On July 16, Mouhamed Niang heard a loud pop in his left ear. Initially, he wasn’t too concerned, expecting the ear to “unclog” itself.
“The next morning, I realized something was wrong as I had complete hearing loss in my left ear when using an earphone,” said Mouhamed, “along with persistent dizziness whenever my head leaned to the left.”
Alarmed by his symptoms, Mouhamed visited a local clinic and was eventually referred to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, who prescribed steroid injection treatments, along with hyperbaric oxygen chamber (HBO) treatment. A quick search for HBO therapy led Mouhamed to the MedStar Health Wound Healing Center at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital.
“I searched around, and St. Mary’s was the closest one available,” said Mouhamed. “All the other ones were in the DC metro area or in Baltimore.”
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy allows patients to breathe 100% pure oxygen while lying in a pressurized chamber. The Wound Healing Center at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital has two hyperbaric oxygen chambers. Patients typically require multiple sessions over several weeks, and all sessions are monitored closely by trained clinicians.
“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy delivers high doses of oxygen to the damaged tissues to encourage healing of the injured area,” said Richard Greengold, MD, wound care specialist at MedStar St. Mary’s.
Mouhamed received a diagnosis of idiopathic unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The exact cause of this type of hearing loss is often unknown, but HBO therapy delivered quickly after the onset of symptoms can be a powerful tool in restoring some of a patient’s hearing. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimates that between one and six people per 5,000 suffer sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) each year.
Mouhamed underwent 20 two-hour sessions in the HBO chamber. The HBO sessions restored about 30% of Mouhamed’s hearing, allowing him to recognize that people around him were talking.
“ I'm happy that it's better, even though the speech recognition didn't improve much, but as far as being able to recognize noise, which improved a lot. It's not what it was in the past, but it's still better than losing it altogether,” said Mouhamed.
“Although HBO Therapy isn’t a cure, it has allowed his injured inner ear to begin recovery and allowed Mouhamed to regain more ability to hear and to function again,” said Dr. Greengold
Call 240-434-7670 for more information about the MedStar Health Wound Healing Center at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital.