Wife lost hearing! Does she have a case?

[Matt77]

What is the name of your state? Mass.

Last year my 27 yr old wife suddenly lost her hearing in her left ear. We immediately went to the emergency room, where we were told by the Doc on call that there is no cause for concern and were told to see an ENT. We made an appointment and she saw her Doc almost 2 weeks later. The ENT said this type of ailment is not rare and should work itself out within 6 months.
Time passed, 6 months plus, and nothing improved. I did a quick Google search and instantly found a term I didn't see on any of the Docs files or in conversation... Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL). This sounded like her condition, and after a visit to another Doc, it was confirmed. To my shock and horror we were explained that a simple shot of steroids within the first 2 weeks of her diagnosis would have given her a 60% chance of having hearing return. Since the 2 week window has long passed, she is now completely deaf in her left ear, no amount of surgery can be done, and no type of hearing aid can give her help.
I am in the process now of collecting all of my wife's medical records.

Does my wife have a case??

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state? Mass.

Last year my 27 yr old wife suddenly lost her hearing in her left ear. We immediately went to the emergency room, where we were told by the Doc on call that there is no cause for concern and were told to see an ENT. We made an appointment and she saw her Doc almost 2 weeks later. The ENT said this type of ailment is not rare and should work itself out within 6 months.
Time passed, 6 months plus, and nothing improved. I did a quick Google search and instantly found a term I didn't see on any of the Docs files or in conversation... Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL). This sounded like her condition, and after a visit to another Doc, it was confirmed. To my shock and horror we were explained that a simple shot of steroids within the first 2 weeks of her diagnosis would have given her a 60% chance of having hearing return. Since the 2 week window has long passed, she is now completely deaf in her left ear, no amount of surgery can be done, and no type of hearing aid can give her help.
I am in the process now of collecting all of my wife's medical records.

Does my wife have a case??

Talk to a medical malpractice lawyer.

 

[Matt77]

Sr.J - Thanks, I figured we sould talk to a lawyer, but I wanted to get a general concensus. What does everybody else think? Thanks, Matt

 

[ellencee]

Sr.J - Thanks, I figured we sould talk to a lawyer, but I wanted to get a general concensus. What does everybody else think? Thanks, Matt

...that consensus means, "general opinion" and saying, "general consensus" is redundant.
EC

 

[rmet4nzkx]

What is the name of your state? Mass.

Last year my 27 yr old wife suddenly lost her hearing in her left ear. We immediately went to the emergency room, where we were told by the Doc on call that there is no cause for concern and were told to see an ENT. We made an appointment and she saw her Doc almost 2 weeks later. The ENT said this type of ailment is not rare and should work itself out within 6 months.
Time passed, 6 months plus, and nothing improved. I did a quick Google search and instantly found a term I didn't see on any of the Docs files or in conversation... Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL). This sounded like her condition, and after a visit to another Doc, it was confirmed. To my shock and horror we were explained that a simple shot of steroids within the first 2 weeks of her diagnosis would have given her a 60% chance of having hearing return. Since the 2 week window has long passed, she is now completely deaf in her left ear, no amount of surgery can be done, and no type of hearing aid can give her help.
I am in the process now of collecting all of my wife's medical records.

Does my wife have a case??

If you were searching the internet, perhaps you already came across this article
http://www.utmb.edu/otoref/Grnds/SuddenHearingLoss-010613/SSNHL.htm
When you consider this is difficult to diagnose and that 47-63% regain their hearing without treatment and what treatment when there is no known cause is speculative, it may indeed, even with all her records, be difficult to determine if there was malpractice, or that steroids would have effectived a cure. The ER examined her and found her stable and refered her to an ENT, between the two apparently ruled out obvious treatable causes. By all means collect her records and consult a med mal attorney but be prepared to face the possibility that even if you have a case with merit, that it may not be cost effective to prosecute the case due to the cost of experts. Read this article and compare what it says to what facts you have that will give you a better idea of what malpractice might have occured. Your wife's general health and medical history will play a role.

 

[ellencee]

http://www.hearingcenter.com/services/sud_hl.html
Sudden hearing loss syndrome is a sudden decrease or loss of hearing in one or both ears. It may be accompanied by static or ringing in the ears and/or dizziness up to 12 hours before the time the hearing loss occurs.

