46 days after SSHL in right ear, glad I found this subreddit
On the 28th of June I woke up at around 3:00AM, I felt my right ear as if it was clogged and I practically couldn't hear anything out of it.
Two days later I went to the doctor (a general practitioner) after realizing it wasn't getting any better, the doctor told me it was a middle ear infection (otitis media) and that my eardrum was kind of red and visibly inflamed. He prescribed to me antibiotics and a non steroidal antinflamatory. (I later figured out that he was just saying that so I left his office, my eardrum wasn't neither red or inflamed. Since it was a public health care Dr he wasn't really able to do much about SSHL).
About 4 days later, after seeing no improvement with this treatment, I went back to the same doctor. He told me straight up that I had either otitis media or nerve damage, and if it was the latter there was no way of fixing it, so I was better of just waiting to see what happened next. He even adviced not to pay out of pocket for an appointment with an ENT since I'd be "wasting a bunch of money". (I got him to send me to a specialist after insisting, but the appointment was set for almost 2 months later, to date I still have to wait more than 20 days).
After researching a whole lot through the internet I figured I was suffering from SSHL, so I paid out of pocket to get some exams done and to get an appointment with an ENT.
When I went to the ENT for the first time 10 days had already passed since I got SSHL, and the doctor confirmed to me that my eardrum looked normal, I had no blockages, and that it was almost certainly SSHL. She prescribed me a 30mg daily dose of oral corticosteroids for 7 days and Ginkgo Bilova for the same amount of time, twice a day. Also, she pretty much told me I had already lost my right ear, and to be glad we come to this earth with two of them lol, so no going to loud places and stuff like that.
I, as you might assume, was not feeling satisfied regarding her medical opinion. Plus, she never even mentioned that intratympanic therapy was even a thing, or that HBOT was even an option. Fortunately I had stumbled across this subreddit a few days before this appointment so I had already done my fair share of research.
Two days later I went to another ENT with whom I booked an appointment right after I got out of the other's doctors office. This time it was someone who actually knew what they were doing, he gave me the shot right away and the same day I started seeing improvement.
A few days after the second shot I had another round of exams done, my hearing loss had gone from severe to mild. Being almost normal in some frecuencies.
In total I had three sessions of intratympanich therapy done, experienced almost no pain from them whatsoever and recovered I'd say about 80-90% of my hearing (atleast that's how it feels). My hearing loss went from severe to mild, and I still have to get another exam done to see if there was any further improvement after the third and last shot.
I got tinnitus SHHL though, but it doesn't really bother me, music still doesn't feel the same as before but the improvement has been so good that it´s still very enjoyable. Had I listened to either of the first two doctors my life would've drastically changed, so I kinda owe my improvement in part to this subreddit.
I figured not a lot of people might post after getting better, but I believe it's very important for other people to be able to understand better how to deal with their SSHL, taking into account it's a medical emergency and time is of the essence.
Btw if whoever reads this wants to share in the comments how they are treating, or have treated, their tinnitus derived from SSHL, I'd like to read you. Thanks.
(TL;DR: Could've gone totally deaf on my right ear because two different doctors didn't give me accurate information about SSHL. Was able to start intratympanic therapy by day 12 after SSHL started, hearing loss went from severe to mild after second shot and improved a little more after the third.)
