Ever heard of a friend or a relative suddenly complaining about not being able to hear properly. Well, there are cases where individuals have experienced sudden hearing loss. This could affect one ear and is technically called sensorineural hearing loss.
Hearing loss can be mild, severe or it can permanently affect the inner ears doing damage to the ears completely. If you experience tinnitus, pressure on the eardrum, muffled sound, dizzy spells it may lead to a sudden hearing loss. In such cases, it’s good to consult the doctor immediately.
Sometimes hearing aid can ease your hearing issues and can improve the perception of sound. Also, people who have sudden hearing loss, may end up getting permanently deaf, if no action is taken immediately.
Let’s run through the top 10 reasons for the cause of sudden hearing loss and how it may affect the quality of your life.
What are the reasons for sudden hearing loss?
- Circulatory disorders caused in the blood vessels of the inner ear (micro-circulation): Abnormal cochlea micro-circulation can cause noise-induced hearing loss, age-related hearing loss or sudden hearing loss. Proper blood flow to cochlear is important to manage hearing disorders.
- Metabolic disorders such as diabetes: Diabetes can affect the hearing level in individuals susceptible to the disease.
- Viral infections: Individuals can experience sudden hearing loss due to viral infections. It can affect cochlea in the inner ear, blood vessels and also other parts of the ear. We can’t avoid the infection attacking the ears, but staying vigilant and recognizing the symptoms early can prevent the spread of infections further.
- Autoimmune inner ear diseases (AIED): AIED is a rare disease in which your body mistakenly attacks your inner ears and cause sudden hearing loss, dizziness, fullness in the ear and tinnitus. If you have any above ear issue, speak to your doctor immediately. Your doctor will do a thorough ear examination and if inflammation were present, he or she may recommend drugs to ease the issue. Order your medications from any trusted pharmacy shop online and avail huge medicine discount with free home delivery on every order.
- Long-time exposure to loud noise: Yes! Too loud or continuous exposure to loud noise from TV, radio, household appliances, loud concerts or other noisy environment can affect inner ears and cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). It can affect one or both the ears, damages your auditory nerves and lead to hearing loss.
- Use of certain medications such as antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs: Medicines which can cause damage to the ears and affect your hearing are called ototoxic drugs. This type of hearing loss occurs in age-old people who take medicines regularly. It affects the cochlea in the inner ear and the hearing loss which developed can be temporary or permanent. The medicines which are used to treat blood pressure, heart, cancer drugs, NSAIDS, antibiotics such as gentamicin, streptomycin, and drugs used in treating kidney disease drugs may cause hearing problems.
- Family history of hearing loss: Hearing loss can also be hereditary. Yes! Gene mutations can cause hearing loss. It can occur due to ageing, infections, or use of medications. A few examples of genetically caused hearing loss include pendred syndrome, an usher’s syndrome, otosclerosis, etc.
- Infection in the middle ear: Upper respiratory infection caused due to the common cold can affect the back of the throat and Eustachian tube. When the infection spreads to the Eustachian tube, the pressure in the inner ear can’t be balanced and leads to ear pain, sudden hearing loss, and dizziness.
- Stress:Stress is the main trigger for hearing loss. Stress increases adrenaline hormone which narrows the blood vessels. To combat sudden hearing losses, minimize your stress levels. Practising yoga or exercising regularly can reduce stress in you. If you are suffering from severe stress and cannot fight off from the situation, seek medical treatment immediately as prompt management can help you recover from the condition completely. Buy prescription medicines from a reliable online pharmacy India at your convenience.
- Decreased blood flow to the inner ear blood vessels: Blood flow plays a major role in hearing ability. If the blood flow to the cochlea is low, it can cause potential hearing loss, whereas increased blood pressure can cause the inner ear bleeding. It results in inner ear stroke which is seen mostly among elders.
The above-listed are the top 10 reasons which can cause sudden hearing loss in an individual. Impaired hearing patients may experience loneliness; depression and isolation. It is imperative to talk to your healthcare provider and seek his advice immediately.Treatments are planned based on the symptoms, history, and physical examination.
~ News4masses is now also on Google news
~ If you want to contribute an article / story, please get in touch at: news4masses[at]gmail[dot]com