When Is an Intratympanic Steroid Injection Considered for Sudden Hearing Loss?

It often starts with something small. A phone pressed to the wrong ear, a conversation that sounds as if it is coming from another room, a full, blocked feeling that a yawn will not clear. Many people assume wax or a cold and wait a few days. Then an audiologist runs a hearing test, the specialist uses the phrase sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and a question that seemed abstract becomes urgent: is an intratympanic steroid injection for sudden hearing loss something I should be having, and if so, when?

The honest answer is that this treatment has a fairly specific place. It is not the first thing offered to everyone, and it is not a last resort for everyone either. Where it fits depends on how many days have passed, what the hearing test shows, and whether swallowing steroid tablets is a safe option for you.

This explainer walks through the mechanism, the appointment itself, the timing windows written into guidelines, and what the evidence can and cannot promise.

What is sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL)?

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, usually shortened to SSHL or SSNHL, is a rapid drop in hearing caused by a problem in the inner ear or the hearing nerve rather than a blockage in the ear canal or middle ear. The word sensorineural is the key: it tells you the fault lies in the cochlea, the snail-shaped organ that turns sound vibrations into nerve signals, or in the nerve that carries those signals to the brain.

Clinicians use a working definition. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (part of the NIH), SSHL is typically defined as a loss of at least 30 decibels across three connected frequencies, developing over 72 hours or less. Thirty decibels is roughly the difference between normal conversation and a whisper, so people notice it. Some wake up with it. Others hear a pop or a rush before the world goes muffled.

The same NIH source estimates that SSHL affects between 1 and 6 people per 5,000 each year, that it usually affects one ear, and that in about nine in ten cases no specific cause is ever identified. When no cause is found, doctors call it idiopathic, which simply means of unknown origin. Tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ear) accompanies it in many people, and some also feel dizzy or off balance.

Two facts shape everything that follows. First, roughly half of people with idiopathic SSHL recover some or all of their hearing on their own, usually within one to two weeks, according to the NIH. Second, the treatments that exist are believed to work best when started early. That combination, a condition that often improves by itself yet may respond to prompt treatment, is why sudden hearing loss is treated as an urgent problem even when it does not hurt.

What could be causing sudden muffled hearing in one ear without any pain?

Painless muffled hearing on one side has a long list of possible explanations, and most of them are not sensorineural at all. Earwax pressed against the eardrum is the commonest. Fluid behind the eardrum after a cold or during allergy season is another, and so is a blocked Eustachian tube, the narrow passage that equalizes pressure between the middle ear and the back of the nose. All of these are conductive problems: sound is physically stopped on its way in. They tend to improve when the blockage clears.

The first job of any clinician is to tell conductive loss from sensorineural loss. A simple tuning fork test in the room can point one way or the other, and a formal hearing test confirms it. The AAO-HNS clinical practice guideline on sudden hearing loss makes this distinction its opening recommendation, precisely because a wax plug and a cochlear injury feel almost identical to the person experiencing them.

When the loss turns out to be sensorineural, suspected causes include viral infection of the inner ear, a disturbance of the tiny blood vessels that feed the cochlea, autoimmune inner ear disease, head injury, certain medicines that are toxic to the inner ear, and Ménière’s disease (an inner ear disorder that brings episodes of vertigo, fluctuating hearing and pressure). Very occasionally, a benign growth on the hearing and balance nerve, known as a vestibular schwannoma or acoustic neuroma, presents this way. The guideline recommends MRI or other evaluation of the nerve pathway for this reason, even though such growths are found in only a small minority of people.

The practical message: painless does not mean harmless. A quick examination can settle in minutes whether this is wax that needs clearing or an inner ear problem that needs a time-sensitive plan.

Why the first two weeks matter so much

Ask specialists what frustrates them most about sudden hearing loss and many will say the same thing: people arrive late. Not because they were careless, but because a muffled ear feels like a nuisance rather than an emergency. Guidelines treat it differently.

The AAO-HNS guideline recommends that clinicians may offer corticosteroids as initial therapy within two weeks of symptom onset. The NIH advises that treatment ideally begins within that same two-week window, and notes that waiting two to four weeks before seeking care appears to lower the chance of hearing improvement. Steroids are thought to help by calming inflammation and swelling inside the cochlea; the working theory is that hair cells and nerve fibers under stress can recover if the environment settles quickly, but that prolonged injury becomes permanent.

