Post Op

Thanks Melissa,

It has been tough since it did come on so fast. One moment fine, the next HOH. There have been two issues since I fell, distorted hearing of sounds coming in and how loud and distorted everything on the inside is. The distorted coming in seems to be fixed anyway :).

Still looking into superior Canal Dehiscence, trust me I don’t want it but I do want answers! It fits so many of my remaining symptoms.

First I have heard of that condition. And you are right, the symptoms sure do seem to fit. And your injury sure seems like it could be the cause. Have they done any x-rays or CT Scans of your head or ear since the accident?

The surgery sounds pretty straight forward. But would be scary since it mentions drilling a hole into the skull behind the ear. But should not be any worse than having the ear surgery you just went through.

I bet it is similar to the process of installing a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid or Cochlear Implant.

I had an MRI in the ER in January, last time I’ve been scanned.

I don’t want any more “issues”. This year has not been great so far. Fell on New Year, on my way to Mass Eye and Ear for my first appt I was rear-ended in traffic and pushed into the car in front of me. Then my surgery, which went well but doesn’t seem to have fixed everything, and yesterday my car got hit again in the parking lot at work. This on top of a lot of other things that have been so overwhelming financially that I just don’t need any more “issues”.

Other than you Reidan, no one else has mentioned having the kazoo-effect hearing in their head when speaking. I wake up everyday hoping that whatever is causing the kazoo will spontaneously heal and go away! Some days are better than others. As for healing from the stapedectomy, I feel really good. I am still be careful to not bend too much, or blow my nose hard and my hearing is definitely improved over what it was pre-op.

Dang, you have had a rough year. Sympathies to you my friend.

Today I am three weeks post-op from what turned out to be a stapedectomy. Since my hearing loss was from trauma and not otosclerosis I don’t think my results are going to be as good as others who have this procedure.

Something is still very wrong with the hearing in my operated left ear. The fluid in the ear feeling has eased up a lot and I am no longer living on decongestants to get through the day. Yeah! I still have aural fullness, unchanged from what it was pre-op. Tinnitus is still present, but that has changed from pre-op. Before, it was an ever changing array of high pitched noises that would come and go in intensity. Now, it is pretty much a constant high pitched static, which is better in a way as it is constant and my brain has adjusted to it and I can completely block it out most of the time. When it’s quiet I hear it still, but not bad unless I focus on it. I also have what I call heartbeat tinnitus, when I’m resting it is barely there but as soon as I get moving it gets louder and louder. It is not high pitched, more like a sound bite of TV static that plays for a second with each heartbeat.

Unlike many others I don’t really have any popping or crackling. With pressure changes my ear will clear a little bit, the volume goes up a little, and it immediately goes back down. This is most likely due to some remaining “gunk” inside the middle ear after the surgery. But even when the volume goes up, it is still much, much softer than what I hear with my other ear. When I yawn I can hear, ever so faintly, a little crackle sound but very faintly. And from inside my head it sounds like it comes from where the “kazoo” lives.

Ah, the kazoo. The most disturbing part of my new hearing reality. It still exists, completely unchanged since the surgery. I thought it had gotten a little softer but no, it is still the same as it has been since I fell. My own voice on the left side is a kazoo inside my head. Just as before, the louder I speak, the louder it plays. It was the biggest factor in my decision to get the operation, and it’s the one thing that has not changed in any way, shape or form since.

I have eighteen days to my next follow up and my first post-op hearing test. At least the surgery was not a waste, don’t want o give anyone out there reading this the wrong impression! What I can hear of people’s voices is a lot more “normal” than pre-surgery. At least the distortion on my incoming hearing is gone, I have more quality in what I can hear than I did before the surgery.

@lohearn said:

Ah, the kazoo. The most disturbing part of my new hearing reality. It still exists, completely unchanged since the surgery. I thought it had gotten a little softer but no, it is still the same as it has been since I fell. My own voice on the left side is a kazoo inside my head. Just as before, the louder I speak, the louder it plays. It was the biggest factor in my decision to get the operation, and it’s the one thing that has not changed in any way, shape or form since.

Would revision surgery work to fix that kazoo thing? (not that you would wanna go through all that again). Can only imagine how utterly frustrating that sound must be. They do say that it takes months to fully recovery from that type of surgery, and there are improvements long after, so there may still be hope.

Yes, you’ve been listening to me whine now for 4 weeks ;).

I’m feeling better and better all the time. My hearing still sucks but I feel better :p.

My surgery, unlike other stapedectomies, was to repair the damage I did to my ossicular chain after I fell. I lost sight from time to time of the fact that I also have a sensorineural loss too. This surgery was to get me to a point where, if needed, I could get a hearing aid. The way my hearing was pre-op was terrible and a hearing aid would have just amplified distorted hearing from a broken, misaligned ossicular chain. Well, that goal was achieved, the surgery was a success (I think).

I may never know what causes my own voice to sound like a kazoo in my head. And I may just have to get used to hearing it. I think I’m OK with it as long as what comes in is quality hearing. From what I can hear things sound fairly normal coming in so life moves on. Next follow up and first post-op hearing test in 11 days!

Next I’ll be driving you crazy as I try to pick out a hearing aid for that ear :rolleyes:.