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What Causes Ringing Sensation In The Ears?
Question: Hi, My husband has had ringing in one of his ears for a very long time but he woke up two weeks ago and the other ear was deaf. His family doctor said there is no wax build up so he is going to send him to a specialist which is sch. for Sep. 2nd. He isn't going to wait that long. We will go to a private one ASAP if we can get into one here in Calgary or Pasco, XXXXXXX where our son and family lives. Can you give him any advice or do you know what the problem could be?
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Brief Answer:
It is idiopathic sudden sensory hearing loss (abbreviated as ISSHL).
Detailed Answer:
Dr. Hanif warmly Welcomes you!
Thanks for consulting at my virtual clinic. I have carefully worked through your case, and can realize your health worries. Being your physician, I will take care all of your medical concerns.
I feel sorry for the problems your husband is having. Well, this is a serious illness and an ENT emergency. You should arrange an early visit to an Otorhinolaryngologist.
Name of the disease your husband has is, ISSHL i.e. Idiopathic sudden sensory hearing loss. There are many reasons for this which are proven clinically and also studied in a lot of research. I also conducted a research in UPENN last summer and its results proved to be really helpful in diagnosing and treating my patients too.
Major causes of this sudden loss are listed below. All these causes are problems with the inner ear and the medical terms used here are not needed to be memorized or completely understood. One thing you need to know is it's related to the inner ear damage of your husband due to:
*Labyrinthine viral infection
*Labyrinthine vascular compromise
*Intracochlear membrane ruptures
*Immune-mediated inner ear disease
Things needed to be ruled out for proper diagnosis are:-
*Iron deficiency anemia (needs blood work for that)
*Diabetes mellitus (fasting blood sugar levels needed)
*Temporal bone fractures (if any history of fall)
*Medication ototoxicity (side effect of some drugs)
*Inner ear tumours (MRI with gadolinium (DPTA) enhancement needed)
*Leukemia, polycythemia vera (Blood work needed and bone marrow studies needed, but based on history and physical examination)
*Arteriosclerosis (need to test lipid profile for hyperlipidemias)
*Abnormally high coagulation, and abnormal viscosity of blood (CBC Blood studies with differentials)
Until he gets medical help from ENT specialist, give him plenty of water and good balanced diet. I suggest for him to take Prednisone 10 mg 3 times a day, Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg once with breakfast. (Ask his physician to give prescription for the drugs after blood pressure monitoring).
These disease processes cause damage to the normal physical pathway of hearing. Fortunately this is always unilateral and same is with your husband.
Have a wonderful time ahead. Hope I answered all of your questions. Let me know if you have any further clinical concerns. I will be happy to get back to you shortly. If satisfied here, please give a five star rating and don't forget to close the discussion.
Regards!
DR. XXXXXXX HANIF
USA
It is idiopathic sudden sensory hearing loss (abbreviated as ISSHL).
Detailed Answer:
Dr. Hanif warmly Welcomes you!
Thanks for consulting at my virtual clinic. I have carefully worked through your case, and can realize your health worries. Being your physician, I will take care all of your medical concerns.
I feel sorry for the problems your husband is having. Well, this is a serious illness and an ENT emergency. You should arrange an early visit to an Otorhinolaryngologist.
Name of the disease your husband has is, ISSHL i.e. Idiopathic sudden sensory hearing loss. There are many reasons for this which are proven clinically and also studied in a lot of research. I also conducted a research in UPENN last summer and its results proved to be really helpful in diagnosing and treating my patients too.
Major causes of this sudden loss are listed below. All these causes are problems with the inner ear and the medical terms used here are not needed to be memorized or completely understood. One thing you need to know is it's related to the inner ear damage of your husband due to:
*Labyrinthine viral infection
*Labyrinthine vascular compromise
*Intracochlear membrane ruptures
*Immune-mediated inner ear disease
Things needed to be ruled out for proper diagnosis are:-
*Iron deficiency anemia (needs blood work for that)
*Diabetes mellitus (fasting blood sugar levels needed)
*Temporal bone fractures (if any history of fall)
*Medication ototoxicity (side effect of some drugs)
*Inner ear tumours (MRI with gadolinium (DPTA) enhancement needed)
*Leukemia, polycythemia vera (Blood work needed and bone marrow studies needed, but based on history and physical examination)
*Arteriosclerosis (need to test lipid profile for hyperlipidemias)
*Abnormally high coagulation, and abnormal viscosity of blood (CBC Blood studies with differentials)
Until he gets medical help from ENT specialist, give him plenty of water and good balanced diet. I suggest for him to take Prednisone 10 mg 3 times a day, Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg once with breakfast. (Ask his physician to give prescription for the drugs after blood pressure monitoring).
These disease processes cause damage to the normal physical pathway of hearing. Fortunately this is always unilateral and same is with your husband.
Have a wonderful time ahead. Hope I answered all of your questions. Let me know if you have any further clinical concerns. I will be happy to get back to you shortly. If satisfied here, please give a five star rating and don't forget to close the discussion.
Regards!
DR. XXXXXXX HANIF
USA
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Thank you Dr Hanif. This is Don Cline. To give you a bit more detail, to clarify the diagnosis, this is the sequence of events. I've had tinitus in my left ear for about 5 years now. I can control it with limiting caffein and things like diet soft drinks etc. Then two weeks ago Wednesday I woke up quite early and my right ear was ringing probably 5 times louder than my right ear. I went back to bed and woke up with it completely gone. Other than the ringing. It is still ringing, and there is a low "rumbling/roar" in the background of the ringing and very faint popping sounds. There is also background ringing that varies in tone/pitch. My left ear seems to be tryin to compensate and picks up everything, which limits my ability to hear the specifics I need to hear. Does that help in better identifying the problem? I am trying to get into an ENT specialist but here in Canada any specialist is a wait. Is this serious enough to visit the emergency room of my local hospital?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Brief Answer:
Yes,visit the hospital ENT Department right away.Don't take it light please
Detailed Answer:
I welcome you back Mr. Don Cline!
As I mentioned earlier that it is an emergency and you need immediate help. Start at least prednisone right away. From your follow up question it is clear that your ear has not been lost 100%. It is still trying to work out there for you and chances of recovery are good if you follow it up hurriedly.
It may or may not have a link with past history of ringing and tinnitus in other ear. This disease is almost always unilateral and is sudden in onset without XXXXXXX history in this ear or other ear.
Have a wonderful time ahead. Hope I answered all of your questions. Let me know if you have any further clinical concerns. I will be happy to get back to you shortly. If satisfied here, please give a five star rating and don't forget to close the discussion.
Regards!
DR. XXXXXXX HANIF
USA
Yes,visit the hospital ENT Department right away.Don't take it light please
Detailed Answer:
I welcome you back Mr. Don Cline!
As I mentioned earlier that it is an emergency and you need immediate help. Start at least prednisone right away. From your follow up question it is clear that your ear has not been lost 100%. It is still trying to work out there for you and chances of recovery are good if you follow it up hurriedly.
It may or may not have a link with past history of ringing and tinnitus in other ear. This disease is almost always unilateral and is sudden in onset without XXXXXXX history in this ear or other ear.
Have a wonderful time ahead. Hope I answered all of your questions. Let me know if you have any further clinical concerns. I will be happy to get back to you shortly. If satisfied here, please give a five star rating and don't forget to close the discussion.
Regards!
DR. XXXXXXX HANIF
USA
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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