This urgency is why an intratympanic injection is sometimes discussed at the very first specialist visit rather than weeks later. If a person cannot safely take oral steroids, or if the team prefers to deliver medicine directly to the ear alongside tablets, waiting for tablets to fail would burn through the most valuable days.

It is also why the same guideline says clinicians should not order routine blood tests or CT scans of the head as a first step in most people. Those tests rarely change what happens next, and they can delay the hearing test and the treatment conversation. What does change the plan is an audiogram, the chart from a formal hearing test, ideally within the first 14 days, so that the degree of loss is documented and any later improvement can be measured against it.

None of this means hope is lost after two weeks. The salvage window for injections, discussed below, stretches longer. But the earlier the assessment, the more options the team has to offer.

How does an intratympanic steroid injection for sudden hearing loss work?

Intratympanic means through the eardrum. The idea is disarmingly simple: instead of swallowing a corticosteroid and letting the bloodstream carry a fraction of it to the inner ear, a clinician places a small volume of steroid solution directly into the middle ear, the air-filled space behind the eardrum. From there, the medicine soaks through a thin membrane called the round window, one of two natural openings between the middle ear and the fluid-filled cochlea.

Why go to that trouble? The cochlea is protected by a blood-labyrinth barrier, a filter similar to the blood-brain barrier that limits what passes from blood into inner ear fluid. Oral steroids have to cross that barrier, and studies in animals and humans suggest that placing steroid against the round window achieves far higher levels in the cochlear fluid than tablets can, while exposing the rest of the body to very little of the drug.

That second point is the practical selling point for many patients. Systemic corticosteroids, meaning steroids taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, can raise blood sugar, raise blood pressure, disturb sleep and mood, and irritate the stomach. Because the injected steroid mostly stays in the ear, those effects are largely avoided. Corticosteroids commonly used for this purpose are generic medicines such as dexamethasone or methylprednisolone; which one, and in what form, is a decision for the prescribing clinician.

What the injection does inside the cochlea is thought to mirror what steroids do elsewhere: dampen inflammation, reduce swelling and improve the local environment for stressed cells. Whether the hair cells recover depends on how badly they were injured before treatment started, which the injection cannot change. That is the mechanism in one line: deliver more medicine, to the right place, with fewer whole-body effects.

What actually happens during a steroid injection in the ear for hearing loss?

The appointment is shorter than most people expect and takes place in a clinic chair, not an operating room. You lie back or recline with the affected ear facing up. The clinician looks into the ear canal with a microscope or otoscope to check the eardrum is intact and the canal is clear of wax.

Next comes numbing. A topical anesthetic is applied to the surface of the eardrum, either as a drop or a small soaked pledget, and left for several minutes. Some clinicians use a brief spray or a tiny amount of anesthetic injected into the canal skin instead. The eardrum is thin and sensitive, so this step matters for comfort.

The injection itself takes seconds. A very fine needle passes through the ear canal and through the eardrum, usually in its lower half, and the steroid solution fills the middle ear space. Many people describe a cool or full feeling, a brief sting, and sometimes a moment of dizziness as the cool fluid touches the inner ear. Some clinicians make a second tiny opening to let air escape so the fluid flows in smoothly.

Then the least glamorous and arguably most useful part: lying still. You keep the treated ear up for roughly 15 to 30 minutes and are asked not to swallow, talk or yawn more than necessary. Every swallow opens the Eustachian tube, and fluid that drains down into the throat is fluid that never reaches the round window. A slightly bitter taste afterward is common and simply means a little did escape.

You can usually go home the same day. Water should be kept out of the ear until the pinprick opening has sealed, typically within days. A repeat injection may be arranged as part of a short series, spaced over a few weeks, with hearing retested between visits so the team can see whether the trend is moving.

When is an intratympanic steroid injection for sudden hearing loss considered: first choice, add-on or salvage?

Guidelines describe three doorways into this treatment, and the one you walk through depends mostly on timing and on your wider health.

The first doorway is initial therapy. The AAO-HNS guideline states that clinicians may offer intratympanic steroids, oral steroids or both as initial treatment within two weeks of onset, and treats them as reasonable alternatives rather than ranking one above the other. In practice, injections often become the initial choice when oral steroids are risky. The NIH specifically mentions people with diabetes, whose blood sugar can climb sharply on systemic steroids, and the same logic applies to poorly controlled high blood pressure, glaucoma, active stomach ulcers, recent serious infection, pregnancy, and a history of steroid-triggered mood disturbance. Some people simply prefer to avoid whole-body steroid effects, and that preference counts.

