My friend has suddenly lost his hearing in one ear!

[TammyLittlenut]

Anyone had this happen? Does it come back?

I've been reading a little on the internet(s) but the common name for it seems to be SHL (sudden hearing loss). Well, duh. What causes it???

He's a 41 year-old guy, otherwise healthy.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Very strange. What does the doc say?

[TammyLittlenut]

4. He had an MRI but it came up clean...

I just thought someone on here would have experienced it. Democrats are a very diverse people. :-)

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. I wonder what's going on with him, then?

[Lars39]

2. I hope he's going to an ear specialist pronto!

[blm]

3. It happened to me early this year. The doc gave me heavy steroids -

My hearing came back after about 6 days.

[TammyLittlenut]

7. That is great news!

Thank you...that makes me feel better. Every story I have come across while googling it has been a bad one.

[Shell Beau]

5. Well it sounds like he needs to see a doc.

Which I am certainly not one! DU doesn't allow medical advice.

[WeRQ4U]

6. Mine has been gradually decreasing in my left ear.

I went to the doctor and they put a tube in my ear, hoping that if there was any fluid in there, it woudl leak out and my hearing woudl come back to normal. No such luck. They now have no idea why it's happening.

Good thing I paid about 500 bucks for them to tell me that. Worthless when your treatment is simply trial and error.

[pitohui]

9. what medications is he on

some drugs cause this

no, doesn't always come back, but it can

i'll assume if he's otherwise healthy, it isn't chemo medications

are you sure he doesn't use recreational drugs, vicodin is another common cause besides chemo

[jobycom]

10. Happened to my mother

Hasn't come back.

How's your friend's cholesterol and diet? I've heard that tinnitus affects people with cholesterol problems. One treatment I've seen of it is to take niacin and Lecithin in large doses. Some people claims it works. THose are classic treatments for cholesterol, too, so they could be related.

Just guessing, I have no reason to know if it works. Just something I saw discussed a few times. BTW, read up on niacin before taking it. It can have fatal results if misused.

[TammyLittlenut]

11. Thanks. I'm sure he won't take any medication without consulting his doc

I was just hoping for some happy stories to make him feel better. He's in a state of panic as you can imagine.

I just wonder how I manage to escape any health problems while so many people around me are sick in one way or another.

....counting my lucky stars...

[sniffa]

12. it happened to me

they don't know what exactLy causes it, but there a few different causes.
their best guess for me - nerve eating virus. since it's nerve, it ain't coming back.
i was 5 when i Lost my hearing.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. That happened to me once...

The hearing was so gone that I thought the telephone was dead when I answered it. Later discovered that if I used the other ear, everything was fine. The doctor said I had an ear infection, gave me some antibiotics and my hearing was 100 percent in a couple of days. Tell your friend to get to a doctor -- this may not be serious at all.