ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: Nicole222 on June 30, 2008, 07:10:04 pm
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I had my surgery on May 9th. I had my symptoms--hearing loss, numbness, dizziness, and headaches. I have always heard of people talk about a fullness in the ear and wondered what that meant. I never had it. But, all of a sudden I have fullness in my AN ear--worse when I bend over to pick something up. Has this happened to anyone POST surgery??
Thanks, Nicole
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Nicole -
I am one who had fullness prior to surgery. Post op I sometimes have fullness and sometimes don't.
I'm not sure why; there seems to be no rhyme or reason behind it; nothing I can pinpoint to be the cause.
I don't suffer from tinnitus, so I kind of consider myself lucky to only have the fullness. It doesn't really bother me.
Jan
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Nicole222,
Congratulations on your recovery. I'm 10 months post op. and did notice the fullness feeling. Alot of it has to do with the healing process and it make you acute to that fullness in your ear sensation. Unfortunatelly, i can't gaurantee that the feeling will go away. Take comfort in the fact that is does get better over time. Alot of it has to do with you just getting use to it and not noticing it or letting it bother you. Some days you won't even notice it, other days you'll have that feeling but remember you are in control. good luck
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I have had the fullness feeling from the get go, it was really my first symptom prior to diagnosis, and I have it periodically still - today, for instance. Today's case I attribute to the hot weather we are having. Other times of the year, I blame it on the cold weather. :)
What I really want to know is: what are we supposed to be full of? Can you have a fullness feeling without being full of something? I'm full of something, I just know it. ;D
Steve
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Hello Nicole -
How is your recovery doing now?
I started feeling the fullness in my ear the last year or two of my AN surgery. But what I understood from my doctor was that the tumor was at the end of the acoustic nerve so it was putting pressure in my ear and that was causing the fullness.
Jan you are so lucky you have not experienced the ringing in your ear. Mine is 24-7 it feels like it is in both ears. The loudness varies from low to real loud. With the ringing and people talking or noise really makes things crazy.
Steve,
I guess we are all ways full of something especially my tummy!!!!
eve
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Nicole:
Glad to learn your recovery is moving along.
I never had the 'fullness' in my AN-affected ear (before diagnosis) but have noticed it occasionally since my surgery and radiation. It never lasts long and isn't too intrusive so, like a few other mild post-surgery symptoms, I just ignore it. I doubt it's significant but I may ask my neurosurgeon about it when I see him next month. I expect he'll say "that's normal". I'll let you know.
Jim
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Hi, Nicole
I got the fullness of the ear with my initial hearing loss about a year ago. With time, I either got used to it or it faded, but it never went away completely. Since my surgery on June 16, it's been there pretty much all the time. I'm sure, as it did before my surgery, it will fade in time. When I bend over to pick up something off the floor, it feels worse. In fact my entire head feels full and strained like the veins will all pop open.
I feel lucky that the pain has been tolerable, but yesterday I got one doozie of a headache right in the temple on the AN side, then it spread over the entire AN side of my head. It went away quickly after taking some Tylenol.
I think your are still a pretty recent postie, so I pray that in time things will get better you.
Take care
Syl
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What I really want to know is: what are we supposed to be full of? Can you have a fullness feeling without being full of something? I'm full of something, I just know it. ;D
Steve
Steve, I would be willing to bet you are full of something, alright! :D
I, however, have never experienced the fullness in the ear, so I guess I'm not full of anything. Must just be empty space in there... ???
Lori
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I experienced the fullness in my ear immediately after CyberKnife. Subsequently I lost my hearing and the fullness went away. I am not implying that the two are related, it is just the sequence of my recovery. Currently, my AN has grown and they have determined that CK did not work for me. One of the symptoms that clued me in that things were different was that I had the fullness in my ear back and the tinnitus got even louder (if that EVER could have been thought possible!) So, it sounds like for a lot of us it comes and goes. I am evaluating having surgery as my second treatment for my AN, so it is good to know that a possible side effect is the fullness in the ear.
Glad to hear your recovery is moving along and I can hardly wait to be in the recovery versus research stage!
Kathleen
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Syl, Were you given any discharge instructions not to be bending over or doing any straining for at least a month? I always have been and doing so can make the head feel full and cause some pain. I would be very careful about doing so. I know it is hard to take it easy for so long.
Cheryl R
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Lori -
thanks for responding to Steve's post. I was going to, but I was afraid I'd get myself into trouble :D
Jan
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Jan~
I was going to answer too, but I have my reputation to consider... ;D
K
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K -
I have a reputation too - not sure it's a good one, though :D
Jan
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Yeah, that was just too easy to pass up - reputation or not! :D
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Syl-
I echo Cheryl's question - did your doctors give you instrucitons about lifing, leaning over, straining? Any of those things can cause fullness, at the very least!
I do get some fullness in my AN ear, but have been attributing it to being newly deaf in that ear. It is almost as if the absence of noise makes it "feel" if it is clogged or stuffed up. Does that make sense?
Anyway, I never had any of the fullness sensation until after surgery!
Otherwise, how are you feeling, Syl?
Debbi
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Since 7 years has passed since I had my surgery, it is hard to remember all that I felt. I am happy to forget I think. I was told by my ear surgeon not to bend over and pick anything up off the floor or to strain in any way whatsoever for at least 3 weeks following the surgery. He also told me to sleep with my head elevated, like with a couple of pillows.
I guess all this advice is coming a bit late now.
I hope you are doing okay!