Sudden Hearing Loss

"In July last year, I woke up one morning with no hearing in my right ear. It was a feeling similar to having an ear blockage when the cabin pressure changes while flying in an aeroplane and having to adjust the air pressure in the middle ear region through what's called the 'Eustachian tube'.

I put my little finger into the entrance of my ear canal and sort of 'popped' the canal and the ear cleared. The next morning the same thing happened but after trying to 'pop' the ear, I had no success and the ear remained blocked and partially deaf allowing only about only 20% hearing in the right ear."

"Since my mid-fifties I had been having regular free annual hearing tests with one of the National hearing aid franchise companies operating in Australia. My hearing was assessed as good and previously there were no signs of gradual decline through ageing or loud noise exposure."

"To cut a long story short, I went to the local GP who thought it may be a Eustachian tube blockage that would clear of its own accord. He recommended I use a steroid-based anti-allergy nasal spray to assist in clearing and opening the Eustachian tube which could take 3 days to 3 weeks."

"After 3 weeks and no success, my GP examined my outer ear again and my ear drum and middle ear with an otoscope. There appeared to be some sort of debris and infection in the middle ear."

"I had no success with clearing the infection or restoring my hearing after taking the antibiotics. So I asked to be put on an anti-fungal medication in case I had a middle ear fungal infection which sometimes occurs with children's middle ears. Following this treatment the middle ear infection appeared to have cleared, however, the hearing loss was only marginally improved. After testing with an audiologist, I was assessed as having a 60% (severe) permanent hearing loss."

"The audiologist explained that a permanent hearing loss is associated with damage to the inner ear from an infection or some other trauma. She suggested that I ask my GP to refer me to an Ear Nose Throat (ENT) specialist 'which might take up to 3 months to get an appointment'. She also mentioned that if I had been treated with strong targeted steroids in the first 10 days of the hearing loss, I may have recovered my full hearing."

"The disappointment at waking up with what I thought was a simple Eustachian tube closure related to what appeared to be a mild middle ear infection but in fact turning out to be permanent severe hearing loss caused me distress, anger, confusion and depression. I was especially annoyed that if I had been treated as a medical emergency and offered steroids when my hearing loss first occurred I may have recovered full hearing."

"So many questions: How would my permanent (severe) partial hearing loss impact upon my quality of life? How would it affect my family, social, professional and recreational activities? What could have been done to prevent my hearing loss? What actually caused my permanent hearing loss? What action could I now take to restore my hearing?"

"After an anxious 3 week wait and much avoidance of social situations where my hearing loss impacted negatively on my attempts to interact and converse with others (supermarkets, coffee shops, restaurants, music and sporting events etc) I was granted a public health appointment with ENT specialists."

"They were sensitive but direct in their assessment that I had a permanent hearing loss in my right ear. However, they did clarify that the restoring of full hearing by prescribing strong steroids has to take place within the first 24-72 hours of the sudden hearing loss and even then, less than 30% of patients get full or partial restoration of their hearing."

"The ENT specialists do not know the specific reasons for an individual's SSHL but it might be related to unknown viruses, stroke or in rare cases, benign tumors attaching themselves to the inner ear."

"To rule out the tumor scenario, I was sent for an MRI. The MRI results revealed that I did not have tumors. In the meantime, my ENT specialists recommended I proceed with being tested for and fitted with a hearing aid."

"One of my colleagues has been wearing hearing aids for over 30 years and he put me onto an audiologist who, in my colleague's opinion, provided the best service and the best hearing aids prices in Australia."

"Over the years, my colleague had discovered that many of the 'free' audiology testing centres and services provided to the ageing population were tied to a specific hearing aid manufacturer/supplier with a vested financial interest in selling clients the most expensive hearing aids in a limited range of the one or two brands they represented. These brands and models may not always be suitable to the wearer's lifestyle, work or financial circumstances and are often priced much higher than is warranted."

"In a response to the unfair pricing of hearing aids, my colleague set up a website to direct people with hearing losses to more reasonable prices and services."

"Although I am in my mid-sixties, I still live a very active life with my involvement as a martial arts instructor, running, cycling and most importantly in my professional career as an actor. I did not enjoy the prospect of having a visible "behind the ear" hearing aid that could fall off during physical activities or might preclude me from auditioning or being offered acting roles because of its obvious appearance sitting on my ear."

"People with hearing loss in both ears through ageing or gradual loss, usually require two hearing aids and the built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other technologies allow the hearing aids to "talk to one another" and sort out directionality, volume and sound balance. They can also adjust to the qualities in the variety of sound environments the wearer is exposed too and for using phone handsets."

"Most wearers of two hearing aids use the "behind the ear" or "receiver in the ear" devices, in order to house the software and technologies they require. To the credit of the designers and manufacturers, BTE and RITC aids have become smaller and far less obvious over time."

"I did some research online and was relieved to find that the latest technologies included small in the canal devices that were almost completely hidden in the outer-ear canal and shaped from a mould of the wearer's ear canal to fit firmly and comfortably into the ear. These small hidden devices cannot house all the software and Wi-Fi technology of a pair of 'behind the ear' devices but owing to my SSHL hearing loss in only one ear, I required only one hearing aid."

"In particular the hearing devices of a Canadian company, Unitron, captured my attention"

"I attended my appointment with Adrian, the qualified audiologist and owner of The Hearing Aid Company. We discussed my lifestyle, work environments and financial circumstances. I also mentioned the Unitron In-the-canal style of hearing aid that I had researched online."

To my surprise, The Hearing Aid Company prices for the 'entry-level' Unitron IIC hearing aid was $500-1000 cheaper than any online price or other supplier. While Adrian beginning with 'middle price level' devices, I explained that if I was going to be wearing an aid for the rest of my life I wanted to make sure I didn't lose, break or sit-on a more expensive device in my first months of wearing it. I suggested I could move to a higher level of technology and price later if needed and my finances allowed it."

"Adrian gave me a remarkable piece of information about Unitron devices. Where other manufacturers require you to upgrade to an entirely new set of hearing aids if the wearer wanted to move to the newer or better technologies (thus potentially rendering a $4000 pair of hearing aids redundant) and having to purchase a new $7000 pair, Unitron allow for upgrading of the internal software while retaining the existing hearing aid body."

"Therefore, if I wished to upgrade to middle or upper level technologies with my Unitron Hearing Aid I would be paying hundreds of dollars rather than thousands by simply buying and installing the more sophisticated software into the existing hearing aid body. Very few other hearing aid companies provide this flexibility and cost saving."

"I have discovered that no hearing aid can ever replace the quality of sound that a fully functioning human inner ear (cochlear) can provide in conjunction with the human brain; however, our quality of life can be enhanced through the use of hearing aid devices."

"I am much happier now I have my little red Unitron device than over the 6 months that I endured with my unaided hearing loss. The care and maintenance of my Unitron device is simple but I do have to be careful not to leave it on the kitchen bench when I take it out lest it be mistaken for a bird's-eye chili pepper that might end up in my homemade Thai curry."

"Please Remember: Sudden hearing loss in one ear is rare, but when it happens it should be considered a medical emergency and attended to by a hearing medical expert immediately."