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Hearing loss and operations under general anaesthetic

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@Tee said:

I have a horror story about a medical professional who kept deliberately covering their mouth and looking away from me while speaking as if they were testing me. He was so rude and I still to do this day have no idea why. I left the appointment in tears but because I effectively “stormed out” he also added horrible things to my medical notes.

Whaaaat!? The ego of some people is incomprehensible!

In reply to @Tee

Well, somebody has to graduate with the lowest grade! I’m guessing it was Mr. Personality, the jerk.
I’m glad you made a formal complaint!

In reply to @Tee

Will no one be in the waiting room for you while you’re having surgery?

How are you getting home?

Most hospitals around here will take your clothes and whatever in pre-op and seal them and they end up in the recovery room or your hospital room.

I’ve always been told to just leave them in. The per-op nurses I’m sure have dealt with hearing aids. The anesthesiologist will talk to you prior and probably is the one to ask.

In reply to @MShumaker

@MShumaker my husband will be waiting for me, and he can hold on to my personals for me. Mostly, I am fact-finding as the consultant seemed to have no idea of the process, so it’s helpful if I can just tell them exactly what they need to do rather than expecting them to know. Ironically, if I used I could have a translator present.

I talked to the surgeon in advance. I had a very small zip lock bag with my name etc on it to give to the surgeon in pre-op. He put it in his surgery notebook. When I woke up I had my hearing aids on(but on the wrong ears lol) . I was concerned like you because it is very loud in pre op and post op, making it hard to hear and communicate - and family isn’t always allowed.

The hard part is being able to talk to whoever needs to know in advance. But pre-op nurse at least can handle it.

Edited

I’ve been put under for medical procedures 4 times in the last 4 years. When I was there for inpatient surgery, they took my aids after I put them in a case and it went with my phone and a few other things in a bag that was placed under my gurney. It was immediately available to me as I started to wake up.
Twice they asked me to hand the case to my wife, assuring me that she’d be right there as I woke up, and once it went into a property bag, which I was given once well into recovery from anesthesia. Kinda late for some of the comms, but we made out ok.

WH

I was in the OR doing a hearing test () on a 3 year old who wore hearing aids. The parents asked the team to put her hearing aids back on while she woke up from the anesthesia. (She had 3 procedures back to back and I was in the middle.) I asked the nurses if they knew HOW to put her aids back on. They were clueless, so I tried to show them since I couldn’t stay until the end. Hopefully they figured it out before she woke up!

All that to say, make sure someone in post op will know how to put your devices on, or they’ll likely be put in wrong or not turned on! :slight_smile:

In reply to @Tee

@Tee said:

Maybe I’ll just write DEAF! on my forehead with sharpie :joy:

My wife had an eye operation a couple of years ago. They drew a star on her forehead above the eye to be operated on with what appeared to be a sharpie !

I suspect that you could have fun brainstorming appropriate or inappropriate words for your own forehead @Tee ……:joy:

In reply to @Bimodal_user

@Bimodal_user Good memory! 12% in left and 0% in right. But no, this delightful piece of work was a mental health professional who was supposed to be helping me get support for PTSD. …
I know!!!

The is a more complex beast for me. Many factors, pros and cons, and some underlying factors that may or may not affect how safe it would be for me. Since my Phonak Nadia’s are doing an excellent job so far, and I am a proficient lip reader, I said nah. It’s maybe a weird thing to say on a hearing aid / CI forum, but I like being deaf.
But if there was an op that could cure my diabetes I’d take that in a heartbeat.

In reply to @Tee

@Tee said:

and some underlying factors that may or may not affect how safe it would be for me.

With respect you don’t want to have , what were told to you about problem with safety of the CI operation? I ask because, in fact, that procedure is one of the safest, apart from excision of skin changes, of course.

@Tee said:

But if there was an op that could cure my diabetes I’d take that in a heartbeat.

You mean type 1? There are many efficient closed-loop insulin pumps with automatic glucose measurement, although I understand it is still quite a hassle compared to being healthy…

@Bimodal_user really poor bone density / atrophy in my jaw and sinus cavity plus a slightly abnormal of temporal bones means I’m not not a candidate, but that there may be potential complications.

In reply to @Bimodal_user

@Bimodal_user I’m currently on the waitlist for a Tandem closed loop insulin pump. I’m so excited about that! I know it’s not a cure, but it will definitely take some of the hard work out of managing it.

In reply to @Tee

@Tee said:

really poor bone density / atrophy in my jaw and sinus cavity plus a slightly abnormal CT of temporal bones

I understand. I hope that you were diagnosed towards possible osteoporosis (I may be wrong). There is some treatment which could help with bone density.

@Bimodal_user osteoporosis has been (thankfully!) ruled out, so it’s probably due to all the surgeries I’ve had on my teeth and jaw and subsequent full plate clearance.

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