Lipo-Flavonoid plus

I found this product at Walmart, after my father mentioned he had seen an add on TV.  The add says it cures ringing of the inner ear. So I decided to look into it, looks like its a product designed to relieve the symptoms of Meniere's Disease.

People have claimed that this product has improved their hearing and reduced their tinnitus, lets see if this is true.  The main ingredients in this pill are Vitamin B complex and Lipotropic agents Clhorine, Inositol and Pantothenic acid, plus vitamin C and Bioflavanoids extracted from Lemon.

I'm begin my regimen tonight and will keep posting the progress, if any of this product (keeping fingers crossed).

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Update

After taking this pill three times a day for about 5 days, I'm not noticing any significant improvements.  I did notice that I have some days that are better than others.  I can hear tones and some words very quietly when I wear headphones.  Now some might think I must be blasting the volume, but actually it's on the lowest setting.  I tend to work in a very quiet office environment and it helps me try to test my hearing.  Some songs are better than others and some I cant even detect anything.  I'm also noticing that while taking this pill the caffeine makes the pressure feeling in my ear more apparent.  I have tried to lay off my daily morning cup of coffee but it has been difficult.  The three days that I did not drink any coffee, I noticed more improvement in the aural pressure feeling.

On the down side, the dizziness feeling is more apparent while taking the pills.  Thankfully it's not so strong to make me sick, but enough to slow me down.  What I have read is that these pills tend to dilate the blood vessels in the inner ear, and it makes me wonder if that causes the fluid to move around more than normal causing the dizziness feeling. 

 I'm going to keep taking them and see if I can make any improvements until Thursday, when I get my third audiology test.

Progession?!

Just want to provide an update about how my progression regarding my hearing.  My third doctor's appointment is not until August 31st.  By then I will be in my sixth week of having SSHL, according to the doctor this will be most likely the level my hearing will remain for the end of my days.

So after my second doctor's visit, I was felt good to start working out again.  Surprisingly the exercise made me feel better.  My disequilibrium was gone during my workout, dont know if its my mind working harder to focus or a result of more oxygen in the blood.  Also, I started to notice that after my long bike rides, I could hear the really loud cars on the street.  Not saying that I could hear them perfectly, but some minor improvement was definitely noticeable.  The sound I can hear, is like having some cotton balls in your ear and then wearing some ear muff over it, the noise is extremely muffled.
I also tried to talk on the phone to see if I could hear, to my surprise I could!  I have to increase the volume all the way up and I can hear some stuff.  Most of the words are difficult to make out.  I dont know if its actually my ear interpreting the words that I'm hearing or if its a vibration that my inner can make out.  It weird that I can't make out most words as they sound like a Robot is talking.  My mind can still make out most of the words if the person on the other end talks slowly and clearly.
This is a big development as I haven't been able to hear anything for the past weeks. 
The more exercise I do, the better my hearing gets.  My exercise mostly consists on long bike rides.
I will take any improvement that is made and run with it.  My doctor did mention that most patients do continue to improve after they finish the medication regimen (Prednisone).
Hopefully my hearing can continue to improve to a level where I can wear a hearing aid.

I will post again if I get a major hearing improvement or after my third doctor's appointment.

2nd Doctor's Visit

Went to my second doctors visit was on 08/09/2012.  I got my MRI done, and a new audio-gram test to see if there is any improvements.
The MRI went a lot smoother than what I thought, I was only inside the tube for about 30 minutes.  The technicians did a great job muffling the noise from the machine.
Second audio-gram test was also performed right after the MRI.  There was some minor improvement in my hearing, going from a 100+dB loss to a 85-90dB loss (slight improvement but I will take anything).  The audiologist informed me that my hearing loss has gone from a profound to a moderate level.  The test results also showed that there is some slight  damage to the inner ear organ.  This grounds me, as from information that I have read the inner ear does not have the capability to heal itself as like other areas of the human body.  One area of major improvement has been in the word recognition test, I'm not sure what the equipment or test called.  But this is when they attach a band that sends vibration through the skull and its directly picked up by the inner ear.
On my first test I could hear the noise but I could not make out any words.  This time around I can actually identify 40% of the words.  These results give me hope that improvement is taking place, even if its slow.  I might not be able to recover 100% of my hearing back, but if I can get to a level where a hearing aid can help that would be awesome.

