Hi,
I woke up with hearing loss in one ear. It was originally diagnosed as swimmer's ear. After being prescribed an antibiotic ear drop and administering for a couple of weeks I noticed improvement. However not the same as my good ear.
At around the 6 week mark I visited an ENT who diagnosed SSHL and said any treatment at this point would not likely be beneficial. I saw a different ENT a couple of days later who had a slightly more optimistic outlook and suggested treatment as it is within 3 months of occurrence. I have since ran a 5 day trial of prednisone at 40 mg per day and a 5 day taper at 20 mg per day. Audiograms appear to be the same with normal hearing up until the ~2k HZ mark and starts to decline approaching the 4K and 8K HZ marks.
ENT is also going to try Intratympanic Steroid Injection.
My question is at this late in the game is it worth it to consider Hyperbaric oxygen therapy as well - for any non recovered hearing loss in addition to tinnitus? I have contacted a facility who recommended 20 sessions at 90 minutes each if it is within 3 months of onset. It is a pretty pricy and time consuming procedure but that is worth it if it could be helpful to my hearing. I just do not want to waste my time & money if it is beyond help at this point.
Thanks