SYMPTOMS OF SUDDEN HEARING LOSS

definition

Sudden hearing loss describes a hearing loss that is usually acute and of an unclear cause. The sudden hearing loss is usually limited to one ear, but in rare cases it can also occur on both sides. Sudden hearing loss is characterized by hearing loss, which can vary from a slight hearing loss to absolute deafness.

Symptoms

A sudden hearing loss can often be accompanied by ringing in the ears and a feeling of pressure in the affected ear.

The primary symptoms of sudden hearing loss are, on the one hand, acute and subjective hearing loss in one ear. This occurs suddenly, i.e. within 24 hours. Hearing loss can affect only one, but also several frequencies (pitches).

A ringing in the ears or so-called ringing in the affected ear (tinnitus) and a feeling of pressure, which can occur in the affected ear, are further symptoms of sudden hearing loss. Patients usually describe these symptoms as the feeling of hearing everything only through an earplug or cotton wool.

Furthermore, a dizziness occur (see: Dizziness from diseases of the ear). This means that spatial perception is generally disturbed and you have the feeling that your own body or the space around you is fluctuating.

Another symptom of sudden hearing loss is a furry feeling around the auricle (periaural dysesthesia). This is called anesthetized or "cotton wool“Feeling of skin on the affected ear and the skin around the ear.

Other symptoms and hearing impairments that occur with sudden hearing loss are:

Dysacusis (Deafness)

Hyperacusis (Hypersensitivity to sounds of normal volume)

Diplakusis (Double-tone listening).

Under one Dysacusis one generally understands a Deafness. This can result from an imprecise understanding of texts, words or sounds, but also from distorted hearing perception or increased (Hyperacusis) or decreased (Hypoacusis) Make hearing perception noticeable. Sounds can also be perceived differently in both ears, i.e. the sick and the healthy.

Under one Diplakusis one understands a so-called Double-tone listening, that is, a double perception of a tone. This happens either through the different perceptions of both ears or the echo-like hearing in the affected ear.

It can also Directional hearing to be disabled. You can no longer assign sounds to their place of origin, since directional hearing is impaired by the diseased ear.

Secondary symptoms are concomitant symptoms that only appear in the course of the disease. Often these are only triggered by the disease itself. In the case of sudden hearing loss, this includes a reduced quality of life due to the hearing impairment. The reduced quality of life is due to both the deteriorated perception of the environment and the exposure to additional symptoms such as Tinnitus, dizziness or affects the feeling of pressure on the ear. Furthermore, in the course of a sudden hearing loss, a Anxiety disorder occur. This can have its origin in the uncertainty about the disease and the restriction in everyday life.

Sudden hearing loss is typically a painless disease, so there is no pain in the affected ear or surrounding area.