Does Life get any Easier?

[texsooner]

Jan, yes, at my 1 month post op visit with my ENT/neurotologist, I did try out the BAHA demo. I had my wife sitting on my SSD side talking to me while the audiologist was making noise on my good side. I was pretty amazed with how it seemed to work. However, I know it's nothing compared to the AN surgery, but honestly I was not(and still am not)thrilled about having my skull drilled into again at least for awhile. While it sometimes is an inconvenience, I've managed to adapt pretty well so far. Most people I work with still don't know I'm SSD.

I might try the demo again on my next visit in January, because the first time I was still sort of in recovery mode. Do you have tinnitus on your BAHA/AN side? I'm wondering if this has an impact on the efficiency of the BAHA.....my tinnitus is still at a fairly strong level on that side.

Patrick

[JerseyGirl2]

Patrick,

I have tinnitus on my AN side and have found that it does not impact at all on the efficiency of the BAHA (i.e., the BAHA doesn't intensify the level of tinnitus, if that's what you were wondering). I had my BAHA implant at the same time as my AN surgery -- seems to be a fairly common "combination" at House, less so at other institutions -- so while I don't have first-hand experience with the implant as a separate procedure most of the people who've commented on this forum report that it's no big deal and comparable to a dental procedure. Best wishes as you make your decision. I've found my Intenso to be a big help in daily life and comparable to a pair of contact lenses in terms of having become just part of the daily routine.

Catherine (JerseyGirl2)

[Debbi]

Patrick-

Have you looked into TransEar?  I happen to be in the same camp as you in terms of not wanting another knife anywhere near my skull yet (even though it is a minor surgery!) so am looking into TransEar.  Only challenge I am having at the moment is finding someone near enough to me to fit me for one.

Debbi

[jazzfunkanne]

Hi Patrick , there is also the cros aid to consider.

[leapyrtwins]

Patrick -

I'm extremely fortunate - I don't have tinnitus in my AN ear - or my other ear either. 

I was concerned that the BAHA implant would cause me to have tinnitus, but my doc said it wouldn't and it didn't.

I wasn't too thrilled to have another surgery after my AN removal, but the BAHA surgery was a piece of cake.  Outpatient, short, and in my case, local anesthetic.  The recovery was a breeze also.

As Catherine said, I'd liken the BAHA surgery to a dental procedure - come to think of it my neurotologist did also.  You feel a little pressure and hear a little noise when the doc uses the drill, but no pain whatsoever.

If I can survive it, I'm confident anyone can.

Jan

[Jeanlea]

Hi Patrick,

I have the TransEar to help me with my SSD.  I chose that because I'm thinking that in the future some new technology may come along and I didn't want the abutment from the BAHA in my head.  From what I've read it seems like the BAHA and the TransEar have similar results.  Neither one of them work in noisy environments.  In normal situations, it really helps me to hear things on my deaf side that I might not have noticed in the past.  I also appreciate the fact that I can take it in and out of my ear easily.  It's very comfortable.  Once it's in my ear I forget about it.


Jean

[QRM]

I am still on the other side and have not crossed the Rubicon yet,  if  SSD is the only problem after the op.  I would be woop wooping like all you Americans do. I have had ssd and loud tinnitus for ten years now and all I can say its fine, I do milk it a bit when the wife is getting a bit naggy I just go into my what ?what? mode.

At night I sleep on my good ear so cant hear a thing, apart from my tinnitus, which to me sounds like a tropical rain forest. in fact last night we went to a bar in a rain forest and I could not believe the sound coming in my good ear was identical to my tinnitus. I told my wife to listen to all the bugs that is exactly what I hear.   Its like camping in the jungle every night in a comfi bed, with out the mosquitoes, Dare i say it life would be a bit strange if it suddenly went away.

At  parties I always explain to the person on my right that they are on my wrong side and they have to excuse me if I cant hear them if the music gets loud. and its always a good conversation starter, like journalist say never let the truth get in the way of a good story, I say it was damaged when I was working with the rolling stones etc 

I never bother with a hearing aid because ignorant people automatically assume you are a bit of a retard if you turn up with a big box on the side of your head. 

All I can say in a few years it wont bother you at all. Except when you buy Hifi and head phones you feel a bit cheated having to pay for an item which you can only use half of it.

[Dog Lover]

Bobbibl,

2 months post op....you're still recovering! I went back to work at 6 weeks 1/2 time (from home) and full time at 8 weeks. Big, open noisy places bothered me and I am not SSD, but for a while it sure felt like it. Restaurants were VERY hard. I can now say that at ALMOST 3 months post op, restaurants, the mall, work (big open noisy room - well, not as noisy since they laid off almost 100 people) dont' bother me anymore.

I, too, travel, conduct meetings, etc. Fortunately I haven't had to travel since my surgery, my mgr has been very considerate of my recovery, but when I was thinking I had to travel, I was planning to go through a smaller airport, like STL instead of ORD, and just trying to modify things to make it easier for myself.

Give yourself some time and don't push yourself too hard yet. You're young, but I've found that when I over do it, I take a step or 2 back in my progress for several days. IMHO - just not worth it.

Good luck, and be patient. 

Cathy

[Bobbibl]

Ya I have a tendancy to push myself too hard.  I have flown on my own several times now and those all went well.  I wore ear plugs on the last flight since the sound was bothering me.  Also, did make it through my cousin's wedding and actually enjoyed myself.  Being SSD in this setting was a bit frustrating with having to turn my head back and forth but I made it through.  Now if only the tinnitus and pressure would stop.  Hopefully work goes well next week.

[RosemaryL]

Bobbibl:

Yes Life does get easier, or rather it gets back to normal.  I'm almost 10 years past surgery now and have forgot most of the details.  Fortunately, I kept a journal - actually writing the journal freed me from having to remember everything.  And that allowed me to finally sleep (which I couldn't do right after surgery.)  Anyhow, checking back in my journal, I notice that I improved a lot in the first month, some in the second month, and not much after about six months. 

I wore the Cros Aids for a while - they allowed me to hear in all directions, but not to tell the direction from which the sound came.  When I got to the point that I had to wear glasses, I gave up the Cros Aids - all that hardware (aid plus glasses earpiece) behind my ears was giving me a headache!  My tinnitus continues, but mostly I don't notice it unless I listen for it - I think my brain just ignores it.  Somewhere along the line, the pressure problem did go away.  SSD does affect my enjoyment of large group events, and some folks are easier to hear in a noisy environment than are others.  If you have long hair and don't wear glasses, you might try the Cros Aids.

Other than the SSD, the longest lasting after effect was the scalp tingling.  I find in my journal that I calculated it would take 10 years for the nerves to regenerate.  Well...ten years later I don't have any tingling ;-)

Good luck,
Rosemary