The second doorway is combination. Some teams offer injections alongside a course of oral steroids from the start, reasoning that two routes may deliver more medicine to the cochlea than either alone. The guideline allows this, while noting that evidence for added benefit over a single route remains limited and mixed.

The third doorway, and the one most often searched for, is salvage. Salvage intratympanic steroids means injections offered when hearing has not recovered adequately after an initial course of treatment. Here the guideline is more definite: clinicians should offer, or refer for, intratympanic steroid therapy when there is incomplete recovery from SSHL, and it frames the usual window as roughly two to six weeks after onset. The reasoning is that the cochlea appears to retain some capacity to respond during this period, and that a different route may reach cells that tablets did not.

Notice what is missing from all three doorways: a promise. The guideline uses the words may offer and should offer, not will restore. Your specialist weighs the audiogram, the days elapsed, your other conditions and your own priorities, then makes a recommendation you can question and shape. The final call sits with that treating team.

Who is usually asked to wait, and who is not a good candidate?

Not everyone with a muffled ear should be booked for an injection, and a careful specialist will explain why they are holding back as clearly as why they might proceed.

People asked to wait often fall into a few groups. Someone whose loss is conductive, caused by wax, fluid or a middle ear infection, gains nothing from steroid in the middle ear and needs a different plan entirely. Someone whose hearing test already shows recovery under way after a few days of oral steroids may be advised to continue and retest rather than add a procedure. Someone with an active ear infection or draining ear is usually asked to let that settle first, because introducing a needle into an infected space raises the risk of complications. And someone with a known perforation of the eardrum needs an alternative route of delivery, since the fluid would simply leak out.

Timing shapes candidacy too. The AAO-HNS guideline centers the salvage recommendation on the two-to-six-week window. Beyond that, injections are not forbidden, but the likelihood that inflammation is still the limiting factor falls, and the conversation shifts toward rehabilitation with hearing devices. Conversely, a person seen on day one with mild loss and no risk factors may reasonably start with oral steroids alone, with injections held in reserve.

A few situations call for extra caution rather than exclusion. A history of severe vertigo can make the brief dizziness after injection more distressing. Anticoagulant use is generally not a barrier, because the puncture is tiny, but the team will want to know. Very anxious patients, or those who cannot lie still for the resting period, may be offered sedation or a different approach.

The point is that eligibility is not a checkbox. It is a judgment that balances how much benefit remains plausible against a small but real procedural risk, and it can change from one hearing test to the next.

Oral steroids, injections or both: how the options compare

Patients often ask for a straight comparison, so here is one, drawn from the AAO-HNS guideline and the NIH overview. Read the table as a map of roles, not a ranking.

Option	How medicine reaches the cochlea	Usual role in guidelines	Main trade-offs
Oral corticosteroids	Absorbed into blood, a fraction crosses into inner ear fluid	Initial therapy within two weeks of onset	Convenient; whole-body effects on blood sugar, blood pressure, sleep and mood
Intratympanic steroid injection	Placed in middle ear, diffuses across round window	Initial therapy when oral steroids unsuitable; salvage at two to six weeks	High local levels, minimal systemic exposure; needle through eardrum, transient dizziness, small perforation risk
Combined oral and intratympanic	Both routes at once	Permitted as initial therapy	Possible additive delivery; evidence of extra benefit is limited
Hyperbaric oxygen plus steroids	Raises oxygen in blood and inner ear fluid	Optional add-on within two weeks (initial) or within one month (salvage)	Requires access to a chamber and repeated sessions; evidence quality is low
Observation with retesting	No medicine	Reasonable when recovery is already evident or treatment declined	Relies on spontaneous recovery, which the NIH puts at about half of cases

A useful anchor is a randomized trial published in JAMA that compared oral steroids with intratympanic injections as initial treatment in 250 people with idiopathic SSHL. Hearing improvement in the two groups was statistically similar, with an average difference of about two decibels, which the authors interpreted as non-inferiority. That result is the backbone of the guideline’s willingness to treat the routes as alternatives, and it is why the choice so often comes down to your medical history and preference rather than to which route is stronger.

