08/05/2025
A tad longer than I hoped, but Jess and Jame's photos are finished and will be on the way to them shortly!
Not only did I have two young kids to look after whilst working part time, but also 2 weeks of Easter holidays to contend with (okay I had a week at the seaside in that 😁) but I also woke up one morning to find I had gone partially deaf in one ear, my ear felt full like it needed to pop, and had the most awful tinnitus!
A trip to the doctors and urgent hearing exam at the hospital revealed my hearing was way lower than it should be. Prescribed with an intense course of steriods, there was a chance my hearing would return. I was terrrified, thought I would go fully deaf and never hear my kids say I love you, ever again. But, with many good and bad days, a week and a half later, my hearing returned, with very minor tinnitus that may stay forever.
I have had to have blood tests to rule out any autoimmune diseases, an MRI to rule out a tumour (awaiting results) and was lined up for steroid injections into my ear drum if the oral steroids didn't work.
The reason I'm sharing this, is that I had no idea this could happen and want to make people aware! It's called Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss and most cases are idiopathic (no cause), but is essentially a misscommunication problem between your inner ear and brain. It usually happens in one ear only.
Some people hear a pop before their hearing goes, others, like me wake up to find their hearing gone. Your ear will feel full. You will likely have tinnitus. Some people experience vertigo, which can mean the chances of your hearing returning is lessened.
If you experience this please go to the docotors ASAP. I was lucky to see an ENT specialist who knew what it was straight away. The sooner you can start steroids, the better chance you have of regaining your hearing. There is no guarantee it won't happen again, but I believe the chances are low.
I will never take the birds singing or my kids voices for granted again. ❤️
Thanks for reading and share for awareness! 😘
Charlotte x
