New Stapedectomy Report

Reidan

Surgery was 5 weeks ago. Cold just started last night.

dreamweaver733

soundboy

^^Well that's encouraging..thanks Dreamweaver
I didn't get any drops, just waiting around to see if it heels.
How long did your surgeon say the liquid could be there...mine still feels full it's been 6 weeks, while my hearing is not bad i hope it gets better than this.

dreamweaver733

He didn't say how long it would be there but I don't go back for 6 months. And, thankfully, I don't need to use the antibiotic drops anymore & I also don't have to worry about water getting in my ear. I feel like it's been a success! I hope my hearing gets a little better but if not I'm happy with the improvement I have.

sarahebeth

Hey guys, do you have a crackling sound in your operated ear sometimes? I have it mostly in the morning. It's kinda like the sound in your ears when you swallow, but it does it 5 or 6 times when it happens.

Reidan

Posted from my iPhone. So please pardon any weird typos or syntax!


Hey Sarahebeth,
Yes, I did have crackling and popping noise the first few weeks after surgery. But it eventually stopped.

My last posts last week I posted that I was getting a cold. It got worse and lasted about 5 or 6 days. It was just in my head as it never got down into my chest. So the infection was all in my sinuses, which are connected with the ears via the Eustachion tube.

On Wednesday I started having pressure in my operated ear and Thursday I started getting pain in the ear. Called Dr today (Friday) and spoke with Nurse as today is a surgery day for the doc. When she called me back she told me the doc said I definetly needed to be concerned. They called in 2 prescriptions, an antibiotic and a steroid for the swelling.

Took the drugs immediately while I was still in the pharmacy parking lot. After 2 or 3 hours after starting the meds I started having popping and crackling noise again. I can also feel a difference when I touch the ear and my face in front of my ear, it is not as tender. So the drugs are working.

Another side effect of the drugs. I had posted previously that the doc had to cut my ear out of the canal and onto my face. The scar is visible about 1/4 past the opening of the ear canal and onto my face. Have not seen anyone else post this, so I have assumed that mine was unique.

Since the day of surgery the incision has been puffed and the area around it was swollen. The steroids are also helping that swelling. I am hoping when that swelling is gone I will start to get the improved hearing that I have yet to experience.

soundboy

^ Sorry to hear you've got a cold and infection. Good that you got on to it straight away.
I also have this cut 1/4-1/2 inch going forward from my face (pretty sure it's where they take the flesh for the graft), it has felt a bit tender a few times since the op. I think it was from sleeping on that side.

I think my ear must be healing cause last night (6 weeks) I heard the clock ticking in my room in the operated ear for the first time. Still lacking high frequency but getting better.

sarahebeth

Reidan-It sucks that you have that cold! I do hope the meds help quickly. I had a very similar cold the week before surgery and I know the DR said that if it wasn't COMPLETELY gone, he wouldn't operate. Hopefully the antibiotic will completely clear it up.

That's interesting, too, that you both had the tissue taken from you face area. I had mine taken from the little cartilage knob right in front of my ear and the incision ran along the ridge of it.

Soundboy, it's sooooo cool that you are still noticing new sounds. It will be 3 weeks on Tuesday for me and my hearing gain hasn't been what I hoped. Maybe there is still more good stuff to come.

Reidan

Had my hearing test today. Results confirmed what I already knew. The hearing is just about where it was pre-surgery. There was a slight improvement in some of the lower frequencies, maybe 5 - 10 db. But higher were almost identical to pre-surgery.

One thing I noticed during the hearing test is that the tones in the surgery ear sound more muffled than the non-surgery ear. The non-surgery ear the sounds were crisp and unimpeded.

Doc says that with me still feeling pressure in the ear that I most likely still have fluid build up inside the middle ear. This would seem to confirm why the surgery ear sounds muffled. Doc says to be patient and give it more time. Do not go back now for 2 months. At that time they will give me another hearing test.

Could have been worse, hearing could have gone down instead of slightly up. I have told others on these forums to be patient with their healing. Now I just need to keep telling myself the same thing!!!

soundboy

Ahh...That must have felt a bit dissapointing.
But hang in there I feel like my ear is still really full after 6 weeks. Feels strange to lie on that side and the high frequencies are pretty much non existant.

I go back in a week to see if my perforated ear drum has healed...hope so.

Reidan

Soundboy, how is the ear drum? Has the perforation healed closed?

This week I actually feel like there has been a small improvement in my hearing. But, still have the pressure and numbness feeling. To make it worse I got new glasses and the arm is rubbing on the ear and no adjustment makes it feel better. I think the ear is just oversensitive from the surgery. My old glasses do not make it feel this way, but the arms were thin metal and the new ones have thicker plastic.

soundboy

Well I went back to the ENT and no the perforation has not closed. He said it still hasn't given up healing so I have to leave it for 2 months and then go back. Not bothering to get a hearing test till then as this problem will still be cutting my hearing potential.

Ear still feels really full and slightly uncomfortable, still don't like lying on it.
Hearing is better in the low frequency, however i think worse in the higher frequencies.

No swimming or water in the ear for at least another 2-3 months.

If it's not closed by then I will get a Tympanoplasty to fix the hole, luckily at no extra cost.

waiting.....

deafleopard

It is now day 6 post op. I put my headphones to the tv on my operated ear and I can just barely hear sounds from them. My ear is still a long way from
clearing all the fluids. After reading the other posts here It looks like weeks
before things settle down. Monday I get the stitches removed
from the place where the doctor took tissue to pack the eardrum.
How long before the packing is removed?
Next week I am back to work, hopefully full days although I am leaving open the option to do 1/2days if I start to feel overwhelmed.
Meetings are the worst for me, I just cannot keep up with the conversations all around me. I am an Engineer on new product design and I have people
coming to my office all day long. It will be interesting to see how well I cope.
I wish you all the best. This experience has given me a much greater understanding for the difficulties we face when our health is less than perfect.

Reidan

Soundboy,
Man, no swimming!?!? Since you are in Australia you are having your summer where we are having our winter here in the US. And in 2 - 3 months you will be moving into your fall. That sucks that you can not enjoy your summer in a cool lake or at the ocean! I love Snorkeling and would miss it if I could not go for an entire summer. Especially like taking a trip to Florida to snorkel with the Manatee's when they return to the area from their summer migrations.

Deafleopard,
Glad to hear that your recovery is going well so far. If your surgeon did the same as mine, they will remove a gauze like packing on Monday and will leave a Gel Packing in for another week or two. Once that is removed the sound will get much better. When they removed my Gel Packing it was a weird sensation and sounds were distorted for the first 3 or 4 hours.

Know what you mean about meetings. I always had to get to meetings early so that I could get a seat in the middle of the conference table. And I always had to make sure certain people were on my "Good Side". My boss is a mumbler with a deep voice. So he was especially difficult to converse with. Thankfully he is understanding and would speak up with just a small reminder.