Intratympanic steroid injection side effects: what to expect

The most reassuring thing to say about intratympanic steroid injection side effects is also the most accurate: they are mostly brief, mostly local and mostly predictable. The AAO-HNS guideline lists pain, transient dizziness, infection and persistent perforation of the eardrum as the principal risks, and asks clinicians to discuss them before proceeding.

Pain is usually limited to the moment of the needle and a dull ache for a few hours. Good topical anesthesia makes a real difference, which is why the numbing step is not rushed. Dizziness or a spinning sensation can occur when the solution touches the inner ear, especially if it is cooler than body temperature; many clinicians warm it for this reason. The sensation typically fades within minutes to an hour, though it is wise to have someone drive you home the first time.

Hearing often feels more blocked immediately after the injection, simply because fluid is sitting in the middle ear. This clears as the fluid drains through the Eustachian tube over the following hours. A bitter taste is common for the same reason.

Less common problems include a middle ear infection, which would announce itself with increasing pain, discharge or fever, and a perforation that fails to close. Most needle punctures heal within days; a small percentage do not, and a persistent hole may need a minor repair later. The guideline does not assign a single figure to this risk, and reported rates vary between studies, so ask your own clinician what they have observed.

What the injection largely avoids are the whole-body effects of oral steroids. Blood sugar spikes, blood pressure rises, insomnia, irritability and stomach irritation are far less likely because very little steroid reaches the circulation. For people with diabetes in particular, this trade, a brief procedural discomfort in exchange for sparing the rest of the body, is the reason the injection is on the table at all.

What do the following days and weeks usually look like?

The first few hours are the strangest. The treated ear feels full, sounds are dull, and there may be a faint bitter taste as some of the solution finds its way to the throat. Most people rest for the remainder of the day and return to normal activities by the next morning. Keeping the ear dry, avoiding forceful nose blowing and skipping swimming until the clinician confirms the eardrum has sealed are the usual requests.

Hearing does not typically change overnight, and expecting it to can be demoralizing. Recovery, when it happens, tends to be gradual and is measured on audiograms rather than felt hour to hour. Your team will usually repeat the hearing test between injections in a series and again after the course ends, comparing each chart with the baseline taken at diagnosis.

The AAO-HNS guideline recommends a follow-up audiogram within six months of diagnosis, whichever treatment was used, to document the final outcome. The NIH notes that spontaneous improvement most often occurs within one to two weeks of onset, so the early weeks are when changes are most likely to appear; slower gains can continue for a while afterward, but plateaus are common by a few months.

Tinnitus and a sense of fullness may linger even when the audiogram improves, and they may also ease as hearing returns. Balance symptoms, if present at the start, usually settle as the brain adapts.

If hearing does not recover, the follow-up visit is not a dead end. The guideline asks clinicians to counsel people with residual hearing loss and tinnitus about the possible benefits of amplification and hearing-assistive technology. That conversation covers conventional hearing aids, systems that route sound from the poorer ear to the better one, and, for profound single-sided loss, implantable devices. Each has its own assessment pathway, and the audiology team leads it.

What does the evidence actually show about sudden sensorineural hearing loss treatment?

This is where honesty matters more than reassurance. The evidence base for every sudden sensorineural hearing loss treatment is weaker than most people assume, and the AAO-HNS guideline says so plainly, grading most of its treatment recommendations as options or as recommendations based on low to moderate quality evidence.

Three problems make the research hard. First, about half of people recover spontaneously, per the NIH, so any treatment given early will look effective unless it is compared against a control group. Second, the condition is uncommon, so trials are small. Third, studies define recovery differently, which makes them hard to pool.

Against that background, what can be said with reasonable confidence? Corticosteroids started within two weeks are the only treatment class with enough evidence for the guideline to recommend offering them. The JAMA randomized trial of 250 people found intratympanic injections and oral steroids produced similar hearing gains as initial therapy. For salvage, the guideline concludes that intratympanic steroids offer a plausible chance of additional improvement after failed initial treatment, and grades this as a recommendation rather than an option, reflecting a more consistent signal across studies even though effect sizes vary.

