In June 2019 I'd gone to bed, as normal, like any other evening, only to awoken at 3am by what sounded like a car alarm. I tried to ignore it and get back to sleep, but it sounded too loud to be coming from outside, so sleepily I went to check the smoke alarms. As soon as I left my bedroom I realised the sound was neither increasing or decreasing in volume and came to the slow realisation that the ringing was in my own head. I also felt like I'd just landed from a flight with that pressure feeling of my right ear needing to be popped. The more I became aware of my own senses, the more I discovered about my current situation.
No matter how many tips and tricks I tried to equalise the pressure inside my head, it was impossible. I noted that the ringing was only in my right ear, same as the feeling of pressure, but then came the most distressing discovery - I had zero hearing in my right ear.
Becoming a little frantic, I searched Dr Google for clues, sticking only to reputable websites such as the NHS, RNID and Tinnitus UK. I was becoming more and more frantic about my situation and at 5am called the NHS on 111. No, I didn't bang my head. No, I haven't been listening to loud music. No, I don't feel sick, dizzy or have any other symptoms. I must have said that to about six different health professionals that morning. No one could explain what happened, each being more flummoxed than the previous. I was advised to attend A&E about five miles away or my local Minor Injuries Unit, which opened at 8am and was only a short walk.
Considering that I was not sure of my ability to drive and that I knew the ENT department was located in this hospital, I opted to wait a few hours and make my way to the local hospital. As the early hours gave way to the dawn I started to experience immense pain in the affected ear but opted not to take pain killers in case they masked any of the symptoms and made diagnosis more difficult.
I set out for the hospital and into a new world full of danger and fear. I couldn't tell where noises were coming from, making every sound a cause to be scared out of my wits. I didn't trust crossing the road and was terrified of passing cars. A 10 minute walk turned into a 25 minute nightmare, but I had no option to keep going. I was first in line for when the department opened and by this time, in floods of tears - from pain, from fear. The lovely woman on reception completely empathised with my situation but couldn't help me. Because I hadn't had an "injury" she was unable to admit me and advised me to attend A&E. There was a shuttle bus between the two hospitals which I could catch. I boarded the bus, but after two stops I began to experience motion sickness (something I have only ever had on boats) and jumped off to be sick. The fresh air seemed to right me, but now I was stuck with no way of getting to A&E.
I had got off the bus just outside town and there was a walk-in service ten minutes away. I made my way, in floods of tears, sleep deprived and in pain. Not one of the many people I passed stopped to ask me if I was okay. When I got to the walk-in centre, I finally got to see a qualified health professional and they investigated my ear. When they put the otoscope into my ear, the pain was excruciating, but I couldn't hear the sound of it being inside my ear. This confirmed to me that I had lost all of my hearing. The nurses - a senior nurse came in for a second opinion at the request of her colleague - could find no indication of any infection, damage or any other reason why this had happened. They prescribed me some antibiotics and sent me on my way.
I'm pretty sure that taking antibiotics when you don't need them is a bad thing. I wasn't happy with the treatment and lack of explanation as to what had happened, so I made a call to my GP. They agreed not to take the antibiotics and made me an emergency appointment to come straight into the surgery. I'm very lucky to live in a city where everything is so close at hand. I was 30 minutes away and walked with purpose, still crying to my GP practice. On the way I started to hear music inside my own head. I became worried that I was having a psychotic episode and this scared me even more. I have since learned that this is a rare form of tinnitus. Unfortunately, my own GP who I've known for over ten years was unavailable and I saw the locum GP. More painful looks inside my ear canal and some tests with a tuning fork, which also tests as to whether I had any hearing through bone conduction. I didn't. A second GP - a senior partner - also came to look at my ear and again nothing could be found to indicate what had happened, although they did say my ear canal looked inflamed (probably form all the prodding!). They gave me some advice for some herbal remedies and stated they would give me a call back the next day. The following day bought no new insight and I was advised to wait over the weekend, this now being Friday, to see if there had been any improvement.
There wasn't and I was asked to come back into the practice to see another GP as my own was still not available. When the young, surfer looking, GP called my name I'm ashamed to admit my heart sank. He performed them same test the other doctors had done five days ago, but this time he phoned the ENT department at the hospital and made polite small talk while we waited to speak to a consultant. The consultant advised that I should have been put on steroids immediately and I was prescribed a rather strong dose, but too late. To even have a chance of being fully effective they must be taken within 72 hours of the loss of hearing. However, I was given an appointment at the ENT department for a few days later to begin the investigations as to what had happened and why.
If this is happening to you, I cannot emphasise this enough:
SUDDEN HEARING LOSS IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY!
Insist that you are referred immediately to ENT, by phone, and don't take a wait and see approach for an answer.
