26 Comments
Jul 3, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

Deborah, you’re an intrepid explorer sending us heartbreaking, furious, funny shrieking missives from Bodyland. Just when I think you’ve gone through too much and that the world has dumped on us all it can, something else happens. We’re standing in solidarity with you even though you can’t hear us.

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Jul 3, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

OMG!! I am so sorry to read this! You have had the most terrible time with many too many health nightmares. I am only cheered by the fact that you actually have a friend who is an ENT dr who could help you. I hope the steroids work! 💕🙏🤞

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Jul 6, 2022·edited Jul 6, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

I'm really sorry this has happened to you. Has anybody mentioned hyperbaric treatments? It's sometimes used in other instances of acute hearing loss. I'm a physician, and I'm not familiar with any data, but I've definitely heard anecdotes. I would also definitely consider a brain MRI just to rule out badness but again this is not my specialty.

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Jul 5, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

Wow, that really stinks. I was particularly interested in this as I lost ALL my hearing in my right ear due to my hearing nerve getting severed during surgery in my late 40s. Now I can't tell where any sound is coming from. You don't realize how important 2 ears are until you no longer have any hearing depth perception. Anyway, my questions to you are: is the hearing equally bad on both sides? when your head is completely free of all excess mucus, does that make your hearing better? Is it getting any better in general? The only "good" news is that by having nerves that still have function-- you now know about relatively cheap hearing aids. https://deborahcopaken.substack.com/p/psa-your-airpods-pro-are-hearing Keep us all posted on this!

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Jul 5, 2022·edited Jul 5, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

I was diagnosed with something similar—Labyrinthitis—and I was also treated with the same steroids. Curious if your sense of balance was affected. The hearing loss was in my right ear and my sense of balance on my right side is off, although it’s starting to return to normal ( diagnostic tests ruled out a brain tumor and degenerative disease). I never tested + for COVID, although now wondering if I had an asymptomatic case. I hope you recover quickly, and thank you for sharing this story with your readers.

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Oh no!!! Now this?? I'm so sorry. Will this endless series of disasters ever end? I send you thoughts & solidarity.

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Jul 4, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

Deb first thank you for as always for doing such good reporting. Frightening facts but keep sounding that horn. Next, I am horrified by this hearing loss which I fervently hope is temporary. No one person deserves all the many many problems that you have to deal with one after the other. Third, although one feels so helpless nevertheless I am going to give ten women friends a subscription to your newsletter and hope each will give ten and more and more. All that you report on is profoundly important for us all to know. I just wish your discoveries didn’t always have to begin with your own body. Please keep us posted on your condition.

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Jul 4, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

Thank you as always, Deb, for, above all, making me chuckle. I am so sorry for all this crap you’re going through, though!! So hard!! But it’s pretty interesting about the vaccine side effect stuff… I’ve had frozen shoulder twice - it’s horrible!!! I wonder what other helpful facts these news outlets aren’t publishing… Seriously, that’s concerning.

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Jul 4, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

Jesus, Deborah. - Enough! More than enough, too, too, much. So sorry. “The center is not holding “to paraphrase. Your ability to endure and survive , both physically & emotionally, is remarkable.

Hoping this too will pass.In the meantime know that your loyal followers are sending healing energy and holding you in our collective hearts.

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Jul 3, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

Deborah,

I'm very sorry to hear you are going through this. I went through this myself the year before Covid - from a different virus. SSNHL is frightening. I did all the research I could at the time, and tried both the prednisone (thankfully, like you, I knew an ENT, or it would have been too late), and even three rounds of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in desperation (HBOT is horribly expensive and a crap shoot -- but it did seem to help some of the people I met at the treatment centers I went to).

I so hope that you do not have permanent hearing loss! I'd be happy to "talk" to you about my experiences.

ps I also got post-vaccine tinnitus with the first one and couldn't find much info'n on that - so thanks for the link to the study.

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Jul 3, 2022Liked by Deborah Copaken

Seriously?!? Enough already... And thank god for having a friend who's an ENT! Sending you healing blessings and a virtual hug. (If only that would help!)

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Your experience with losing your hearing sounds really frightening. I'm sorry you're going through that and I hope it abates--and soon! You've had enough frightening medical conditions for one lifetime. Including that bursa pain from the vax, which also sounds awful.

I went to that Wellfleet drive-in loads of times in my youth, as my parents had the sense to buy land and have a house built in that town--a house which my siblings and I still have. But I never did see Jaws, and I don't feel deprived by that. It's not the kind of movie my parents would have wanted to see or to take us to, and anyway, I had just graduated from college and spent much of that summer riding my bicycle home from Seattle.

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