The guideline is equally clear about what not to use. It recommends against routinely prescribing antivirals, thrombolytics, vasodilators, vasoactive substances or antioxidants for idiopathic SSHL, because the evidence does not support benefit and some carry harm. Hyperbaric oxygen sits in the middle: it may be offered alongside steroids, but the guideline rates the supporting evidence as low quality.

So the fair summary is this. Injections are a well-reasoned, guideline-endorsed way to deliver steroid to the cochlea, particularly when tablets are risky or have not worked. They are not a guarantee, and anyone who tells you a figure for your personal chance of recovery is speaking beyond what the studies can support.

What people often get wrong about sudden hearing loss

Myths cluster around this condition because it is rare, frightening and poorly understood. A few deserve direct correction.

The first is that painless hearing loss cannot be serious. It can. Most cases of SSHL involve no pain at all, and the NHS advises seeking urgent care for sudden hearing loss in one ear for exactly this reason. Pain points toward infection; its absence points nowhere in particular.

The second is that steroids are the treatment and the injection is just a stronger version of the tablet. In reality the two routes have been compared head to head and found broadly similar as initial therapy. The injection is chosen for who you are and when you present, not because it is inherently more powerful.

The third is that a single injection either works or does not. Treatment is usually a short series with hearing tests in between, and improvement, when it comes, is gradual. Judging the whole plan by how the ear feels an hour after the first appointment misleads people in both directions.

The fourth is that if the two-week window has passed, nothing can be done. The salvage window in the AAO-HNS guideline extends to around six weeks, and rehabilitation options exist at any stage.

The fifth is that recovery means tinnitus vanishes. Tinnitus often improves as hearing does, but it can persist even when the audiogram looks good, and it needs its own management plan.

The sixth, and perhaps the most damaging, is that hearing loss can be reversed by any determined person with the right supplements or devices bought online. No vitamin, herbal product or gadget has evidence for reversing sensorineural loss, and the guideline explicitly advises against antioxidant therapy for this condition. Money and time spent there are money and time not spent on the two-week window.

Questions to ask your care team

A good consultation is a conversation, and arriving with questions helps you shape it. These are the ones specialists say they wish more patients asked.

• Has my hearing test confirmed that this loss is sensorineural rather than conductive, and how severe is it in decibels?
• How many days have passed since onset, and which treatment window am I in according to current guidelines?
• Are you recommending the injection as my first treatment, alongside oral steroids, or as salvage after tablets? What tipped the decision?
• Given my medical history, are oral steroids safe for me, and what would you watch for if I took them?
• How will you numb the eardrum, and what should I expect to feel during and after the procedure?
• How will we measure whether the treatment is working, and when will my hearing be retested?
• What is your own experience of complications such as persistent perforation or infection?
• Do I need an MRI or other scan to check the hearing nerve, and when?
• What activities should I avoid after the injection, and for how long?
• If my hearing does not return, what rehabilitation options would you discuss with me, and who would lead that?
• Is there anything about my tinnitus or balance symptoms that needs separate attention?

Write the answers down or bring someone who can. People with a newly muffled ear often struggle to follow a rapid discussion, and the details of timing and follow-up matter. If any answer is unclear, ask for it in plain words; a specialist who can explain why they are recommending, or not recommending, an intratympanic injection is a specialist worth listening to. And remember that you are entitled to ask for time to think, provided the team explains how that pause fits within the treatment window.

When to call your doctor

Sudden hearing loss is one of the few ear complaints that should not wait for a routine appointment. The NHS advises asking for an urgent appointment or contacting an urgent care line if you suddenly lose hearing in one or both ears, and the NIH describes the condition as a medical emergency. Same-day contact with a primary care clinician, urgent care service or emergency department is appropriate, and asking directly for a hearing test and an ear specialist referral is reasonable.

Seek immediate emergency care, rather than an appointment, if hearing loss arrives together with any of the following red-flag signs:

• Sudden severe headache, especially with a stiff neck, fever or confusion
• Weakness, numbness or drooping on one side of the face or body, slurred speech or trouble walking, which can signal a stroke
• Severe spinning vertigo with vomiting that does not settle, or new double vision
• Hearing loss following a head injury or a blast or explosion
• High fever, a very painful ear, or pus draining from the ear canal

After an intratympanic injection, contact the team promptly if you develop increasing ear pain, discharge from the ear, fever, worsening hearing, or dizziness that lasts beyond a day. These may indicate infection or a perforation that needs attention.

