Have you experienced sudden hearing loss? It’s scary when you suddenly lose your hearing, whether it’s in one ear or both. However, one of the best things you can do is get into a hyperbaric chamber. Here’s a closer look at what sudden deafness is, and how hyperbaric oxygen therapy can treat it.
What is Sudden Deafness?
Sudden deafness, or sensorineural sudden hearing loss (SSHL), occurs when you quickly lose your hearing. This generally happens in one ear and may occur instantly or over several days. SSHL is the most common type of hearing loss among adults between the ages of 30 and 60 years old, and around 4,000 cases of sudden deafness are diagnosed each year within the U.S.
According to National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, about half of the people who have sudden hearing loss will recover within two weeks if they receive hyperbaric treatment for hearing loss. However, for some people, the condition grows worse over time, particularly if they don’t receive prompt treatment.
What are the Symptoms of Sudden Deafness
Most people only experience hearing loss in one ear with sudden deafness. You might notice it right after waking up in the morning, or when you hold a phone up to the affected ear or use headphones. In some cases, you may even hear a popping sound before you lose hearing. Other common symptoms include the following: Trouble hearing sounds that are high-pitched Buzzing or ringing sounds in the ear known as tinnitus Difficulty following conversations in a group Dizziness Inability to hear well if there’s significant background noise Conversation sounds become muffled Balance difficulties span∘ Trouble hearing sounds that are high-pitched
∘ Buzzing or ringing sounds in the ear known as tinnitus
∘ Difficulty following conversations in a group
∘ Dizziness
∘ Inability to hear well if there’s significant background noise
∘ Conversation sounds become muffled
∘ Balance difficulties
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been recognized by the FDA and Medicare to help heal sudden hearing loss, including healing sensorineural hearing loss or conductive hearing loss. In essence, HBOT provides oxygen under pressure, during an HBOT treatment we will inject oxygen into your damaged nerve cells, helping to regrow the nerve fibers that have been injured. The challenge is that doctors often do not know why the nerve cells have been damaged, whether it’s because of a virus, or other factors.
However, researchers have discovered that patients who include oxygen therapy as part of their treatment were 61% more likely to enjoy complete recovery of their hearing. Although HBOT has been proven particularly useful as a nerve deafness treatment in those under the age of 60, we have seen patients of up to 75 years old recover their full hearing capacity from HBOT treatments.
Did a physician refer you? If so, they can download and fax us back a patient referral form. If not, our medical staff will discuss whether hyperbarics is right for you.
Our medical staff contacts Medicare or private insurance to receive authorization and create a plan with you.
We do a medical intake, explain everything you need to know, and you get started on your hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions
Hyperbaric medicine, also called hyperbaric oxygen therapy or HBOT, is a medical treatment where a patient sits or lies in pressurized chamber and breathes 100% oxygen. In HBOT, oxygen dissolves into the blood, thus raising the oxygen concentration to very high levels.This increased oxygen is a primary building block for tissues, muscle, and bone repair. Among other benefits, it kicks off cell reproduction, heals injuries and infection more rapidly, and decreases inflammation.
Hyperbaric treatments help heal neuropathy by regrowing small blood vessels and nerves that have died from disease, injuries from radiation and aging. Patients often experience numbness and or pain when they start treatment. Hyperbaric treatments most often bring back sensation and make, for example, walking easier and more enjoyable.
Current research indicates that hyperbaric oxygen does not kill cancer cells. However, there has been a small amount of research indicating that hyperbaric oxygen might reduce the size of certain tumors. Also, there has been a study on mice using hyperbaric oxygen, along with a ketogenic diet, to reduce tumors. Hyperbaric oxygen causes many different healing modalities to kick into gear. Could its effect on strengthening the immune system inhibit the growth of cancer cells? Nobody knows. There are numerous studies conclusively showing that hyperbaric oxygen does not encourage cancer cells or tumors to grow. Some patients claim the hyperbaric oxygen makes them feel a lot more comfortable and functional after chemotherapy and also during healing. Note that some chemotherapy drugs are not to be used with hyperbaric oxygen, as the chemotherapy drugs can be enhanced and thus become toxic. A good hyperbaric oxygen facility (such as Bay Area Hyperbarics) will always call the chemotherapy manufacturer to ensure that hyperbaric oxygen therapy will be helpful and not damaging to the patient.
A physician would consider using hyperbaric chamber therapy under a variety of situations. Physicians most typically refer patients to hyperbarics when the patient is not healing with traditional medical interventions and hyperbaric chamber therapy is approved by Medicare for this condition.
Some patients experience significant unresolved pain and unremitting disease states that the mechanisms of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a hyperbaric chamber are known to affect, such as the down regulation of inflamatory genes. For an example, some patients have experienced severe, unremitting hives with itching, which did not improve with any specialists interventions.
Some physicians will consider hyperbaric chamber therapy if the patient has no other good avenues for improving their failing health, and they know the hyperbaric chamber therapy is safe and will not harm the patient.
The CPT code for HBOT is G0277.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HB0T) is a medical treatment where you inhale 100% oxygen in a chamber with increased atmospheric pressure. HBOT injects 400x the oxygen into your tissues and bones and mobilizes stem cells. It regrows healthy tissues in the brain, blood vessels, skin and bones. It also reduces pain and swelling, and speeds recovery.
It is simple, effective and painless.
Medicare covers Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for approved conditions, and many insurance companies also cover approved conditions. If your condition is not approved by your insurance, we can discuss our special rates. Give us a call at (408) 356–7438. We are happy to discuss your options with you.
San Jose/Los Gatos Clinic
14589 South Bascom Avenue
Los Gatos, CA 95032
Monday-Friday: 5:30 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 7:30 am – 4 pm