dianaclary
10-11-2008, 11:55 PM
My daughter was diagnosed with otosclerosis this past July. She had complained of ear pain, ringing, crackling and other weird sensations. She has had a history of many ear infections so I thought she was having another infection when she wasn't hearing well. She had passed a school screening the past year so a real hearing loss was the farthest thing from my mind.
She was scheduled for a stapecodemy this past Thursday. She did have surgery but for something different.
She had an ossicular chain mobilization in which her malleus bone was "unstuck". Her doctor said that this was an unusual case since only this bone was affected--her stapes bone is normal. He says that she might still have otosclerosis so we are taking a wait and see approach. There is a possibility that the bone can become fixated again and if so there are surgical options that correct it for good.
After she got out of surgery, I whispered in her ear and she heard me! She was so cute. Even though she was groggy, she would smile when she heard things like a curtain opening or the blood pressure machine ticking.
She had quite a bit of bleeding and felt some pretty intense pain for a few hours, but the bleeding stopped and the pain subsided in about 4-5 hours. Her hearing was really bad the following night (even worse than before the surgery) which I assume was from the swelling since it seems to be improving by the hour.
I am so glad that she had the surgery or we wouldn't really know what she was dealing with. I had gone back and forth, but she said she wanted to do it even knowing the risks. If we had gone the hearing aid route, I would have been very thankful that she could hear but I would be constantly worrying that it would get worse and it might get to the point that surgery wouldn't really help her. I guess for me the unknown in this situation has been much more frightening than the known. I imagine that there are alot of people that think their hearing loss is caused by one thing but it might actually be caused by something that is relatively easy to correct. I had imagined the worse and almost passed on the surgery option because of the fear of the "what ifs". I had never considered that her hearing loss was caused by another less scary condition and "what if" my daughter had to go through life with diminished hearing because I gave into those fears.
Deciding whether or not to have surgery is a very difficult decision and I thank God that she had it.
She was scheduled for a stapecodemy this past Thursday. She did have surgery but for something different.
She had an ossicular chain mobilization in which her malleus bone was "unstuck". Her doctor said that this was an unusual case since only this bone was affected--her stapes bone is normal. He says that she might still have otosclerosis so we are taking a wait and see approach. There is a possibility that the bone can become fixated again and if so there are surgical options that correct it for good.
After she got out of surgery, I whispered in her ear and she heard me! She was so cute. Even though she was groggy, she would smile when she heard things like a curtain opening or the blood pressure machine ticking.
She had quite a bit of bleeding and felt some pretty intense pain for a few hours, but the bleeding stopped and the pain subsided in about 4-5 hours. Her hearing was really bad the following night (even worse than before the surgery) which I assume was from the swelling since it seems to be improving by the hour.
I am so glad that she had the surgery or we wouldn't really know what she was dealing with. I had gone back and forth, but she said she wanted to do it even knowing the risks. If we had gone the hearing aid route, I would have been very thankful that she could hear but I would be constantly worrying that it would get worse and it might get to the point that surgery wouldn't really help her. I guess for me the unknown in this situation has been much more frightening than the known. I imagine that there are alot of people that think their hearing loss is caused by one thing but it might actually be caused by something that is relatively easy to correct. I had imagined the worse and almost passed on the surgery option because of the fear of the "what ifs". I had never considered that her hearing loss was caused by another less scary condition and "what if" my daughter had to go through life with diminished hearing because I gave into those fears.
Deciding whether or not to have surgery is a very difficult decision and I thank God that she had it.
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TXMommy27
10-13-2008, 12:46 AM
I'm so happy to hear of your daughter's successful surgery! I have actually read several stories of folks who went in for a stapedectomy and had a different surgery - the surgeon can't know 100% what the problem is until he is in there. I'm so glad it was something "fixable." And so glad you decided to do it! Hearing aids are sometimes necessary for people, and they are getting more sophisticated all the time. Still, I will be glad to leave mine behind after my 2nd surgery! As hard as it was to be an adult with hearing aids, wearing them as a teenager would be frustrating to say the least! I felt very limited with mine. I'm glad you went with the surgery, and I'm so glad it worked out! The pain and recovery is probably the same as a stapedectomy, since the main recovery issue is the eardrum healing. Keep her resting, and if it gets worse, assure her that it is temporary and make sure she takes her pain meds. Dr. Owens is good about giving plenty of meds (got mine filled today), so don't hesitate to take them, esp. the anti-vertigo. I'm sure your daughter will bounce back quickly, given her age, but it is still a process. My new hearing was sometimes painful, but it is getting much better. It's a pain that I feel thankful for!