Curious Case of Sudden and Complete Hearing Loss Without
Any Prior Indications
~Jogesh experienced sudden hearing loss, even without any prior symptoms ~
January 12, 2018 – Ahmedabad –Jogesh Patel visited HCG Hospitals, Ahmedabad in mid December with a complaint of sudden and complete hearing loss in the left ear. On preliminary screening by our ENT specialist Dr. Sohil Vadiya it was revealed that Jogesh never experienced any symptoms that could indicate that he has an ear problem, which will lead to complete and sudden hearing loss. On further examination, Jogesh was diagnosed with Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Deafness (ISSD).
ISSD is a condition in which a person experiences complete hearing loss in mostly one of the ears, due to unknown reasons. Despite the best care the recovery rate is just 50% if the standard plan of treatment is followed. However, when Jogesh visited Dr. Sohil, he was suffering from an infection in the left hand and thus, the IV steroid injection or Oral steroid tablets were ruled out as this would have been aggravated the infection in the hand and may lead to serious consequences in the arm. Therefore, Dr. Sohil Vadiya advised an injection through the eardrum, under the microscopic guidance, which is known as an intra tympanic steroid injection. The decision of injecting steroid into intra tympanic compartment would cause a localized effect in ear and not affect any other body part. This is fairly a new modality of treatment for such cases and if taken in time, it surely enhances the chances of recovery.
Adding more on this Dr. Sohil Vadiya ENT Specialist and Endoscopist, HCG Hospitals Ahmedabad said, “Since, the injection was to be administered directly in the eardrum, I had to convince the patient on its safety aspects. The first intra tympanic injection was administered on 18th Dec and second injection on 22nd Dec, 17 and he started hearing in 4 days after the second injection. Now, his hearing capability is back to 50% already and further improvement is expected in the days to come. This treatment does not result in any permanent hole in the eardrum, in most cases. However, any delay in administering the injection would lead to lesser chances of recovery. Ideally, corrective action should be taken within 24 hours of identifying the condition for better recovery
Jogesh Patel, Patient said, “Initially, I was unable to even hear the loud calls of my family members. People had to shout at the top of their voice to make me hear. We were worried that losing hearing sense at the age of 25 years will end me up with a dark future. But, after the treatment, I’m able to hear voices at normal levels. Nobody can judge that I have had a hearing problem. I’m grateful to the HCG team for treating us well and supporting us throughout the treatment.“
