I am new to the forum. I first had sudden hearing loss in February in my left ear. Finally found an ENT to provide steroids which brought back some of hearing. Recently I seem to have some relapses with tinnitus, loss of hearing episodes with loud ringing, fullness in the ear etc. Don't have any of the vertigo that others here seem to suffer. I want to try a regimen similar to the john of Ohio. I have been taking the Lipo-flavonoid plus--is that as good as the other lemon flavonoids. I have an appointment with Hopkins ENT Monday so I thought I would ask about the anti-viral others have suggested. Don't want to lost more hearing, and my other ear sometimes seems to fill a bit with fluid. Any evidence that additional steroid shot in the ear help reduce the fluid for a period of time. Almost lost all of my hearing in left ear one morning--full of fluid. thanks for any help--enjoy reading the other posts and suggestions.
Hi Tommy, I'm sorry you have had to join the ranks with us. I started having symptoms in November 2013, with tinnitus, noise distortion, hearing loss, and vertigo. I started on the John of Ohio (JOH) regimen and didn't notice much change. Shortly afterward, I started on Valtrex. The Valtrex worked quite well but unfortunately I had to stop taking it due to a delayed allergic reaction. For a while, my symptoms rebounded a bit, but slowly, they have subsided. I continue with the JOH regimen, and although I have had my times of doubt, over time, I am coming to see that for me, it helps, significantly. I seem to have a pattern of getting frustrated and disillusioned with the idea of taking so many pills and capsules every day, especially since over time, my symptoms have mostly subsided. I look at all the pills I set up each week in pill boxes, and wonder if all this is necessary anymore. But each time I stop taking the regimen, after about 1.5 days, I start to hear a little noise in my left ear, and after three days, it starts getting louder and more persistent. This happened just recently during an extended vacation and I went several days without taking the JOH regimen. The noise/tinnitus got very loud and I got a little scared that I had messed up and might not be able to get the symptoms back under control. I set up my meds again three days ago. Today, I notice that although I still have the ringing, it is not as loud, so the JOH is starting to help again. I don't know if I will keep going through these cycles of doubt and testing the limits periodically, or if I will eventually accept that I am now a pill taker. In browsing this forum, I see that there is a fair amount of controversy around JOH, his regimen, and his occasionally testy responses to what others have to say. You have to read for yourself, decide where your limits are when it comes to trying out supplements which may or may not be recommended by your doctor, and make up your own mind. I have researched each of the supplements for myself, and decided to go for it. Through trial and error, over time, my body has clearly let me know that I'm doing the right thing, so I will keep laying out those pills in their little boxes each week. I, for one, am very thankful to John of Ohio for sharing his experiences and his regimen with us, even if he gets testy sometimes.
Prednisone, though it works for many at least for a while did not help me. Nothing helped til I tried antivirals. First I took acyclovir which took away horrendous distortion. When it seemed to falter (though never going back to the worst symptoms I had for 9 months before acyclovir) I went to Dr Derebery at House Ear in LA. She prescribed famvir and also did allergy testing followed by allergy shots indicated y the results. The combination of treatments brought my audiograms, which had showed up to 50 dcb loss in the low frequencies, to normal range, eliminated a 24/7 LOUD roaring tinnitus and eliminating a host of weird hearing issues. That was 6 years ago and my improvement holds to this day. I have cochlear hydrops but my symptoms pre-antiviral were heading towards dizzyness as well. A number of people here have reported success with vertigo as well with these treatments. Give antivirals a chance. They are well tolerated by most compared to other drugs used for this condition (not for people with kidney or liver issues). Good luck!