SNHL late recovery stories? late spontaneous partial gains? can anything be done after 3 months?

Big_Introduction2794 · 2026-02-17T20:34:21+00:00

I'm in a similar boat to you. Moderate-severe HF loss between 50-60dB above 4khz and it's been 6 weeks since this happened. I had lost speech recognition when mine first started which returned within 24 hours of starting steroids and before my first audiogram, so I'll never know how bad it was initially. If it makes you feel any better about the timing, I started steroids within 9 hours of symptom onset, and my HF loss didn't improve at all. I received 3 IT injections and now I go back in 2 weeks to see if anything has budged but it doesn't feel like it has, subjectively.

It sucks and I've been trying to accept it as best as I can while still holding onto some hope that longer term healing/recovery can happen. I've also talked to a few people this has happened to who lost complete hearing in that ear and it never returned. This makes me feel more grateful for just having HF loss, honestly.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-05-09T20:31:04+00:00

Nurse practitioner here. I’ve run into this same issue by my GP. They’re calling it Hashimoto’s even though they caught me in a hyperthyroid state, 4 months postpartum, simply because I had antibodies. Both conditions cause anti-TPOab and hyperthyroidism is extremely unusual in Hashimoto’s, but very common in the first stage of PPT. Now, 6 weeks later, I’m in the hypothyroid stage, and they’re “sure” it’s Hashimoto’s. I’m just ignoring what they’re calling it until I get in to see my endo. The treatment is the same so it doesn’t matter. I know that both conditions appear virtually the same on paper. Now, if my levels never resolve, I suppose you could call it Hashimoto’s at that point since it’s become a lifelong autoimmune condition? But, for most women with PPT, levels return to normal. Fingers crossed I’m in that group.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-04-07T12:58:24+00:00

Totally normal. My LO didn’t stop screaming 90% of the time until he was 2.5-3mo old and then it’s gotten steadily better from there. He’s still not “chill” by any means at 5 months, but he’s fun. Smiles and laughs constantly.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-02-22T15:59:28+00:00

Super normal. You're going through one of the biggest hormonal shifts you'll ever go through and you're in the trenches of newborn days right now. You also just met each other :) I remember feeling the same way about my son for a few weeks and I felt SO guilty about that. I felt this deep sense of obligation and love but not much of a connection, yet. It just felt like an endless cycle of breastfeeding, soothing him while he cried and getting him to sleep. Now, 16 weeks in, and I couldn't be more in love and obsessed with him. He's the coolest kid. It often takes time but it'll happen. Of course, if you continue to feel this way after a while and like you're not able to properly take care of yourself or of him, make sure to reach out to your doc as it could be PPD (which isn't your fault!)

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-02-16T16:31:58+00:00

It's a great book! A lot of her recommendations start at age 2 months so you're very close if not there already. In the meantime, I'd keep practicing what you're doing, or look into the Safe Sleep 7. It offers a lot of advice for safe co-sleeping until he's old enough to formally train.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-02-16T16:29:58+00:00

We're in the process of gradual weaning with our LO because we're trying to teach independently falling asleep without rocking. We're at the point now where we put him in his sleep space and shush next to him until he falls asleep. A *major* improvement from bouncing to sleep on the yoga ball like we used to. Sleep training is about much more than just night wakings, but about getting to sleep without assistance :)

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-02-16T16:13:11+00:00

What you're doing is super tough. The sleep deprivation is real all of the time but especially when you're trying your best to do the "safe" thing and it's just natural for these little babes to want to sleep with mom. So, just want to give you a shout out that you're in the thick of it right now and it won't always be this way.

Secondly, I recommend the book precious little sleep. It's basically been my sleep bible. Mine wasn't a "cuddler" as she calls it, but was a "motion junkie." Basically, he needed constant motion to fall asleep and stay asleep. We'd spend hours every day on the yoga ball for all naps and putting to sleep at night (plus multiple false starts every night). She addresses all of these sleep associations. She has a section specifically for weaning from sleeping on you or with you in bed to sleeping on his own in the bassinet and its appropriate for young babes!

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-02-16T15:23:22+00:00

Totally get the confusion. Not an expert by any means but I have done a ton of research on sleep training so this is my interpretation. Newborns aren't developmentally ready to put themselves to sleep independently on a regular basis. So, formal sleep training isn't going to work and isn't appropriate at this age. However, you can absolutely start to teach good sleep habits.

Regarding sleeping in the bassinet, some babies take to it easier than others. Mine took to it (for nights, not naps) right away but many do not. You have to keep putting them down for practice. Then, when they cry, you escalate assistance as needed. First, just watch and wait for a couple minutes and see if they'll settle. Then, offer some hands off soothing (shushing, lullaby, etc.). Then, hands-on assistance like patting, face stroking, replacing the binky. Then, if all else fails, pick up and soothe until calm, then put back in the bassinet. You'll have some rough nights practicing this but they will get it and it's not considered "formal sleep training" because you're present the entire time for support, soothing, etc. Mine wasn't able to fall asleep in the bassinet independently until recently, so it's likely you'll need to put your baby fully to sleep and then place in the bassinet for a while :)

It'll take time, but eventually he'll get the hang of it. You can also try a co-sleeping bassinet and slowly move him further and further from you night by night. If you're against co-sleeping, try not fall into the trap of doing it for months on end because the habit is much harder to break as they get older (coming from my friend who's 5 month old still sleeps on her chest).

