Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 82 of 105}

Has anyone been taking B-12 for this? I know it is supposed to be good for the ears. I've also started taking Ginkgo. I'm doing this without my physician's advice - he basically said 'it won't hurt, but it's a waste of your money.' So I'm curious what anyone else has heard from perhaps more holistic type doctors about these things.

Danny - a rheumatologist is an expert in autoimmune problems. However if all your bloodwork came back ok, you should not worry about that. They are able to check for antibodies in the blood and if you don't have one, you should be able to check 'autoimmune problem' off your list. Ask your doctor if he was checking for that - he probably was.

Suncasa - I will look up the GAPS diet. I'm frustrated because for the last couple months hearing has seemed to fluctuate up and down. But lately it stays down, even though I've been on the diuretic and been working on following the low salt diet. (That's harder than it sounds! I didn't cook much, and all pre-packaged or restaurant food is super high in salt.) What are you keeping your salt levels at? I'm shooting for 1200 but really I think I'm still up around 2000.

Thank you everybody for your responses. You guys are far more helpful than my doctor has been.

I to have been trying to eat only low sodium foods, but its almost next to impossible for me to find the proper foods.

HI Shortcake - what diuretic are you taking? I'm eating around 1500 mg of salt (no processed foods at all) which is about 3/4 teas/day.

The GAPS diet is all about getting auto-immune and other disorders in order again. I'm feeling pretty good right now- very encouraged though I had two days last week that were awful and discouraging. I figure to tale this one day at a time. The doctor I mentioned above is good. You might want to set up a phone consult with him.

I'm actually really worried right now as I feel like I am coming down with a cold. I have 3 small kids. It's going to be impossible to never get sick again as they are always bringing home something.

Scared the next virus I get will wipe out the rest of my hearing.

Suncasa - I'm taking Triamterene-HCTZ. I just may call your doc - I kept the info. Thanks. My trouble with the low salt diet is I LOVE bread and cheese. So even without processed foods, I feel like I'm being deprived of these things! :( Oh well. I know there are low salt versions out there, too, just need to find them.

Danny - I know the worry. I too feel like mine is at a level I can live with, but I'm terrified it will get worse or move to the other ear. However, I don't think you can worry about every head cold you get - that would stress you out beyond belief. (And I'm not sure that's the kind of virus that they believe can cause this, but maybe someone else knows more about this).

I suggest you both read this website- Shortcake - there are some herbs etc that you can take to help it from moving to the other ear based on this guys experience. Whether you or I really have 'Meniere's' - it doesn't really matter because the symptoms are the same.
I will say that I have a feeling that the candida treatment is helping me but that includes no bread! Also dairy products are huge culprits for congestion.

Danny- I can totally relate to the fear. Just tonight my son said he had a sore throat and I thought ' crap'!! I am finding that large doses of vitamin C do wonders. Last week I think the two really bad scary days came from a small head cold (and too much salt). I was so scared because my hearing had returned to close normal and it went all the way out again (low tones). It really freaked me out. I was so scared it wouldn't come back. This condition is very psychological and emotional.

oops here's the link-

http://www.menieresfoundation.org/johnsregimen.htm

also apple cider vinegar in water has been helping with allergies and congestion.

Thanks for the link. I actually emailed the guy to see if he had heard from anyone with symptoms like mine (ours) and while he hadn't, he also thought it could really help me. But where/how did you find this? I'm always skeptical of random stuff on the internet. On the other hand, it seems like a really easy thing to try (much easier than the diet - wow!) and the logic behind it makes sense.

Getting my first steroid injection tomorrow at 9:45.

Wish me luck!

Good luck mss! The hardest thing is trying not to swallow for 1/2 hour. Let us know how it goes.

Suncasa - I went ahead and bought most of the vitamins etc for John of Ohio's regimen. (I didn't get everything because I want to start off slowly in case anything disagrees with me).

I'm feeling depressed today because it seems worse again...like maybe it's actually dropping (where before I thought it was holding steady at a certain point). I feel like I'm doing all the right things but I'm no better off than when I started. Having a little self pity party...

Hi Shortcake,

I am having a worse day today too. I don't get it either. I had two really great days (yesterday and day before) and then I heard the tinnitus kick in at around 3 am which immediately triggered anxiety so I didn't sleep much. Meanwhile my hearing was out for most of the day. I also bought John's stuff today though I couldn't find the lemon flavonoids- have to order them online. My regular doctor says he agrees with the GAPS diet theory so i am going to stick to it.

good luck MSS with your shot! I haven't done one of them yet.

