On January 27, 2012 I saw an ENT after many months of suffering mild hearing loss in my left ear. The problem actually started around April 2011 when I suddenly suffered hearing loss in both ears due to a cold or allergies. I googled "sudden hearing loss" and found several sites suggesting that it be treated as an emergency, so as to start a course of steroids immediately which may reverse the hearing loss.
I made a trip to the urgent care center where they advised I could do just as well on a decongestant and recommended over the counter Claratin and to follow up with my primary care doc if no relief. Two weeks later, slightly better but still not normal I did just that.
My primary doc disagreed with the urgernt care doc. He said the correct treatment would be an antihistimine, he prescobrf Nasonex. This seemed to do the trick.
Fast forward 6 months....October 2011, my hearing loss is back, I had another mild cold, after a few weeks I decide to call my primary and get more Nasonex, they call it in for me. Several weeks go by, then several months, my hearing isn't much better. I know I haven't been using the Nasonex religiously, only once day most days sometimes not at all. I decide its time to get serious and whip this thing. I start using it twice a day as directed around the middle of December, still no improvement. Its become somewhat of a joke at work, how I hear the wrong words or say huh? Or what? All the time. Late January, still no improvement, I finally call an ENT.
The ENT checks my hearing as well as my speech discrimination and says that my hearing is not "that bad". I probably had a virus, and unfortunately we've missed the window for treatment with steroids. The hearing I have is probably the best I'm going to have. I ask a few other now meaningless questions and he can tell I'm a little upset. Though not crying, I'm sure I have some tears welling up. How could I have waited so long? He decides to order an MRI. I leave with an appointment the following week.