There are many possible contributory causes: sudden pressure changes in the ear during airplane travel or scuba diving, unusual physical exertion or strain, previous ear surgery, recent upper respiratory infection, drugs such as birth control pills and ototoxic antibiotics, sudden or prolonged loud noise exposure, and smoking. In many cases, the exact cause is unknown and the underlying pathology is suspected to be due to problems with inner ear circulation.

The initial assessment of the patient who reports sudden hearing loss will include the following: Medical history and ear examination, blood tests and audiological evaluation. Depending on the outcome of those tests, further tests may be recommended such as an auditory brainstem response analysis or a magnetic resonance imaging scan.

The history may alert the doctor to situations which may have caused the loss, such as an upper respiratory infection, air travel, scuba diving, smoking, birth control pills, ototoxic medications or existing medical disorders.

The ear examination will show abnormalities such as excessive wax in the outer ear canal, infection or fluid in the middle ear, or perforation of the eardrum.

Blood tests may show elevated levels of triglycerides and/or cholesterol, syphilis, infection, diabetes, thyroid or kidney disorders, or auto immune disease.

An audiological evaluation will determine the degree, type and location of the hearing loss, whether it is a loss of the middle ear, inner ear or auditory nerve. In addition, testing will determine the ability to understand speech. Immittance testing will assess the physical status of the eardrum and middle ear muscle reflexes. Special tests, such as the auditory brainstem response analysis which measures the brain's responses to sound, can serve to confirm the diagnoses or at least to rule out some possible causes for the symptoms.

Treatment of sudden hearing loss varies, depending on the suspected cause. The patient may be given medicine to increase circulation of the inner ear or to reduce excessive fluid buildup in the middle or inner ear. Carbogen therapy, which increases the amount of oxygen to the inner ear, may be started if there is a suspected circulation problem. A specific regimen is indicated if there is fluid buildup in the middle or inner ear and surgery may be required for an inner ear tumor or a leak of inner ear fluid. The patient may be advised to stop the use of birth control pills, smoking, drugs, alcohol, or caffeine, or to restrict the amount of strenuous activity, as well as to watch his intake of fats and cholesterol.

In summary, anyone who notices any sudden loss in hearing, regardless if there are any accompanying symptoms (fullness in the ears, ringing or dizziness), should be seen by an ear, nose and throat doctor within 24-48 hours. Recovery of the hearing loss depends not only upon the early diagnosis, but also on the early initiation of treatment.

Here is an extensive article that you should read:
http://www.utmb.edu/otoref/Grnds/SuddenHearingLoss-010613/SSNHL.htm
TITLE: Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
SOURCE: Grand Rounds Presentation, UTMB, Dept. of Otolaryngology
DATE: June 13, 2001
RESIDENT PHYSICIAN: Christopher Muller, MD
FACULTY PHYSICIAN: Jeffrey Vrabec, MD
SERIES EDITOR: Francis B. Quinn, Jr., MD

You have greatly oversimplified your wife's diagnosis and required treatment and so has whatever 'doctor' agreed with your web-searched diagnosis.

Your tasks in proving negligence will be to show that your wife had no known or unknown pre-existing condition, medication, activity, etc. that caused her condition except for a clearly recognizable condition that would have responded to a simple injection of steroids. Your chance of proving it? zero or less.

EC

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Here is an extensive article that you should read:
http://www.utmb.edu/otoref/Grnds/SuddenHearingLoss-010613/SSNHL.htm
TITLE: Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
SOURCE: Grand Rounds Presentation, UTMB, Dept. of Otolaryngology
DATE: June 13, 2001
RESIDENT PHYSICIAN: Christopher Muller, MD
FACULTY PHYSICIAN: Jeffrey Vrabec, MD
SERIES EDITOR: Francis B. Quinn, Jr., MD

You have greatly oversimplified your wife's diagnosis and required treatment and so has whatever 'doctor' agreed with your web-searched diagnosis.

Your tasks in proving negligence will be to show that your wife had no known or unknown pre-existing condition, medication, activity, etc. that caused her condition except for a clearly recognizable condition that would have responded to a simple injection of steroids. Your chance of proving it? zero or less.

EC

Great minds think alike, I suggested the same article In fact this could be a harbinger of something else.