Sudden Hearing Loss Is an Emergency: Signs, Timing and What to Do

It is hearing that drops fast, over a few hours or a few days, instead of slowly over years. It can hit one ear or both.

It can feel like one ear is plugged, with the phone faint on that side. New ringing or dizziness may come with it.

Take Linda, 61, who wakes on a Monday with a dull left ear. She blames a cold and plans to wait a week. That plan is the risk. NIDCD says to treat sudden deafness as a medical emergency and to see a doctor right away (NIDCD sudden deafness).

Treatment can sometimes reverse or reduce the loss, and fast care gives you the best chance (NIDCD sudden deafness). If some loss remains, hearing aids can help, and a lingering ring can be eased with sound therapy and counseling (NIDCD tinnitus).

Keep a follow-up hearing test on the calendar. For lasting loss, see SonoVive vs hearing aids and our hearing health guide. For ringing that stays, see what actually helps tinnitus.

1. Sudden Deafness. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH), current.Consider sudden deafness "a medical emergency and visit a doctor immediately." "Treatment that is delayed for more than two to four weeks is less likely to reverse or reduce permanent hearing loss."
2. OTC Hearing Aids: What You Should Know. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2023.OTC hearing aids are for people 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. See a doctor (preferably an ENT) for hearing change in the past 6 months, vertigo, ear fluid or blood, ear pain, or hearing loss or ringing in only one ear.
3. Tinnitus. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH), current."Currently, there is no cure for tinnitus, but there are ways to reduce symptoms." Vitamins, herbal extracts and supplements are advertised as cures but none has been proven effective. First see your primary care doctor; sound therapy, hearing aids and counseling help.
4. Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis). National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH), current.About one in three people in the U.S. aged 65 to 74 has hearing loss and nearly half of those older than 75 have difficulty hearing. Treatments: hearing aids (OTC since 2022 for mild to moderate loss), cochlear implants, assistive listening devices.
5. St. John's Wort. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH), current.Can weaken many medicines, including warfarin, birth control pills, cyclosporine, some statins and antidepressants such as amitriptyline and bupropion; with serotonin-affecting drugs it may cause serious serotonin-related side effects. Side effects: diarrhea, dizziness, trouble sleeping, restlessness, skin tingling; severe skin reactions after sun exposure at large doses.
6. Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, 2023.Supplements can interact with some medicines; some can increase bleeding risk or change response to anesthesia if taken before surgery. FDA does not determine whether supplements are effective before they are marketed. Report problems to FDA at 800-FDA-1088.