I'm on that same journey. 8 months ago, I was sitting at my desk and all of a sudden my left ear just went out. The ringing was there. I figured the same that it was wax. I've always had wax issues with that ear that require a doctor's office visit. (trying the home kits has only made it worse!) But this time the doctor came in, looked in the ear and said, "there's no wax at all in that ear". What followed sounds much like your journey. Visits to ENT, CT Scans - waiting on an MRI to ensure there's no tumor... All the while I went from having great hearing to having to say, "say that again" all the time.