Sorry I couldn’t find a medical advice community so I hope I can ask this here.
My hearing is getting worse in one ear. I made an internet search and it appears to be something called Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Problem is, right now it’s almost 9:30 PM where I live…
Should I go to the ER right now, or wait till tomorrow morning?
My mom is tired from having to take my dad to the hospital for some intestines infection, so I think she doesn’t want to be bothered to go again today. I already told her and she said she’ll take me to the ER tomorrow morning. Does a 12 hour delay matter? I don’t want to insist going right now because she and I aren’t really having good family relations. Also going to the ER in the middle of the night is a bit scary. I’m terrified of night time.
Also could my dad’s problems with the intestines infection have somehow something to do with my hearing issues? I’m kinda afraid its some sort of airborne virus. 😟
Edit: For context, my age range is 18-25, and I don’t have a driver’s license (not that I would want to drive in this condition), and also I’m a dependent so I have to get my parents to pay for medical stuff. (I can’t function enough to have a job right now due to depression, but that’s a whole another topic)
Audiologist here.
We treat it like a medical emergency. Reason being if it is a sudden sensorineural loss then they would start you on Prednisone asap. It may help to preserve your hearing.
We think it needs started within a few weeks (at the very most) but earlier is probably better.
That being said, it might not be a sudden sensorineural loss. A hearing test would tell you.
In my experience having seen many actual sudden sensorineural losses over the years, the treatment doesn’t necessarily help in many cases. It’s a last ditch effort really to preserve what we can. Personally, I would probably just wait for morning, but I would tell a patient to go immediately.
I live in Europe, so I’d always go.
It’s a bit concerning to me that your mom doesn’t consider sudden hearing loss an emergency. But maybe you’re in the US and you have to worry about cost, idk.
ER doctors will only ensure that you’re not in immediate risk of dying. They will send you home with a referral to a specialist, and you’ll still get the bill (assuming you’re in the US). I would deal with this by contacting my PCP for a referral to an audiologist first thing in the morning.
First, I am not an ENT doctor.
If it is one sided with no other symptoms you will most likely be ok waiting until morning. If you have other symptoms such as head ache, disorientation, slurred speach, pain in the ear or fever I would not wait. I would go to the ER now.
I wish you the best and hope things resolve quickly.
Go now. I had an ear infection on a Friday night and didn’t see anyone until the next day. It ended with some permanent hearing loss for me.
I would probably call the doc in the morning and try to get into an ENT. Edit to add - where I live the ER can mean hours of sitting and a waiting room and several thousand dollars. They do some tests and usually tell you to follow up with your primary care physician, unless you’re having a stroke, heart attack, or something like that. They don’t really diagnose other issues.
And even more so late at night.
