When hearing changes suddenly, time matters. A sudden drop in hearing, sometimes accompanied by ringing or a blocked sensation, can indicate sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).
This condition requires urgent medical assessment. At Sound Audiology, we want to help our community understand the treatment options available and explore how local services could support coordinated care.
One opportunity is hyperbaric oxygen therapy through CO7 Recovery in Mount Gambier.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, involves breathing oxygen inside a chamber pressurised above normal atmospheric pressure. Medical treatment uses controlled oxygen delivery and pressure, with a treatment plan determined by the supervising clinical team.
The RACGP’s 2025 clinical update identifies HBOT as an option for specialist consideration alongside corticosteroids for selected patients with SSNHL. It discusses treatment within the first two weeks to one month after symptoms begin.
The potential benefits and risks must be assessed individually, and hearing recovery is not guaranteed.
Located at 25 Bay Road, Mount Gambier, CO7 Recovery offers hyperbaric oxygen therapy among its recovery and wellness services.
Its published treatment information describes a Halsä Royale Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, with pressure up to 1.99 ATA, oxygen purity stated as 99%, and advertised sessions of 60 minutes. These are the facility’s published specifications; they do not, by themselves, establish suitability for treating sudden hearing loss.
Having this equipment in Mount Gambier creates an opportunity to explore whether suitable patients could access prescribed treatment closer to home.
HBOT already has a role in specialist hearing care at Australian hospitals. The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne accepts referrals for acute idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss, while the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Hyperbaric Medicine Unit lists the same condition among those it treats.
These hospital pathways support considering HBOT for selected patients. They do not automatically establish that every local chamber or advertised session provides an equivalent treatment.
For a local pathway involving CO7 Recovery, the treating ENT or hyperbaric physician would need to confirm the required pressure, oxygen delivery, session duration, treatment frequency, medical supervision and safety arrangements.
We would welcome collaboration between CO7 Recovery, local GPs, ENT specialists, hyperbaric physicians and Sound Audiology to assess this opportunity.
An appropriate local pathway could help reduce travel for Limestone Coast patients while keeping treatment decisions under specialist medical guidance.
Sound Audiology can support this process through diagnostic hearing assessments, prompt communication of results and follow-up hearing monitoring. Any treatment at CO7 Recovery for SSNHL would depend on confirmation that the facility can deliver the medically prescribed protocol.
If your hearing drops suddenly, seek medical attention that day. Do not wait for a chamber booking or a routine hearing appointment.
The RACGP advises that hearing testing should be arranged promptly but should not delay medical treatment for suspected SSNHL.
To learn about CO7 Recovery’s facility, visit its modalities page. For sudden hearing loss, your first step is urgent medical assessment.
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