Sudden Hearing Loss After Surgery (SSNHL) – Looking for Advice / Experiences 🙏
Hi everyone—I'm hoping to connect with anyone who has gone through something similar or has insight.
I experienced sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in my left ear immediately after surgery on April 2nd. When I woke up from anesthesia, I had no functional hearing in that ear, along with intense ringing (high-pitched, constant, and honestly pretty overwhelming).
Timeline:
April 2: Right Ankle Surgery → woke up with hearing loss + tinnitus
April 3: Contacted provider, was initially told to take antihistamines (no steroids yet)
April 4: Urgent care → confirmed hearing loss → started Prednisone (initially 60mg, now increased to 80mg)
Since then: ongoing monitoring with ENT, multiple hearing tests, attempted HBOT (paused due to pain).
Currently on 80MG of prednisone, doing chiropractic, acupuncture, and lymphatic massage.
Symptoms:
Persistent loud high-pitched ringing/static
Occasional popping/clicking sensations
No meaningful return of hearing so far
Sound perception is basically non-functional / distorted at best
Hearing Test Info (most recent):
Left ear thresholds around:
April 4th - 70–85 dB (severe loss)
May 1st - 35**–55 dB (moderate loss)**
My SRT has been stable at 40 / PB% 111 /PB level 60
Right ear: normal / near normal
Has anyone had SSNHL after surgery/anesthesia specifically?
Did anyone see delayed recovery after a few weeks, or improvement after increasing steroids?
For those who couldn’t tolerate HBOT—did you still recover at all?
Any experience with injections vs. oral steroids and whether it made a difference?
Did your tinnitus improve even if hearing didn’t fully return?
I’m trying to stay hopeful but also realistic—it’s been really scary going from normal hearing to this overnight. I’d truly appreciate any experiences, advice, or even just knowing I’m not alone in this.
Thank you 🤍