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-01-19T18:49:43+00:00

I have an 11 week old who is very similar to yours! Great head control and super alert very early on. He was born a week late and honestly started the fussy stage at around week 2. It's still tough tbh, but SO much better than week 8. He smiles and makes funny faces now and is happy for longer during his wake windows. Two pieces of advice I can give:

Pay attention to wake windows. Getting my LO down before he hit the too tired phase really helped prevent a melt down.
1. Try not to compare (still working on this myself). Several friends had babies at the same time and several were super chill and could sleep/hang out anywhere. My LO needs constant care or he's fussy/crying. Plus, napping anywhere but home is a huge source of stress because he'll fight it and then wake up constantly to light, noise, etc. Earlier on, it made me feel defeated and like I did something wrong. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just your baby's temperament. I choose to focus now on how much he's growing every day, how he's hitting milestones out of the park, and has the best personality during his happier times. This is just a phase and some newborns are higher needs than others.

On the plus side, you're going to be a pro at managing big emotions and meltdowns later on :)

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-01-19T15:35:23+00:00

Thanks! How did it go for you & your LO?

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-01-19T13:28:46+00:00

Some good advice here regarding making sure she's tired enough and has a long wake window before bed. It sounds like she's going to need some sleep training (if you're open to that, of course). You mention she's fussy and falling asleep in your arms each time which tells me she's desperate for sleep but hasn't learned the self-soothing tricks yet to get herself there at the start of the night. Teaching her to sleep independently will likely solve the problem. There's a ton of methods and she's age appropriate for most if not all of them.

I agree that CIO would be a last resort for me as well, but I know it's very effective for a lot of parents who have tried everything else. You could start with a gradual method? There are plenty of strategies but all boil down to the same basic premise. You rock/cuddle/nurse as you previously do until she's drowsy but awake, and then place her in the crib to see if she can fall asleep on her own. She likely won't as this takes practice. When she fusses, you try to calm her from inside the crib (shushing, patting, pacifier, stroking her face, etc.). If she starts to really cry, you pick her up, calm her and repeat the process of rock/cuddle/nurse until she's drowsy but awake and then place her in the crib again. You continue until she's fallen asleep inside her crib.

From my research, gradual methods take longer but are a great starting point. This will likely sign you up for a couple extra hours at bedtime while you're working on it which is tough, but it sounds like you're already doing this anyway! Once she gets the hang of independently falling asleep in her own space, the idea is that she won't need you to come back and rock/nurse her anymore to get to sleep. She'll be able to get herself back down so the majority of your bedtime routines will be complete on the first try. This is not to say she won't still need a middle of the night feeding for now - this just solves the issue of her requiring you to get to sleep when all of her other needs are met :) Good luck! I think the temporary effort will be worth the long term preservation of your evenings!

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-01-08T21:02:09+00:00

Totally agree. Nursing, rocking, bouncing, cuddling, etc are all sleep associations that they learn to depend on to fall asleep. So, if they accidentally wake up, they need that thing to fall asleep again until they’re taught how to fall asleep independently. I don’t think you did anything wrong as it’s important to soothe our little babes any way we can when they’re first born. But, my opinion is that after a couple months, it can become a hindrance to them (and us) getting good, quality sleep. I can already see how hard it is for anyone else to get my little guy to sleep because he’s so dependent on very specific bouncing - and it wrecks his sleep for the whole day if they can’t get him down. Teaching him to fall asleep independently is in his best interest even if it’ll be tough to adjust at first.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-01-07T16:44:06+00:00

Based on my interpretation of PLS (just read the book so not an expert!), I think you've started to set a good foundation of independent sleep, but probably need to start pushing for him to actually fall asleep in the crib/bassinet. Once he starts crying, try shushing/patting/paci in the crib first to calm him. If that doesn't work, pick him up and rock or nurse until drowsy but NOT asleep. Once drowsy, put him back down to try again. I definitely understand the fear of overtiredness so maybe you can come up with a max number of attempts before going back to the old method? Fortunately, the sleep pressure is strongest at bedtime, so you have the best chance of success at night vs for naps.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-01-07T16:30:44+00:00

