Blocked ear: Sudden hearing loss

Sudden hearing loss in Singapore can present as blocked ear and this condition can be rather distressing! Recently, for some unknown reason, we have had quite a few patients coming to see me as an experienced ENT doctor in Singapore, with sudden blocked ear. Although blocked ear can be caused by a buildup of fluid behind the eardrum, hearing tests in sudden hearing loss will usually show that there is severe hearing loss in one ear due to some sort of inner ear pathology. Sometimes, this can happen after an episode of pressure-related trauma (barotrauma) like a patient of mine who went scuba diving. He suffered sudden hearing loss and ear pain after he discovered that he couldn’t pop his ears to equalise the pressures properly and kept on forcefully blowing his nose multiple times. He also felt a bit dizzy after coming back up to the surface. It turned out that he had a tiny leak of inner ear fluid (perilymph leak) which led to an irreversible hearing loss from the barotrauma sustained.

Other times, it may occur after a severe bout of the flu which can unfortunately affect the inner ear too to cause hearing loss. More rarely, sudden hearing loss can be the very first presenting sign of an acoustic neuroma, a benign growth originating from the balance nerve in the inner ear. Even rarer, in 1 % of such cases, this troublesome condition can occur in BOTH ears, leaving the poor patient completely deaf and devastated.

Blocked ear in Singapore is an important symptom which should not be ignored and it should be carefully checked out by a top ENT specialist in Singapore with an interest in this area. The sooner you seek help, the sooner the appropriate treatment may be given to maximise your chances of recovery. Hear well, live well 🙂

https://www.drannabelle.com/ear-hearing-ent-specialist.html

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