MS related Hearing Loss

[gomer]

Yes I have a hearing loss, anyone else here?

While hearing loss is not real common MS Sx, estimates range from about 6 to 10+ percent of MS patients have hearing loss caused by MS.

If YOUR hearing loss was attributed to (caused by) MS, what tests did you have to make this determination?

Thanks for your input .

Doc Gomer Doctor of, Been There, Done That.

[crazy legs]

Unexplained hearing loss was my first "symptom" , but because I was healthy and had no other issues, it was never investigated and is therefore permanent.

A year later I had arm weakness on the same side as the hearing loss , was sent to a neurologist and was diagnosed with MS.This neurologist did not believe that my hearing loss was due to MS.

However, I have had many audiograms since then and an audiologist who specialized in MS- related hearing loss is positive that my hearing loss pattern is totally due to MS.

Whenever I have a mild flare or am tired, etc, my hearing is the first thing to go and I have constant bells, whistles, noises etc in my ears. A year ago I had a flare in which I lost hearing in my "good" ear but it came back completely because I knew enough to get it checked right away.

So, although it is believed to be a rarer symptom, I think that anything goes with MS..it affects people in so many different ways.

Hope that helps you!
Pam

[hunterd]

hey doc, i wear a hearing aide. mri showed a lesion that was thought to be the only cause for the loss of hearing. i also had some tests done by the ent people but i don`t remember what they were. the audioligist said that hearing loss was common among her patients (that had ms) because of lesions. good luck.

dave

[rubberlegs]

Yes , but my neuro never pays any attention to my hearing complaint and constant ringing. I might have no even mentioned it this year since I never get any feed back regarding non stop ringing in ears.

[cocogirl]

Doc, yes I have the periodic hearing loss like the periodic vision loss. I have gone to an ENT and had audiologist do the hearing test and yes they say it is MS.

Rubberlegs, yes I have ringing in the ears all the time. My brother had that and eventually became deaf in one ear and nearly total loss in the other. He was dxd with RA in the inner ear bones. They say he will not be dizzy anymore with this when he goes deaf in the other ear. That's some consolation.

[Justsayyes]

Hi Gomer! When I developed sudden hearing loss, family doc said just take a decongestant and wait 6 weeks....

I opted to go to an ENT, he scoped my sinuses, checked for Eustachian tube problems, everything looked good. Audiologist did hearing test, voice discrimination was almost non-existent, the loss was profound in that ear. It felt oddly painful to have muffled hearing.

ENT ordered MRI to rule out acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor that can have my symptoms.

MRI was compared to previous MRI, it showed a new brainstem lesion in the Pons area. ENT consulted with neuro, they could not determine if this lesion was the culprit as it didn't seem to be in the right location.

ENT put me on 40 mg. prednisone a day and we saw improvement in a week, continued the prednisone for about 6 weeks. My hearing did return. I am so thankful I found an ENT and didn't just wait.

(A friend of mine also has hearing loss, they suspect triggered by a virus, that's another story.....)

[2snowflakes]

I noticed "moderate" hearing loss (to me it's bad!) on my left side exactly six months after optic neuritis left my right eye blind. I've been to three ENTs and all three of them diagnosed it as otosclerosis (no, not related to multiple sclerosis!) which is a rare cause of hearing loss.

I myself don't fully believe it's otosclerosis. Just find it extremely interesting that I would have vision *and* hearing loss within six months of each other. Neither vision nor hearing has ever cleared up.

I also have major tinnitus-clicking in the ear with hearing loss and pulsatile tinnitus on both sides. My guess is that it is all MS related but not sure about the pulsatile stuff. Think that is a vascular problem. One of the reasons I am very interested in CCSVI.

[justacowgirl]

Hey doc

Hearing loss was my original symptom. Lost it all in one ear because of huge distortion; and got beeping in my other ear. Very weird. Went to a GP who blew me off so went to an ENT who did the whole battery of audiology tests in a sound proof booth and determined I had NO hearing loss but instead sent me for the MRI whammo...MRI/MS.

My hearing did come back and I believe fully functional. I do however get the beeps when I am very tired or dehydrated.

whadyasay?

Justacowgirl

[rubberlegs]

cocogirl
lol it strikes me funny! It will go away once I go deaf!
what will capt Kirk have to say about that!, capt Kirk William Shatner has been the only thing that my dr recommend, since he is in a ringing in ear society. How funny is that!
I guess I need to act like a ****** to my Dr's to get anywhere with it.