32-Year-Old Woman Suffers Permanent Hearing Loss After 9-Day Treatment Delay
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Jun 25
32-Year-Old Woman Suffers Permanent Hearing Loss After 9-Day Treatment Delay
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Jun 25
Summary
Nine days after her symptoms began, the author started steroid treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss, missing the early window that might have improved her odds of recovery.
A walk-in clinic initially treated her plugged ear and ringing as possible eustachian tube dysfunction without tests; an ER visit 15 days after onset led to a hearing test and the correct diagnosis.
Research cited in the report says patients treated within 7 days have about five times greater odds of complete recovery, yet the condition is often mistaken for congestion, allergies or ear wax.
Despite 3 dexamethasone ear injections, 20 hyperbaric oxygen sessions and an MRI that ruled out a brain tumor, her hearing never returned and the tinnitus persisted.
About 66,000 Americans experience the condition each year, and experts say sudden one-sided muffled hearing, vertigo or ringing should be treated as a medical emergency.