SteveAUD: is it your opinion that every person who presents with ear pain, congestion, red, enflamed ear drums, visible fluid in the middle ear, and hearing loss which started at the same time as the congestion should immediately be referred to an ENT for evaluation for SSNHL? I don’t think there’s any doubt that I had an ear infection, and I’m really not sure if it’s reasonable to have expected a GP to suspect SSNHL with those symptoms. But maybe it is; I’ll be curious to hear your opinion.
I am, however, upset that the guy filling in for my vacationing PCP was dismissive of my complaints of ongoing hearing loss at my follow-up appointment. I’m glad I didn’t follow his advice to try two (!) more courses of antibiotics before seeing an ENT (who, he said, would only “get medieval on [me]”) but made an appointment with an ENT as soon as my ear had cleared but my hearing had not improved. That said, it is clear that by that time there was nothing that could be done.