pb66

Back in December, I developed a typical cold. I used some Halls and took some advil and kept busy since it was the week before Christmas. By December 19th (4 days after symptoms first started) I had 104 temperature and a horrible sore throat. I took some Advil, had some soup and stayed in bed. I went to sleep that night and woke up with an excruciating pain in my left ear. I went into the bathroom and noticed bloody fluid leaking from the ear. The next day I went to Urgent Care where they told me I had ruptured the ear drum and proceeded to put me on Augmentin XR, Tessalone capsules (to help prevent me from coughing and to protect my ear) some pain medication and was told to see a ENT specialist.

I called and got an appointment for 12/29 thankfully they were able to fit me in even though it was 10 days away.

I saw the ENT and told him that I had felt like I had hearing loss in the left ear. He examined me and said both ears were infected and sent me into the Audiologists room to have my hearing tested. It did show a good hearing loss on the left side and slightly on the right but not anything to worry about. He gave me a prescription for Augmentin, Medrol pack and told me to come back in 2 weeks. He really is super doctor.

I took the meds and physically I just was still dealing with the sore throat, hearing loss and just exhaustion. I went back 3rd week of January and he said my throat was still sore and that the left ear had developed some scar tissue. He removed the scar tissue, took a strep test and some bloodwork for CMV (cytomegalovirus) and Epstein Barr. He gave me another round of Augmentin and told me to take it until the strep test was back.

Strep test came back negative so I stopped that and he told me to come back in 4 weeks and he'd test my hearing again. My CMV test came back negative but my EPV was elevated and he said he was pretty sure I had it. Ok, fine.

I went back March 11th and my hearing tested very good..improvement in the left ear and the right ear was really good and he said although I felt that weird hearing loss clogged feeling on the left, he felt it would continue to improve. I was overjoyed and very happy with that...He put me an a round of Prednisone for good measure and if I never have to take that again, it won't be too soon. I was absolutely miserable on it.

Here it is end of April just about and over the past week my hearing has just taken a nosedive. Not only is the left ear much worse than it was..but so is the right and I have ringing on the left ear. Now at the last visit I told him that the right ear would make this tink tink tink sound..like when you tap on thin metal. I also have numbness on the outer part of the left ear..almost a tingling/novacaine feeling. The right ear is also much worse. I was able to hear things crisply in that ear but not anymore. Now I can hear but its muffled and its like when your ears are clogged and you hear yourself slightly more inside your head than you normally hear..even if I put my fingers in my ears ..hearing myself is much less than it was.

I've had to up the tv to a volume of 38 from a 25 and I just am not sure what is happening.

I am self pay so I don't want to run every time but I am pretty good at knowing something isn't right since I think we all know when something isn't right. Between the muffled sound, the pressure, the numbness...I just am not sure if anyone else has had anything like this?

I am calling the DR in the morning to make an appt but I am hoping they can get me in before a month.

I don't smoke or drink or do any drugs or anything like that.

Anyone?