Now to the doctors visit, the MRI results were immediately sent to his office (got to love Houston's medical center!).  The imaging did not show any sign of a tumor/cancer growth, busted blood vessel, aneurysm or any abnormality of the inner ear.  This is great news, as its nothing major, but at the same time it sounds more and more like I will never find the root cause.  A part of me is relieved but at the same time disappointed there are no answers as to why this happens.
By this time the doctor has given me three options for continued treatment: 1) continue the oral steroids for two more weeks  even though there are no studies that suggest any benefit from steroid use past the initial two weeks.  2) steroid injection to the inner ear, again this method of treatment is more of a placebo than anything else.  3) no medications, as patients do continue to improve even after they are off the steroids.
I choose option 3, as I experienced several side effect from the prednisone (constipation and rise in body temperature at all times of the day).
I will go ahead and start my workout routine again after having a 3 week hiatus. Lets hope things go smoothly.

Questions

Here is a list of questions that I had for my Neurotologist appointment.

- Will the tinnitus (ringing of the ear) go away?
Yes, the tinnitus will eventually go away.  The tinnitus is basically the signal your neurons are sending to your brain.  Since there is no noise that can be processed anymore, the brain still gets signals.

- Will the aural pressure subside?
Yes, the pressure will go away and the ear will feel normal. 

- Can I travel on an airplane?
Yes, since there is no infection or damage to the inner ear.  Increase in pressure due to the airplane should not cause any discomfort/pain.

- Will the disequilibrium stop and how long does it take?
Yes, the brain is an amazing organ.  The brain will retrain the body and adjust to the lack of inner ear disequilibrium.  This process is fast as in a couple of days you should see improvements (I saw a huge difference in one weeks time)

- How will I know if I get my hearing back? Does it happen gradually or all of a sudden?
Most people describe as a relief in the symptoms and it happens usually as quick as when they lost their hearing.

- Can I start exercising?
Yes, it is encouraged to start doing some physical activity in order to train your brain on how to adapt to a specific activity.

Disclaimer:  Always consult with your doctor before doing any activity, your condition might be different than mine.

Drunken Master

Will this feeling of dizziness ever go away?  I sure hope so! how can people live with a constant feeling of vertigo.  Now I do not have vertigo, but disequilibrium, still this is enough for me to work hard at doing simple things.  Walking has become somewhat of a challenge as I tend to really focus on where I place my steps.  Getting out of bed has to be slowly or else the dizziness gets worse, as with all other activities.  I have not tried to drive, as I do not want to compromise mine and others safety. 
Who would have thought that something so small as the inner ear would have such a huge impact on my other body systems.

Lets move on to more of the treatment.  My ENT has put me on an oral steroid treatment for about 10 days.  He did mention that in his 30 years of practice, he has had another patient that suffered profound hearing loss and was able to fully recover his hearing in 10 days while taking oral steroids (so you are telling me there is a chance).  Most cases of profound hearing loss get better but usually never recover their hearing completely.  In most cases the hearing comes back in 3-4 days if there is going to be a complete recovery.  Ten days is what most doctors use as the main window for recovery.
From everything that I have read, oral steroids are the best way to treat SSHL.  Some doctors do prefer for a steroid injection to the inner ear, but no major studies have been done to prove their benefit.  The ENT in seeing has also concurred this steroid method.  Ultimately its up to the patient to decide if you want the injection or not.
I also did go get a second opinion, not that I was unhappy with my first doctor.  I just think for such a condition its worth getting another doctors input.  Livng in Houston, I was able to find one neurotologist/otologist (specialty of the inner ear).  The second doctor gave me the same diagnosis, SSHL, and prescribed me the same medication. 
I found comfort in knowing that two excellent doctors with many years of experience have provided me with the same diagnosis. 
Now to find out what caused this condition, hopefully we will be able to find out, though the odds are not in our favor. 
This might as well be the greatest mystery of my life, just the same as how in the world did my Achilles tendon snap several years ago (These are questions for God).
Both doctors have requested to get an MRI performed on my head, just to make sure there is no tumor, aneurysm or something that is impacting the nerve ending of the inner ear and/or the veins from the ear to the brain.

