posted by BlueJ

My daughter, who was diagnosed with MS this April, recently complained of hearing loss in one ear. Her family doctor suggested she report it to her Neurologist if it persisted beyound two weeks. When she saw her Neuologist she was told hearing loss was rarely caused by MS. The test she performed was to place a vibrating tuning fork in the centre of her forehead. She could hear the tone equally on both sides which indicated that the auditory nerves where ok and the problem was likely something, probably fluid, blocking the canal.

They did the exact same test on me, and the sound from the fork all localized in one ear (the one that I could still hear in). That was what convinced my PCP it wasn't a simple blockage and he sent me to ENT, who did MRI, that found lesions, that sent me to neuro, who said it isn't MS "yet". Eventually, I got more lesions and got my MS dx, but it was the hearing loss that started it all. What alot of neuros will say is that hearing loss is not a "common" MS symptom, but it can be.

[TXBatman]

Originally Posted by aussiemom

DH lost hearing in right ear, over night, from a cold. Blowing too hard, much. Like a lot of guys, waited a few weeks to see PCP, who sent him to ENT, who said it's gone, can't do anything to get it back. There were treatments available had he gone earlier.

Please see a doc to be checked soon!

Exactly! The ENT was totally shocked when my hearing started coming back after being gone for 4 weeks. He said it was exceptionally rare for somebody who had loss as bad as mine (90+ dB of loss) for as long as mine to actually get any hearing back. That I got almost all of it back was just that much more surprising. Once you go beyond the 1 week point without treatment, the chances of recovery if it is not MS start going down rapidly. The cause is never known in about 50% of the cases of sudden hearing loss, but oral steroids is the standard treatment if the cause is unknown, and the sooner the better.