Old Zhang, a retired employee, went to the market to buy food as usual and bargained for a price, but suddenly found that he could not hear anything in his right ear. No matter how to pat or dig with his hand, it didn’t help. His hearing dropped dramatically, and he felt spinning, weak, nauseous and vomiting. Everyone rushed him to the hospital’s ear, nose and throat department. The doctor found that the old man’s eardrum was not abnormal. He was diagnosed with an ear stroke and had to be hospitalized immediately. An ear stroke? The family was puzzled. We often hear of strokes, but rarely hear of ear strokes. So what is an ear stroke all about? An ear stroke is medically called sudden deafness. As the name implies, it refers to a sudden onset of deafness. The patient feels a sudden loss of hearing. There is a feeling of fullness in the ear. In the following 1 hour, 1 day or several days, there is a significant loss of hearing. The cause of sudden deafness is traced. Medical practitioners have not yet found conclusive evidence, but it is generally believed to be due to nerve cell damage in the inner ear caused by factors such as microcirculatory disorders and viral infections. The triggering factors are often colds, exertion, mental stress and irritation. Many people with this disease experience it in their sleep at night and wake up in the morning with no sound in one ear (or occasionally both ears). Hearing loss is dramatic within 24 hours and rarely lasts more than 3 days. It may be accompanied by tinnitus, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, and cold sweats. The patient’s external auditory canal, the eardrum, often has no obvious abnormalities. Sudden deafness is an emotionally related disease that used to be highly prevalent in middle-aged and elderly people, but in recent years, with the accelerated pace of life and increased mental stress, the incidence of sudden deafness has increased and is trending younger. Because the site of sudden deafness damage is in the inner ear, the terminal part of the nerve, and the nerve cells are not renewable. In general, those who seek medical attention within 2 days after the onset of the disease. More than 5O% can recover their hearing. Although sudden deafness is the most promising form of deafness, much depends on the timing of your visit to the doctor, and the earlier the treatment, the better the chance of a cure. Only 50% of those seen after 3 weeks will recover their hearing. Many patients who have lost their hearing permanently have not been seen in time for various reasons. The opportunity for a cure is lost. Therefore, when you notice a sudden loss of hearing in one ear, disappearance of hearing, and tinnitus, you must seek medical attention in a timely manner and should be treated as an emergency and given effective treatment immediately. It is important to lie quietly in bed and rest, and your mood must be relaxed and not pessimistic. These points are very important for the recovery of an ear stroke patient. The most effective medication for sudden deafness is glucocorticoids, which should be used early, in adequate doses, and gradually in decreasing amounts. In addition, they should be used in conjunction with medications that improve blood circulation in the inner ear and reduce blood viscosity. If the patient is considered to have an impaired blood supply to the inner ear, thrombus-dissolving drugs should be used early. If the patient has a history of colds within two weeks prior to sudden deafness, the possibility of inner ear damage caused by viral infection should be considered, and then antiviral drugs should be used. In addition, hyperbaric chamber therapy, vitamins and energy combinations are also effective. With aggressive treatment, hearing is usually restored to varying degrees. What should be done to prevent ear strokes? First, it is important to develop good habits, maintain optimism, live a regular life, and work and rest on time. Secondly, it is advisable to have a light diet, balanced nutrition, no partial eating and no overeating. Once again, pre-existing diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes should be treated in a timely manner. Lastly. Stay away from toxic drugs and noise. If hearing abnormalities are found, immediate medical attention is the key to treatment. If delayed, hypoxia will become permanent deafness for too long.