I also had hearing loss before diagnosis and treatment and had a good and a bad ear, but it dragged on much longer than yours has, so I think there is hope. Feb. 4 is coming right up, and I hope the rheumy will be able to start treatment without a biopsy, as is sometimes the case, based on symptoms and blood work, or if not, Feb. 10 is not that long of a wait for a nasal biopsy, which might not need a long wait if done right in the ENT's office, as mine was,. If that is not conclusive, as they aren't always, then the pulmy might order lung biopsy, which is much more invasive and harder to schedule but also more reliably conclusive. If either is positive, you'll still be getting a much earlier dx than I and many others have gotten, and thus better chances for your hearing to recover, even if some of the loss is sensorineural.
Both my ears had conductive loss and one, the left, also had sensorineural. The ENT held out more hope for the right ear to improve. But to his surprise, they both did. This was 2 years before dx, and I was being treated with repeated short courses of antibiotics and prednisone, since it appeared to be caused only by a severe bilateral ear infection. I still needed hearing aids and haven't stopped needing them. But now I only use one, because the formerly better right ear developed an infection in the OUTER canal, sometime after dx, which would not clear up with antibiotic drops, and which functionally destroyed the eardrum and the little bones behind it. So a hearing aid no longer helps that ear. But the formerly worse left ear has maintained its level of improvement with the aid.
The aids I have were donated to my ENT's audiology department and thus were used and reasonably decent at the time but not top of the line. But I function pretty well with the one I can still use in the ear that still hears. It can adjust to filter out background noise, and I no longer am bothered much by restaurant noise and such. Out in public or in meeting rooms, I can hear some people very well and others with a lot more difficulty. Meetings are the worst unless they have excellent PA systems, so I rarely go to them, and don't have to in my line of work. Outdoors and in grocery stores I generally do OK but may often have to point my good ear in the direction of the speaker, have them walk on my left side, etc. Since I work largely at home, it isn't a huge problem, but you say hearing is important to your work, so that IS a problem. I know there are some more advanced hearing systems available as options, as well as the most expensive hearing aids. You could talk to an audiologist about these and maybe try them out in her office, as I did, though I wasn't willing or able to spend the money.

Of course it's true that time is of the essence. I realize you've had various suspicious problems all your adult life. And it must seem like a very long time since September, when the most recent onslaught of problems began for you. And of course you want some answers ASAP. Now that you have some appointments lined up in the next few weeks, you can maybe feel encouraged that the ball will get rolling. If it still seems too slow and you're getting no relief from either worry or symptoms, you might employ some of the methods used by me2 and drz.

I see me2 was writing while I was and snuck in ahead of me. I quickly read and agree with everything he said. Especially in regard to Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide, CTX). It is thought of as the mean and dangerous drug that used to be the standard, but none of them are innocuous, and CTX will indeed slow down your disease activity faster than anything else, along with prednisone. It can be taken orally, as pills, as I did, or as an IV infusion. You might not have to take it for very long at all, and then could be switched to one of the more preferred ones these days.

Good luck!

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