Anyone Else Experienced Hearing Loss?

[dawncreason]

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced hearing loss associated with their MS. About a month ago, I lost the majority of my hearing in my right ear. It's not that I can't hear anything so much as it feels like their is a lot of 'white noise'. Three times since then, I've experienced vertigo so extreme it has left me vomiting and dizzy for hours. I have done two rounds of prednisone (a tapered dose beginning with 400 mg). My hearing will occasionally improve, but after several days, the 'pressure' in my ear and hearing loss returns. The only thing that seems to relieve it is the episode of vertigo/vomiting. My neurologist is confident that this is a relapse of my MS, but I'd love to hear from some of you and your experiences.

[Justsayyes]

Yes, I had severe hearing loss, went to the ENT who scoped sinuses to rule out a few things. Audiologist tested my hearing. Had a MRI to rule out acoustic neuroma. Went on 40 mg. prednisone for about 6 weeks. My hearing returned. Neuro and ENT don't agree on whether it is the MS or some other factor that caused this. I had a new brainstem lesion, but they didn't think it was in the right place to cause the loss.

About a year or so later, returned to audiologist, and my ear that had the loss was now better than the other ear, in fact oversensitive to noise. Always something!

[andi b]

I saw an ENT about a year ago for ringing in my ears; the audiologist detected a 20% difference in hearing acuity between my left and right ears. He ruled out an acoustic neuroma by looking at my MRI that was done the previous month. Said the hearing loss and ringing were most likely due to the MS.

So over the past weekend, I've been very dizzy, ears still ringing like sirens; contacted my neuro by email and described the whole scenario... she responded that she thought it didn't sound like an MS issue... more a peripheral issue. I was relieved but thought... what the heck...

[22cyclist]

I have had it on one side after I woke up with a numb ear, sudden loss of hearing. I went to the ENT doc. They did some tests and decided it was central instead of peripheral. In about a week I began to have trouble speaking normally, my ear recovered. I couldn't swallow normally. My MRI showed a lesion at on the left side (the same side my ear was bothering me), at the medullary pontine. I was dizzy, nauseous, the whole works. The dizziness and nausea never went away. Occasionally I will get hearing loss in that ear, but it is not permanent.

Same thing happened in my right ear with all the same symptoms not too long ago. I was hospitalized because this time I could not swallow water. Still can't. My ear recovered, but the other symptoms did not. Lesion in the same area on the right side.

Sometimes the ears are connected to MS. It seems to be short term, which I am thankful for.

Good luck to everyone else!

Lisa
Moderation Team

[justacowgirl]

Hearing loss and loss of sight were my first experieces with ms. Everything came back for me within limits. I hate this diseaSe.
J

[fishead]

Hearing loss in my right ear. 2 years ago, my Neuro said it "couldn't possibly be MS". Now I see I am not only one. This Neuro brushes EVERYthing off.

Glad you started this thread.