Jennifer Matthews: Each year, thousands of people will lose their hearing without notice. It's called sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and doctors say it can happen to anyone.
Dr. Sam Marzo: People take for granted hearing with both ears, and when you take away one of those ears, they really can have significant problems.
Jennifer Matthews: Although two-thirds of people will improve with oral steroids, Doctor Sam Marzo says this tiny wick can help patients who don't respond to them.
Dr. Sam Marzo: We insert the medicines through the eardrum, and they're absorbed into the inner ear, and that's where they exert their effect.
Jennifer Matthews: Three times a day, steroid drops are absorbed by the wick. If that doesn't work, there's another option, a pump that continuously delivers the steroids through a tube run into the ear.
Dr. Sam Marzo: It has the potential to improve hearing. It's very exciting for me. It's very rewarding.
Jennifer Matthews: And it was just what Maureen Berger needed when she suddenly lost hearing in her left ear.
Maureen Berger: If I was in a restaurant, and it was noisy, the person to my left, I may not hear them just because of the background noise.
Jennifer Matthews: She wore the pump for two weeks and has recovered 50 percent of her hearing.
Maureen Berger: I don't feel any problem with just having half because half is better than none.
Jennifer Matthews: She credits her recovery with being in the right place at the right time, with the right doctor.
Maureen Berger: I definitely would not have had my hearing back now had it not been for him.
Jennifer Matthews: This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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