What should I do if I have "sudden deafness" during pregnancy? Can it be cured? Is the baby born early?

It's not easy to be a mom. An expectant mother came to the clinic and suddenly became deaf during pregnancy, what should I do? Can it be cured? Is the baby born early?

Getting pregnant in October is not easy. The 35-year-old mother-to-be, who became pregnant for the first time, is now 37 weeks and 6 days old. She came to the pharmacy clinic with tears in her eyes, and I quickly asked her: What's wrong? It turned out that three days ago suddenly continued to have tinnitus in the left ear.

Today, the otolaryngologist examined her, and there were no abnormalities in the external auditory canal and eardrum, but the low-frequency damage (low-frequency sounds could not be heard). Doctors recommend initiating hormone therapy and referral to an obstetrician-gynecology department. Assess whether early delivery is possible and hormonal therapy is performed after the baby is born.

The expectant mother felt sorry for the baby, couldn't help but shed tears, and didn't want to give birth early. The obstetrics and gynecology department refers to a pharmacy clinic to assess the risks of hormone therapy for the baby and pregnant mother.

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Learn about sudden deafness

First, let's take a look at sudden deafness. Sudden deafness is a sudden and rapid appearance of hearing impairment, which can be manifested as hearing loss, and some friends show a feeling of ear blockage and ear swelling.

Problems with the ears on one side are common. Tinnitus occurs in 90% of unilateral sudden deafness. Like our mother-to-be, one-sided tinnitus is the main symptom.

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Will hearing be restored?

Whether or not hearing can be restored depends on the severity of hearing damage and the cause. Emphasis on early diagnosis and treatment can help improve prognosis.

Therefore, friends, if you have discomfort in the ear, you must evaluate the hearing situation as soon as possible.

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Treatment

The treatment of sudden deafness is with glucocorticoids. It is best to start within 2 weeks of the onset of symptoms and no later than 6 to 8 weeks after the onset of symptoms. Choose oral prednisone, 60 mg, once a day for 10 days. Hearing is reviewed two weeks after treatment to assess efficacy.

Friends have heard that the side effects of hormones are large, if pregnant women use hormones, then on pregnant mothers and fetuses, will it cause unimaginable harm?

Not really. The mother-to-be is already in the third trimester, and it is safer for the baby to use prednisone at this time. Because prednisone enters the placenta, most of the placenta enzymes are metabolized, and the amount of entering the fetus is very low.

So, does it have an impact on pregnant mothers? Even using it for 10 days doesn't have much effect. Use as long as you want

I comforted the sad mother-to-be. Tell her that, first of all, in the middle and third trimesters, the use of hormones does not lead to fetal malformations. You're in your third trimester, so don't worry.

Secondly, the use of prednisone in the middle and third trimesters, as long as the daily dose does not exceed 80 mg, is not a long-term use, will not affect the growth and development of the baby. Finally, prednisone is used continuously for 10 days, the time is short, the impact on you is relatively small, there may be gastrointestinal side effects, mental excitement, increased appetite, these side effects are not serious, after stopping the drug will completely disappear.

After listening to my analysis, the mother-to-be's mood also calmed down. After consulting with her family, she called me and decided to minimize the risk to the baby. It was time to give birth early, so it was decided to induce labor in hospital, give birth early, and undergo hormone therapy after giving birth. I wish her a smooth birth and a lovely baby.

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Effects of hormones on pregnant mothers and fetuses

Depends on which stage of pregnancy you are at? Which hormone was chosen? What is the dosage of hormones? And how long to use.

For example, in the first trimester, the first trimester, because the function of the placenta has not yet been fully formed, prednisone can not be metabolized by placenta enzymes, at this time, if the daily dose of prednisone is greater than 15 quarks, there is a risk of cleft lip and palate, and should be avoided as much as possible. In the middle and third trimesters, short-term use of prednisone in non-oversized doses is safe for both pregnant mothers and fetuses.

However, long-term use of large doses may pose risks to pregnant mothers, such as premature rupture of membranes, hyperglycemia and infection. There is also a risk to the fetus, resulting in intrauterine growth restriction, manifested as low-weight infants. In addition, dexamethasone is not very able to be metabolized by placenta enzymes, and the amount of fetus enters more, so for those who need to be produced in advance, dexamethasone is often used to promote fetal lung maturation.

Finally, the prognosis of sudden deafness. The overall prognosis for sudden deafness is generally good, with about two-thirds of patients regaining some level of hearing. Recovery is usually achieved within three months. The less severe the hearing impairment, the more likely it is to recover hearing. Simple high-frequency or low-frequency hearing impairment has a good prognosis.

Low-frequency hearing injury has a good prognosis compared to high-frequency hearing injury. The presence of tinnitus without dizziness heals well. So the mother-to-be should be able to fully recover.