My Oli

Bugs

Registered User
Aug 27, 2020
192
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I’ve decided to try a keep to one thread title so that I can follow our progress through the times ahead.
Its been a very strange week. I guess things started at the beginning of the week when hubby started with some quite bizarre comments Eg should he go and sit in the cupboard when our daughter and son in law come to visit as I said I didn’t want him to see people! Things continued to be slightly weird until Friday when he really wasn’t himself and I suspected he may have had another TIA. Ambulance came and the medic said He was dehydrated and may have a urine infection. Of course! How could I have been so stupid. I know all the symptoms from reading this forum and it had not entered my brain that this could be the cause. So off to A&E we go. Got checked for stroke. All appeared to be ok. Got a urine sample after much persuasion and they said he might have a slight infection so we were given antibiotics and came home.
Friday night he was up and down to the loo and I was really glad we were home as if hed been in hospital he would definitely have been incontinent as would not have been able to get to the toilet
Saturday he slept the whole day. Only woke for food and toilet and within minutes was asleep again. Phoned 111 as this had never happened before. They sent an ambulance but while they were he he woke up and seemed lucid so they left him here at home.
This morning he woke up deaf! He has no pain, his ear appears clear of wax and was checked a month ago and told it was very clean. There is no sign of redness. He simply can’t hear. I tried to book with Specsavers to get his ear cleaned but there is a 2 to 3 week waiting list.
The nurse practioner from A&E has phoned me twice today asking how he is. She says she will phone again tomorrow. I will try and get an urgent appointment with our GP tomorrow morning.
What on earth is going on? Has anyone else had sudden hearing loss? And has anyone had A&E repeatedly phone to check up on a patient? I can’t help but feel they suspect something may have gone catastrophically wrong but they have not yet told me. Any advice would be really appreciated.
 

Bugs

Registered User
Aug 27, 2020
192
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Well, we had an appointment with our lovely GP this morning. He is also baffled by the sudden deafness. . It’s not a build up of wax. He is requesting an urgent appointment with an ear nose and throat consultant. My poor Oli continues to live in a world of near silence.
 

Sarasa

Volunteer Host
Apr 13, 2018
7,195
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Nottinghamshire
Hi @Bugs , a good idea to start your own thread. The sudden deafness is a puzzle. My mother in law's hearing declined dramatically when my father in law died. I assumed it was some sort of shock. It did sort of come back, but she was very obviously deaf from then on. I wonder if it is some sort of infection. I hope you get an appointment to get it checked over very soon.
 

ClaireeW

Registered User
Sep 22, 2021
66
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Sudden deafness can be caused by a stroke in the area responsible for hearing, without showing other obvious stroke signs. My aunt had this
 

Bugs

Registered User
Aug 27, 2020
192
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Sudden deafness can be caused by a stroke in the area responsible for hearing, without showing other obvious stroke signs. My aunt had this
That’s what I read on Dr Google. I mentioned it to the GP but he didn’t comment. Oli has had numerous strokes. Initially it was clots then he was put on blood thinners and now it’s bleeds. Not a good outcome whichever route we choose. I really hope he gets some hearing back as he has been completely deaf in his other ear for years. It really will be a very sad life if he has strokes, dementia and lives in a world of silence.
 

ClaireeW

Registered User
Sep 22, 2021
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@Bugs that's interesting. So this is a sudden unilateral hearing loss? This is an ENT emergency. Sudden sensorineural deafness. He needs seeing very quickly for possible treatment with steroids. Have a look at this page
 

Bugs

Registered User
Aug 27, 2020
192
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@Bugs that's interesting. So this is a sudden unilateral hearing loss? This is an ENT emergency. Sudden sensorineural deafness. He needs seeing very quickly for possible treatment with steroids. Have a look at this page
#ClaireeW that sounds exactly the problem. Our GP requested an urgent referral for him so I’m hoping for a phone call today. Thanks so much for the link. I really hope we can get some of his hearing back as he has been completely deaf in his other ear for about 10 years now.
 

Bugs

Registered User
Aug 27, 2020
192
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There is an interesting development this morning. My Oli told me that today he can talk. He could talk yesterday but it appears that today, when he speaks he can hear his own voice whereas yesterday he could not hear his own voice. He still cant hear me speak unless I’m right in front of him and I speak clearly and loudly. Curiouser and curiouser. Still waiting for the appointment with the ENT consultant.
 

Bugs

Registered User
Aug 27, 2020
192
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We spent the afternoon at Epsom hospital. 1st appointment at 2pm followed by a hearing test. He has about 15% hearing in one ear only. After quite a wait (understandable) we were told he would have a steroid injection through his ear drum. It involved anaesthetic cream pumped into the ear and then a 45 minute wait for it to take affect. By 5pm, cream done he started getting a bit restless. Fortunately by now most of the other patients has left and it was time for distraction tactics which involved dancing round the waiting room with me singing enthusiastically. The staff were brilliant and so was my Oli. The anaesthetic cream had not gone the job completely so he needed a local anaesthetic injection and then the injection of the steroid followed by lying on his side for 30 minutes. Throughout it all he lay there as good as gold, holding my hand, very tightly at times!
We got home at 6.30 and he slept like a log.
This morning there is a slight improvement . He has to take steroid tablets for a fortnight and will then have a check up and another hearing test to see if it’s worked.
I’m so proud of how well he coped with it all. Heres holding thumbs For a positive outcome.
 

Bugs

Registered User
Aug 27, 2020
192
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I try very hard to look on the bright side of life. I always say that if I know what the problem is then I can find a way to deal with it. But this one has got me stumped. My poor Oli’s hearing is no better. I thought it was but it’s just because he was lip reading and I was saying things he expected to hear. If I’m not face to face with him he can hear absolutely nothing. How on earth are we going to deal with this? Before this sudden deafness I could speak to him and even if he wasn’t always aware of what I was talking about I could pretend he did but now there’s nothing. He’s living in a world of silence and I feel so alone.
 

Old Flopsy

Registered User
Sep 12, 2019
342
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Hi @Bugs when my OH went through a period of deafness I wrote everything down on an A4 pad- then he would answer me verbally. I found I could often re-use messages!