Ear/muscle trade-off - The muscles around the face/head are very small and the connective tissues holding them in place [anchoring them] are even smaller. Because of this, even a little scarring or accidental nick/cut is proportionately more serious than if the same size scar or cut were to occur on a large muscle or tissue [arm/leg]. The surgery you are contemplating does not compare with the cosmetic surgery you normally hear about for the face [i.e. face lift]. Instead, this surgery involves cutting tissues that are intended to move in certain directions, have a specified amount of stretch, be weight bearing to some degree and occupy a particular position on your face/head. In other words, these are important functional and structural tissues. Facial cosmetic surgery usually involves removing excess skin and fat. [A key indicator of good quality cosmetic surgery is that the plastic surgeon is able to avoid cutting/damaging muscles/nerves/ connective tissue.] Get detailed specific information and think through any surgery you are considering.
To answer your question about trading off risks - Because I get the impression that your OD/ENT are not urging you to have this surgery, it seems that you would be trading the known risk of surgery versus an unknown possibility of improvement.
Other anti-inflammatories - As I mentioned in the previous post, this is a very large drug category. Ask your OD, ENT or family doctor for a recommendation, then check it on one of the drug Web sites I mentioned.
Biofeedback - Check the links below for research reports from the NIH Complementary and Alternative Medicine site. Basically, biofeedback is non-invasive, it helps you manage/relieve your symptoms and has been demonstrated to work. It is not a quick-fix; depending on the specific condition it takes about 8-10 or more sessions for results.
[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=PubMed"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=PubMed[/url]
[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_u ids=11560807&dopt=Abstract"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_u ids=11560807&dopt=Abstract[/url]
[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_u ids=10425966&dopt=Abstract"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_u ids=10425966&dopt=Abstract[/url]
[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_u ids=8370861&dopt=Abstract"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_u ids=8370861&dopt=Abstract[/url]
This is from a consumer level health Web site.
"What is biofeedback?
Biofeedback is a technique in which people are trained to improve their health by learning to control certain internal bodily processes that normally occur involuntarily, such as heart rate or blood pressure. These activities can be measured with electrodes and displayed on a monitor that both the participant and his or her practitioner can see. The monitor thereby provides feedback to the participant about the internal workings of his or her body. This person can then be taught to use this information to gain control over these "involuntary" activities. Biofeedback is an effective therapy for many conditions, but it is primarily used to treat tension headache, migraine headache, and chronic pain.
The three most commonly used forms of biofeedback therapy are electromyography (EMG), which measures muscle tension; thermal biofeedback, which measures skin temperature; and electroencephalography (EEG), which measures brain wave activity.
How does biofeedback work?
Scientists are not able to explain how or why biofeedback works. However, there does seem to be at least one common thread: most people who benefit from biofeedback have conditions that are brought on or made worse by stress. Therefore, many scientists believe that relaxation is the key to successful biofeedback therapy. When a body is repeatedly stressed, internal processes like blood pressure become overactive. Guided by a biofeedback therapist, a person can learn to lower his or her blood pressure through relaxation techniques and mental exercises. When a person successfully relaxes and lowers his or her blood pressure, the feedback signals reflect this accomplishment. This acts as affirmation and encouragement for the person's continued efforts.
What happens during a biofeedback session?
In a normal biofeedback session, electrodes are attached to the skin near the area being monitored. The electrodes then feed information to a small monitoring box that translates the results into a tone that varies in pitch, a visual meter that varies in brightness, or a computer screen that varies the lines moving across a grid. The biofeedback therapist then leads the person in mental exercises. Through trial and error, people can soon learn to identify and control the mental activities that will bring about the desired physical changes."
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