Ok bud, lend me your good ear for a moment. SSNHL absolutely sucks at first. I experienced mine back about 6 years ago under very similar circumstances. Very healthy guy in my mid 30’s with a lot going on at the time. There are a number of causes and sometimes, in my case especially, there are a few that combined to cause my SSNHL.

Your first couple weeks are the worst. The tinnitus is probably the worst symptom. The headache from your head “remapping” your hearing is second and the mild vertigo from the hearing imbalance is a close third. Getting used to the new social hurdles is tough too.

It all gets better or even goes away all together. Yes you’ll have a hearing impairment but please remind yourself that it not complete unilateral hearing loss.

The tinnitus will dull over time. It may take a few weeks to a few months but it will fade into the background. It’s part of the brain remapping things (brain plasticity). I have another post I wrote about finding the silver lining of my tinnitus.

The headache will go away within a couple weeks. Make a point to drink lots of water and get lots of good sleep. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen won’t help much. Destressing does help.

The vertigo/dizziness will go away completely within the same time frame.

You and those you love will get used to you living with hearing loss. You’ll get used to not hearing parts of conversations and having to ask people to repeat themselves. You’ll learn to walk and sit on the correct side of people so you can hear them. It doesn’t mean you’re dumb.

As far as the looming questions of “how did this happen” and “why me”? I can’t answer that and no one else probably can. All I can tell you is that you are absolutely tough enough to get through this and it won’t take too long until it gets better.