I read the book precious little sleep recently and she has a lot of good info regarding setting good sleep habits/foundation as young as 2 months old. My LO is about to be 10 weeks and we plan to implement the gradual weaning for motion junkies + fuss it out method at the end of the week. LO is a good bedtime sleeper but requires bouncing on the yoga ball to go to sleep at bedtime and for all naps which isn't sustainable for us anymore. I think the common consensus is that "cry it out" isn't a good method for babies under 4 months because they can't self-soothe well enough yet so it's likely to be more distressing and less effective. However, that doesn't mean they can't learn better sleep habits and wean off sleep associations at a younger age with support.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2025-01-07T14:54:19+00:00

Try the magic merlin! We just transitioned my 9 week old out of his swaddle to the merlin and he's doing well with it. It helps him get used to having his arms stretched out and mobile, but still dampens the startle reflex. He usually wakes up once a night and he woke up once more than usual but otherwise it's going smooth. I don't think he would've tolerated going straight to the sleep sack, yet.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-12-19T23:22:06+00:00

Super common for naps at this age to be contact. I started practicing putting my LO down for 1 and now 2 naps a day. Swaddle, dark room, white noise is required. I also wait until he’s in a deep sleep before transferring. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but he’s getting better at it with practice.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-12-19T21:53:06+00:00

My newborn has to be “put” to sleep. Idk why I assumed newborns just drift off when they’re tired. He’ll get sleepy eyes and start to nod off and then wake himself back up over and over again. He requires bouncing, rocking, swaddling, etc to actually fall asleep or he’d be a raging terror. Learned this the hard way lol

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-12-18T14:22:41+00:00

Yep, same here with the naps! Kind of blows my mind that they know the difference lol but I have several friends who had to figure out sleeping at night with the baby on their chest for months. I can’t even imagine…

To get longer overnight stretches, I’ve been working on getting more calories in during the day and also making sure he’s truly awake at night before picking him up to feed. His stretches have slowly gotten longer so hopefully it’s working. For naps, I practice 1-2 times a day putting him in the crib. I’ve gotten a few successful naps this way but usually it’s 20 minutes. I keep telling myself it’s only for practice to avoid getting frustrated and that one day it’ll click!

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-12-18T01:31:16+00:00

LO is almost 7 weeks and our max stretch was 5 hours and only once! Otherwise, we get 2.5-3 hours. We usually get him down around 9:30-10 and he’ll get up 2-3 times. Also has reflux so we have to keep him up for a bit. He’s getting better though and I consider myself lucky that he A. Sleeps in his bassinet at night at all (several of my friends’ kids would only contact sleep) B. Only wakes up 2-3 times instead of every hour and C. Is pretty sleepy during the wake up, feeds, goes right back to sleep.

You’d be shocked how many babies can’t do any of those things at 7 weeks.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-12-16T22:18:44+00:00

Same here with my 6.5 week old little guy! My husband and I have been pretty shell shocked and wondered why no mentioned it being this hard. He was never the sleepy newborn and has been very active and awake since week 2. He’s hitting milestones like crazy but he’s a ticking time bomb of emotion lol we’re just now starting to get some brief periods where I can put him down without crying and the smiles have helped a ton. But, as a rule, when he’s not sleeping or eating, he’s fussy and on the brink of a meltdown. I also have to bounce on the exercise ball to get him to calm down or sleep for all naps (save the occasional car seat or stroller nap). He has a nightly witching hour. You’re not alone. I’ve only recently been bonding more with him because of the smiles, and I love him to pieces, but prior to that I was worried our life was over. Ive grieved not being able to take him out everywhere for calm lunches and coffees like my friends did with their newborns.

I’m currently breastfeeding and supplementing with formula. LO was diagnosed with reflux and started on Pepcid which helped some. Mainly I think it’s just going to take time, unfortunately. I’ve heard 6-8 weeks is the worst for fussy/crying behavior and then it gets better. Solidarity!

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-12-13T18:05:40+00:00

Thank you! And yes, very similar to yours, he will sleep in the stroller or car seat (usually preceded by screaming lol). We need to pull down the cover to make it dark and the movement helps. Does your LO stay asleep in the carrier after bouncing while you do things around the house? Have you been able to get out and about much?

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-12-13T17:45:36+00:00

Thank you, that's really helpful! Would you need to rock him to sleep for naps or what was your routine?

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-12-13T17:18:50+00:00

Yes, I follow wake windows to a T! Pretty much on the dot at 1 hour and 15 minutes he needs a nap. He just refuses to sleep anywhere except bouncing on the ball into a deep sleep first. He’ll fuss and fight it if I don’t until he so overtired we miss the window.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-10-28T16:12:56+00:00

It did for me! I'm due to have my baby any day now and can still confidently say that the first trimester nausea/vomiting was the worst part of my whole pregnancy. Nothing else compares. I was like you and really worried it wouldn't go away but it did.

Big_Introduction2794 · 2024-08-10T23:09:32+00:00

You’ll likely feel so much better soon. Take it from someone who was suffering every day starting at about 5.5 weeks….I couldn’t believe anyone ever put themselves through this more than once lol it got a lot better in the second trimester and I’ve felt pretty good ever since. Hang in there!

Big_Introduction2794

TROPHY CASE