In the weeks that follow, call if hearing in the treated ear suddenly drops again, if the other ear becomes affected, or if new balance problems appear. Fluctuating or bilateral loss changes the differential diagnosis and may prompt further investigation.

Your treating team knows your audiograms, your medical history and the timing of your treatment. Any decision to start, continue, pause or stop steroids, in any form, belongs with them, and the safest thing you can do with a new or changing symptom is to describe it to them quickly and let them judge.

Frequently asked questions

What could be causing my sudden hearing loss in my right ear?

The most common causes are conductive, such as earwax, fluid behind the eardrum or a blocked Eustachian tube, but sudden loss in one ear can also be sensorineural, arising in the inner ear or hearing nerve. Viral inflammation, small blood vessel problems, autoimmune disease, Ménière’s disease and, rarely, a benign nerve growth are possibilities. A same-day examination and hearing test can tell these apart.

What is sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL)?

SSHL is a rapid loss of hearing caused by damage or dysfunction in the cochlea or the hearing nerve, rather than a blockage. Clinicians usually define it as at least 30 decibels of loss across three connected frequencies developing within 72 hours. It generally affects one ear, is often accompanied by tinnitus or fullness, and in most cases no specific cause is found.

Can sudden hearing loss be reversed or fully treated?

Sometimes, but not always. The NIH estimates that about half of people with idiopathic sudden hearing loss recover some or all hearing spontaneously, usually within one to two weeks, and corticosteroids started within two weeks may improve the odds. Some people are left with permanent loss, for which hearing aids and other devices can help. No supplement or gadget has evidence of restoring sensorineural hearing.

Why is my hearing suddenly muffled in one ear with no pain?

Painless muffling is most often wax or fluid, but it is also the classic presentation of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, which rarely hurts. Because the two feel almost identical and one is time-sensitive, guidelines advise prompt assessment rather than waiting. A clinician can look in the ear and arrange a hearing test, ideally within the first two weeks of symptoms.

Does a steroid injection in the ear for hearing loss hurt?

Most people describe a brief sting as the needle passes through the numbed eardrum, followed by a cool, full sensation and sometimes a moment of dizziness. Topical anesthetic is applied beforehand to reduce discomfort. A dull ache for a few hours afterward is common. Increasing pain, discharge or fever afterward is not expected and should be reported to the treating team.

How many intratympanic steroid injections are usually needed?

There is no fixed number. Treatment is often given as a short series spread over a few weeks, with hearing tests between visits so the specialist can judge whether to continue. Protocols vary between clinicians and studies, and the AAO-HNS guideline does not mandate a single schedule. Your ear specialist will decide the plan based on your audiograms and response.

When are salvage intratympanic steroids offered?

Salvage injections are considered when hearing has not recovered adequately after initial steroid treatment. The AAO-HNS guideline recommends offering intratympanic steroids in this situation, typically within two to six weeks of the original onset. Beyond that window benefit becomes less likely, though it is not ruled out, and the conversation usually broadens to include hearing rehabilitation.

Is an intratympanic steroid injection safer than oral steroids if I have diabetes?

Often it is preferred, because very little of the injected steroid reaches the bloodstream, so blood sugar is far less likely to spike than with oral steroids. The NIH specifically notes that intratympanic therapy may be used for people who cannot take oral steroids, such as those with diabetes. Your specialist will weigh this against the small procedural risks.

Can I fly or swim after an intratympanic injection?

Swimming and getting water in the ear are usually discouraged until the clinician confirms the tiny needle opening has sealed, typically within days. Flying is generally not restricted, though some people notice pressure changes more in the treated ear while fluid remains in the middle ear. Ask your treating team for specific advice, since it depends on your eardrum and your follow-up schedule.

What happens if the injections do not restore my hearing?

The team will document your final hearing on a follow-up audiogram, recommended within six months of diagnosis, and discuss rehabilitation. Options include conventional hearing aids, devices that route sound from the poorer ear to the better one, and for profound single-sided loss, implantable devices assessed by an implant team. Tinnitus management and balance therapy can also be arranged if needed.

References

• NIH NIDCD: Sudden Deafness
• Clinical Practice Guideline: Sudden Hearing Loss (Update), Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (PubMed)
• Oral vs Intratympanic Corticosteroid Therapy for Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Randomized Trial, JAMA (PubMed)
• NHS: Hearing loss

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.