Suncasa - I ordered the lemon stuff online also. Started taking the Vinopocetine and vitamin E and will do those for a few days and then add something else. Did you talk to your doctor about this? I'm sure mine will pooh pooh it completely, I'm almost afraid to ask. I did read on Dr. Timothy Hain's site that none of his patients have reported improvement from it and that it's probably a placebo effect. But I think it's worth a try.

Sorry to hear your day was worse too. Yours seems to fluctuate a lot.
The GAPS diet theory sounds really solid, I'm just not up for the effort of it at this point. Interested to hear how it goes though!

My ENT told me yesterday he sees a few of these a week now. I wonder what is going on. Maybe it's the flu shot.

Anything is worth a try! I didn't say anything to my doctor - I figure why at this point?

I just looked at all the supplements I'll be taking with the additions of John's- it's so much! I'm definitely taking the ones that increase blood flow and also the L-lysine. And I'm gettin the lemon bioflavonoids. Keep me posted about your progress.

Hi Danny- I've never had a flu shot and it happened to me. could be some other kind of toxin or virus though.

For those of us trying to do the low salt thing, I just found a list online of products at Whole Foods that are low salt. I know it's expensive there, but I'm so excited to be able to go and buy some staples that typically have a lot of salt (bread, cereal, chips, soup) in low salt versions. The list for my store is here: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/specialdiets/NC_LGT_Low_Sodi.... but it's by location.

Danny - My audiologist has also commented on how much more common it seems right now.

Suncasa - I'm going to take all but the Beta 1,3 Glucans (for some reason reading about it worried me) and the vertigoheel which is for vertigo.

Shortcake-

I envy you if you have a Whole Foods! Where I live, there is none but we do have a pretty good health food store.

I'm not taking the Beta stuff or vertigoheel either.

As for the growing trend in this condition, I wish someone would find a cure! My hearing is out again this morning as much as it goes out but thankfully I don't have much tinnitus. Still I'd like it to stabilize a little higher than it is right now.

My doc's audiologist also said that they had 2 new SSHL patients in the week or two following me (in early June) and that was very unusual.

Just had my injection at 11am.

Was not the most pleasant experience, but it wasn't too painful. little acute pinches from time to time...It was a very strange sensastion though having all that liquid in your sinus cavities.

I hope it helps, but who knows.

I'll update soon :)

Oh one more thing...Did anyone get increased tinnitus right after the shots and sparatic acute pain following the shots? I've read the pain is normal, but didn't see much about tinnitus acting up.

Also, if I do see any improvement is there some sort of 'average' time before improvement....I doubt it, but its worth asking.

Hi mss-

I haven't had the shots- I'm really interested to see how yours do. Please do continue to update. Thanks!

Mss - glad it wasn't too bad. YES I had increased tinnitus and the twinges of pain you describe right after the shots. The tinnitus went back to normal after about 2 or 3 days. The twinges were probably about the same but I can't remember.

MSS - I had the shots approx. 2 or 3 weeks ago, I had no pain or no increase in the tinnitis. My Doctor said you should see improvement in your hearing within 2 days. He didn't expect mine to get better, my hearing loss in my left ear is 100% gone and it didn't get better. However, it did help with my dizziness. He said there is nothing else they can do. My biggest concern now is the dizziness and balance.

Hey Shortcake,
your physician's advice mirrored my accupuncturist's comments when the gingko idea was foisted on me by a well-wishing friend to address the tinnitis, except he hesitated and said go ahead and try it, it can't hurt. I haven't noticed any appreciable improvement, but I am getting tired of choking down fistfuls of various nasty-tasting pills and capsules. Why can't they make this med's and supplements taste like the Chocks and Flintstones' vitamins we had as kids?

Shortcake- my hearing is almost as low as it's lowest but the tinnitus is down. So much for the diuretics. They worked great for a few days. How do I get an email address to you?

Today is exactly five weeks since my partial hearing loss. My ENT told me there is nothing more he could do.

To be honest, I can deal with the hearing loss I have, but I'm having a really hard time with the tinnitus. The thought of having to live the rest of my life with it gives me great anxiety. I hope it quiets down some.