Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Doctors treating Rush Limbaugh said Thursday they will try a combination of drugs for up to two months before deciding whether to implant an electronic device in his ear in hopes of saving what is left of his hearing.
The device is called a cochlear implant, which creates an electronic signal and sends it to the brain.
"He is never going to have normal hearing," said Dr. Jennifer Derebery of the House Ear Clinic and Institute, where the radio commentator has received treatment in recent weeks.
Limbaugh, 50, surprised his listeners this week by disclosing that he has gone almost completely deaf over the past few months. He said his left ear is "shot" and he has only partial hearing in his right ear.
He suffers from autoimmune inner-ear disease, which progresses rapidly over a few weeks or months. Doctors believe it is caused when the immune system launches a misguided attack on the inner ear and damages the nerves.
Limbaugh, whose nationally syndicated talk show reaches about 20 million people on 600 stations, said he wants to continue his show.
At a Los Angeles news conference Thursday was Premiere Radio Networks president Kraig Kitchin, who said Limbaugh has been using relatively new technology to help him continue with his radio show.
Listener comments are quickly transcribed into text on a monitor in front of Limbaugh, and an array of multicolored lights are used to indicate the mood — anger, sympathy — of each caller.
Symptoms of auto-immune inner ear disease can include fluctuating hearing, dizziness, ear fullness or a sudden loss of hearing. The disease is rare, causing less than 1 percent of all cases of hearing loss or dizziness.
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