3 months Post Middle Fossa

[Pharm925]

Hi everyone!

I have been away recently studying for my board exams, but I wanted to give an update. I am doing VERY well 3 months post middle fossa. I had my last appointment June 6th where I had a hearing test. Great news!!!! I have most hearing in my AN ear after the surgery!!!!! I'm beyond excited. No hearing aide needed and I hear well most of the time. Ringing is going down (well  brain is getting use to it). I only lost some higher frequencies. The only issue I've been having is the worst dandruff of my life around my incision/incision side of head. I don't know if anyone else had this issue??? I know this sounds SO minor compared to what could be. My metallic taste is gone and my dizziness is minimal. Only if I manage to forget and turn around real fast. Driving again (although, I do miss having to be chauffeured around! Haha). Again thanks for all of the support thru this whole process (even if you didn't know you helped  you probably did) if anyone has any questions, I am here to answer any for those on the other side still and thinking of the middle fossa approach. Just post or send me a PM. Stay strong, we are all here to help get you to this side!

[minerva1221]

I'm so happy to read this (and your prior posts as well).  First of all, huge congratulations to you on your recovery!  Secondly, I am leaning towards middle fossa surgery and it is so nice to see there are many who have had positive results.  Thank you for sharing.

[Pharm925]

I'm sorry this is SO late, but I'm glad to hear that my post helped you!! I'm now over 6 months post Middle Fossa and doing very well! I often forget about it, which is a GREAT feeling! I just hope to get good news at my 1 year post op MRI. Fingers crossed! I hope you are doing well. Have you scheduled your surgery?

[minerva1221]

That's great to hear, Pharm925!  Wishing you continued good results!! 


Yes, my surgery has been scheduled for Nov 25 at UTSW here in Dallas.  Just over 2 weeks to go so I am getting pretty anxious and trying to stay positive and not think about it too much.   

[Neskew]

Hi,
My 23 year old daughter will have surgery on November 18. She is having the Middle Fossa. She is a student at UCSD , double majoring, do you think she can restart school in January.
Thanks,
Her mom, Nora

[Pharm925]

Thanks Minerva! Best of luck to you in your surgery! May you have equally great results! Please let me know how you're doing!! Hang in there. Leading up to it is a huge part of the battle. I definitely remember the anxiety. Just try to remember that the sooner you have the surgery, you're just one day closer to being AN free and recovering!

Nora, I had my surgery at 27 years old and I know probably more how your daughter feels than most. We're the "lucky" people to have an AN at a younger age than most. While it seems so unfair to have this at such a young age, I contribute a lot of my recovery to being younger while going through this and ability of my body to heal more quickly than older people. I had just finished my rotations in pharmacy school and had surgery about 2 weeks later (April 16). I was able to cross the stage at my graduation without any assistance about 6 weeks post-op (May 24) and I had to stay for my 2 licensing exams (In July and August). I know everyone is different. I don't see a problem with her making it back to school in January. She will be dizzy, but I honestly saw an improvement hour by hour at first then day by day. I was mainly dizzy at graduation if I were to whip my head around really fast if someone called my name. Other than that by then I was doing very well. If you or her have any questions, please feel free to ask or private message me. I hope the surgery goes well and please let me know how she's doing.

[CatzEyes]

Talk about coincidences! I was just about to post my six-month update and see this great thread started by Pharm925: she and I had Middle Fossa surgery within weeks of each other -- my surgery was May 13th -- and I was much buoyed up by reading all the good news here.

As with all surgery options, I'd say the most important thing is to find surgeons who do LOTS of AN surgeries. As Dr Delashaw (Swedish Medical here in Seattle) said, "don't tell your friends it's ear surgery, cos it's not: it's brain surgery." He and Dr Bachous did a wonderful job. I fully expected to have to go back to work looking like a punk-goth princess, but they shaved barely half-an-inch on either side of the actual incision, and under my long hair, it was barely visible then and not at all now. My balance is the only remaining item I need to keep working at, but that's all to the good: it keeps me on the straight and narrow (sorry!) of my walking work-out plan.

If I had any lingering nuisance, once I could purse my lips again (around the eight-week mark), it was what I called "kazoo ear." I started to get hearing back in my ear after about six or seven weeks (before which it felt blocked up by the "velveteen-flocked lemon"), and shortly thereafter was aware of a pronounced bzzz-bzzz sound in my head whenever I spoke. I could hear other people fine, but to myself, I sounded horrible; I used to love to sing along with my iPod while cleaning the house or working in the yard, but I just couldn't bear it zzzzzing.

But just in the last month, I've become aware that it has almost completely disappeared, just the softest whisper of reverb. I chalk it up to lots of changes in air pressure moving molecules of sludge around in my inner ear, because I've taken about eight flights hither and yon since early August. Scientifically proven, nah, but it works as an explanation for me!

You're welcome to stop by the CaringBridge site http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lauracameron2 I had for the last six months if you like -- I didn't spend a lot of time here on ANA because, as other people have observed, if you have a great outcome, you tend to get back to your ordinary life more quickly and forget the anxious posting you did before treatment. 

Keep us posted on your progress; you can PM, too, if you'd like to chat off line.
Laura