Have you had a stapedectomy or stapedotomy? - Hearing Disorders Message Board

mmslc · 01-06-2009, 10:41 AM

Hi,

I have hearing loss in one ear. After seeing a doctor he recommended a stapedectomy or stapedotomy (I can't remember which right now). He came to this decision after a hearing test. He wanted to schedule a surgery for me right away. His rush to go straight to surgery put me off a bit. I asked him about it and he said the only way to see what was going on was to do the surgery.

So my question....
If you have had this surgery did they do any further tests before? I can't help to think there must be some other way to confirm the diagnosis?

....BTW I am looking for a second option. If this is the problem them it is somewhat good news because there is something that can be done about it. And his diagnosis is probably correct, my brother had suffered form otosclerosis and the surgery restored his hearing. I was just put off a bit with his rush to "jump right in there".

TXMommy27 · 01-06-2009, 07:42 PM

My ENT did some hearing tests and a tuning fork test, then said, "Good News! Surgery can help you!" and sent me to the otologist. He basically did the exact same tests and said the same thing and we scheduled the first surgery (both my ears were affected and have now both been surgically repaired). He and the ENT both said that there was no way of knowing for SURE until I was in surgery - many on these boards have had the surgery to discover a completely different problem, but the surgeon can usually still fix it.

Get your 2nd opinion, and learn as much as you can -but your dr. is consistent with what mine said. Get a good otologist - my ENT can do the surgery, but she highly recommended the surgeon that I used, saying it was best to use someone who does this surgery a lot.

Good luck to you!

kitchener12 · 01-07-2009, 11:32 AM

Hi mmslc
I had the same impression from my dr/surgeon for my stapedectomy I was like what "surgery right now kinda thing" and he was like "yup what r u waiting for?" well needless to say I did put him off for 8 yrs, when I finally plucked up the courage to go back he said the same thing! But that time I was informed and ready to go ahead. It was a big deal for me becase I hads never known what it was like to hear from that side so didn't know what I was missing! Do research on the surgeon, the surgery and your recovery (that was the hardest part for most of us I would say! right TXMommy27 ?)
to a dr/surgeon its all in a days work so they can seem blase (sp?) about your feelings. I was paranoid that he would mess up etc as it goes my hearing after surgery was one of his best and he has done 1,000's.
YOU will find lots of support on these boards many of us have had the surgery.

Good luck with your decision

mmslc · 01-07-2009, 11:43 AM

Thanks for the replies!

I have never had surgery before and I am a bit nervous (to say the least!) But it would be great to be able to hear fully again. I have become more and more socially withdrawn since my hearing loss -- saying "what?!?" every other sentence can kill a conversation really quick!

I guess my next step is doing a bit of research on surgeon. From what I have read it sounds like the success rate defiantly varies from surgeon to surgeon. This is really my first experience with any type of surgery. I am not quite sure how pick out a good surgeon. You always hear people saying "he is the best in the state" -- how do you know that? lol I defiantly have allot learning to do.

kgummey · 01-25-2009, 12:30 AM

I had a stapedectomy 10 days ago. I have known I had otosclerosis for about 10 years. I have procrastinated all this time and now that I have had one ear done I CANNOT wait to get the other one done. It went way better than I expected. Thankfully I suffered NO dizziness or nausea and no real pain to speak of. Only took a couple of the prescribed pain meds and then only Tylenol once in awhile. The first night after the surgery I had a hard time sleeping because I could hear my family breathing and stirring around the house (a first!!) The next few days my ear was very plugged up feeling - I felt like I was under water. Now I can certainly hear better but sometimes it is distorted. I have had a lot of ringing and roaring which is pretty annoying!! BUT the best thing ever is that instead of saying "what" all the time I am now telling everyone that they are talking to loud. The first time I went grocery shopping I about died - stores are really noisy places!! I have my post-op visit in 3 days - I am very excited to have the packing removed and to schedule a stapedectomy on my other ear!!