Although acoustic neuromas typically grow slowly and are benign, a person can experience symptoms suddenly. The tumor may also pose risks to health besides hearing loss.
What to know about sudden hearing loss in one ear
Sudden hearing loss in one or both ears may indicate an infection, ear wax, a head trauma, a tumor, or other health problems. Some of these may need urgent treatment. There may also be dizziness, tinnitus, and other symptoms.
Tinnitus and other symptoms sometimes accompany sudden hearing loss. The condition has various potential causes.
In the United States, there are around 66,000 new cases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss annually. The condition affects 5–27 people in every 100,000 per year.
This article explores what hearing loss is, its possible causes, and treatment.
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People who experience sudden hearing loss may first notice the condition when they attempt to use the ear that has lost hearing. This may be while talking on the phone or upon waking in the morning. Some people report hearing a loud popping sound before they lose hearing in an ear.
Sudden hearing loss often occurs in only one ear, which doctors refer to as unilateral hearing loss. One ear may function regularly, while a person may have difficulty hearing clearly with the other.
A person with hearing loss may also experience:
- dizziness
- a sensation of fullness in the ear
- tinnitus
- vertigo
- inability to hear clearly while in a noisy area
- muffled sound
- difficulty following conversations in a group
- difficulty hearing high pitched noises
There are a variety of potential causes of sudden hearing loss in one ear.
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), which people also refer to as sudden deafness, typically affects one ear. SSHL involves a rapid, unexplained loss of hearing.
It most often affects people in their late 40s to early 50s . Most people who receive an SSHL diagnosis do not know the cause of the condition. Around 10% of cases that doctors diagnose have an identifiable cause, such as:
- head trauma
- autoimmune disease
- infection
- a problem with blood circulation
- a neurological disorder, such as multiple sclerosis (MS)
- an inner ear disorder, such as Ménière’s disease
- exposure to certain medications, such as drugs that treat cancer
Tumor
An acoustic neuroma, which doctors also refer to as vestibular schwannoma, is a type of benign (noncancerous) tumor that affects the nerves that join the inner ear and the brain.
Schwann cells cover almost all the nerves in the body. When they multiply too fast around the eighth cranial nerve, a person may develop an acoustic neuroma. The tumor can prevent the nerves responsible for balance and hearing from functioning correctly, which can cause:
Although acoustic neuromas typically grow slowly and are benign, a person can experience symptoms suddenly. The tumor may also pose risks to health besides hearing loss.
Traumatic brain or head injury
A traumatic brain injury or head injury can cause sudden hearing loss in one ear. The hearing loss can be conductive, which means sound cannot reach the inner ear, or sensorineural, in which something causes damage to the structures in the inner ear or auditory nerve.
Diseases
Some diseases may cause hearing loss. These include:
- Autoimmune inner ear disease: This is an inflammatory condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the inner ear.
- Otosclerosis: This is a middle ear disease that affects the small bones of the middle ear. The bones cannot move, which can result in conductive hearing loss.
- Ménière’s disease: This is an inner ear disease that experts do not know the exact cause of. Experts characterize it as an abnormal amount of fluid in the inner ear. It can cause sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus.
Ear infection or buildup of earwax
A buildup of earwax or an infection can lead to hearing loss.
Types of infection include otitis externa and otitis media with effusion. Otitis externa involves inflammation in the outer ear. Otitis media with effusion is an infection that can cause fluid to build up behind the eardrum.
A buildup of earwax can cause impaction, which can block a person’s ear and cause loss of hearing on one side.
Loud noise on one side
A loud noise such, as a siren or explosion close to the ear, can cause sudden noise-induced hearing loss in one ear.
Is It an Emergency If I Can’t Hear Out of One Ear Suddenly?
Hearing loss is never an easy thing to deal with. But what should you do if you can’t hear out of one ear suddenly? Keep reading. You’ll learn about hearing loss in one ear, what causes it, and the treatments available.
Why can’t I hear out of one ear?
Hearing loss is a funny thing. While most people associate it with the elderly or people who suffer some sort of eardrum trauma, it could actually happen at any point and for a number of reasons. Hearing loss that only affects one ear can happen all of a sudden or gradually and could happen in one ear or the other.
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), if that’s what it is, often remains unexplained and there are about 66,000 new cases every year in the United States alone. Many cases go unreported or even misdiagnosed. Many people first experience SSNHL by waking up one morning and realizing they can only hear out of one ear. While it might be tempting to write this sudden loss of hearing off as temporary, it’s actually very important that you go see a hearing specialist right away – otherwise, a non-serious bout of hearing loss can turn into something much more damaging and permanent. If the hearing loss is from trauma or an especially loud noise, preventing inflammation will help limit the chances of long-term hearing loss.
What causes hearing loss in one ear
The most common reasons for a sudden bout of hearing loss in one ear are believed to be blockages, damage, medication side effects, or a viral inner ear infection. However, it’s important to note that the cause for sudden hearing loss is unknown in about 90% of all the cases that are diagnosed.
Viral inner ear infections often cause the hearing nerve to swell in the inner ear canal. Unchecked inflammation can cause the nerve to eventually die. That’s why it’s so important to get your ear checked out in the case of SSNHL. Letting it sit and fester can cause permanent damage. Immediate care can help reduce the swelling.
It’s also possible that sudden hearing loss in one ear is the result of a tumor, which would also need to be treated right away.
Fortunately, the other causes of SSNHL are much less serious and easy to treat. Blockages are often caused by compacted earwax, which is pushed down into the ear canal by cotton swabs. A hearing specialist can clear out a bad case of clogged ears. There are also several over-the-counter remedies available for more mild cases, such as ear drops that can unclog your ears.
What to do when you can’t hear in one ear
There are several treatments available for temporary hearing loss that affects one ear. In many cases, rest is the best bet to get your ears back to normal. This is especially true if you experience hearing loss after a night out at a loud concert. Even when it’s obvious that the hearing loss is caused by loud noises, it’s still important to see a hearing specialist. This ensures that there aren’t any underlying issues that could make you more susceptible to hearing loss in the future.
As mentioned above, you can see a hearing specialist to unclog your ears or use over-the-counter treatments. Ear infections, on the other hand, may either clear up by themselves (under a doctor’s supervision) or may need to be treated with antibiotics, depending on if the infection is viral or bacterial.
Some medications can cause hearing loss
Some medications are considered to be ototoxic, which means that they cause hearing loss under certain circumstances. These medications include aspirin, some antibiotics, chemotherapy, and diuretics, to name just a few. Concerned about hearing loss from one or more of these medications? You should consult with your doctor and hearing specialist to discuss any possible alternative medications.
If it turns out that you have permanent hearing loss in one ear, it’s best to get it treated. Uneven hearing loss is taxing on the brain, which can cause headaches. Even mild hearing loss has been associated with cognitive decline. In fact, long-term untreated hearing loss has been linked to dementia, memory issues, anxiety, and depression. It’s also disorienting when you can only hear from one ear. It makes it harder to locate the source of sounds, which increases your risk of accidents.
Thankfully, treating hearing loss is easy. Modern hearing aids are extremely powerful, can amplify conversation while blocking out background noise, and are extremely discreet.
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