BTW
these steroids make you feel like you are on fire, at least thats one of the side effects.  Im constantly sweating and get hot flashes all day long.  On the plus side, im not breaking out with acne all over my face.

Sudden Hearing Loss

This is a blog I'm starting with the purpose of sharing the story of my hearing loss.  I have looked at numerous internet sites and several support groups.  None of the websites that I read provide any good feedback as most people just tend to discuss about their problem and once diagnosed never provide any updates.  Anyways I'm trying to provide a constant update of the way my condition and its effect on my life style.

My symptoms began on 07/20/2012 at 7:00pm.  I was working out (riding my bicycle) when I felt some aural pressure on my left ear.  The only way I can describe the pressure is to similar when one gets into a pool and having water in the ear.  The pressure began to increase during my workout, got home and didn't think much about it.  Three hours later I got up and my balance was way off, to the point that it made me feel drunk.  This is also when I noticed that I couldn't hear anything from my left ear.  The pressure was significant and uncomfortable.  Tinnitus (ringing of the ear) was also starting to roar up in my left ear.  The following morning I woke up with a bad case of vertigo.  I tried eating food to see if a hearty meal would make a difference (BAD IDEA), that only made me more nauseous.  Eventually had to throw up.  I spent the entire day in bed, due to not feeling very well.

The symptoms for my condition were starting to make me nervous as I had never experienced something like this.  My mind was thinking about everything.  How can a healthy 29 year old have complete loss of hearing in one ear.  So I went and started to google my symptoms and was eventually led to the Sudden Sensoryneural Hearing Loss (SSHL).  I went ahead and placed some links on the side to several websites that have good information to this condition.

I finally went to visit an outpatient medical center on Sunday to check my ear for any type of infection. The doctor found no infection in the ear, but still prescribed me some antibiotics.
First thing on Monday morning, I went ahead and called an ENT as I was not pleased with the doctor's diagnosis from the outpatient center.
To my surprise the ENT doctor diagnosed me with SSHL, but still needed confirmation from the audiology test.
The audiology test was a bit of a shock as I couldn't hear anything from the left ear.  The final results indicated a 100dB loss in hearing (Profound Hearing Loss).  Literally I could have a rocket engine blast off in my ear and would not be able to detect any noise.  One other key point is that they also tested my skull for vibrations to see if my inner ear can pick up any noise.  My ear could pick these noises out but couldn't make out any of the words.  This is particularly bad as this doesnt allow me to use any type of hearing device.
The ENT went ahead and placed me on two weeks of PREDNISONE (oral steroid).  This is the primary way to attack this condition and most patients will show improvements at the end of the treatment if they are going to improve.

One key thing that I do not know if it had a significant impact was the fact that I was taking some weight lifting supplements before my hearing loss occurred.  The crazy thing is that none of these supplements were new to me except one Muscle Pharm Matrix Shred.  I went started taking it that same day.  I went ahead and searched through many websites and have not been able to find this as a side effect.  But just because no one has published it doesn't mean its not a side effect.

By Monday  07/23/2012, my vertigo had subsided but I was still experiencing disequilibrium.  I was not able to walk straight nor stand on one foot with out the feeling of falling over.  My wife had to help me drive to all of my doctor appointments and work.  Thank God that my job is a desk job and doesnt require much walking.  I have read numerous posts of other people who loose their jobs or are on long term disability due to vertigo or dizziness feeling.