Tinnitus after surgery

[Maverell]

I had insignificant tinnitus prior to surgery for a right sided AN. During surgery the hearing nerve was completely cut on the right side but  the tinnitus on that side was made far worse ! It is still the same 20 years later. I also get some tinnitus on the left side but it comes and goes. I have got used to it luckily.

[cecile k]

I also had slight tinnitus pre op and it became much worse post op - very annoying, even after seven years but I have learned to count my blessings and try ignore the shrieking. It is much much worse in large crowds so I try seek out quiet environments....kind of hard when my boys have friends over....sigh...

Cecile

[catlover]

Hi,
I also had tinnitus pre-op and it's still there three weeks post-op. Post-op I will say i hear it more, but I think it's because I'm SSD now. But thank God it's not worse than pre-op so I'll handle it if it doesn't get worse    I hope you learn to ignore your tinnitus as well.

Best to you from Helene

[dufreyne]

Dusty:

I feel your pain.  I only had 2 short bouts of tinnitus before surgery and now it is nearly constant.  Although, there are times that it decreases to such a mild sound that I hardly notice it.  I am 7 months post-op from a middle fossa resection.  My tumor was 9 mm in size and completely intracanicular.  I lost all hearing in that ear.  I am starting to notice some patterns.  For example, when I'm tired (not just at the end of a typical day, but when I'm physically or emotionally exhausted), the tinnitus seems to be worse.  Also, if I have too much caffeine the tinnitus ramps up.  I'm still looking for more patterns, but that's what I've noticed thus far.  In some ways, it is like the canary in the coal mine, when my tinnitus is getting loud, I know I need to take a time out and consider resting or quitting for the day.  There are some situations that do not allow for that--for example, I occasionally work through the night and by 0430 AM, my tinnitus is pretty loud, but in other situations, I need to make a conscious decision to rest. 

Also, plugging the good ear for 60 seconds does take the edge off it.  I usually do this as I also think of something calm. 

Good luck.

Dufreyne--

[GwenB]

I'm 5 mths post surgery.  I too have this problem.  I too find that using a filter in your good ear, foam plug or wax helps cut down on the noise.  I try not to concentrate so much on it.....it's hard though.  I've been trying to find some music that helps.  I'll continue to read here for more suggestions.

[Adrienne]

Hmmm.  I didn't suffer at all with this prior to surgery.  When I woke up from surgery and had this very loud, the ENT surgeon told me not to worry and that "since you didn't have it before surgery, it'll go away".  I'm only 3 wks out, but I'm still "waiting".  :-) 

[moe]

Adrienne,
Give yourself time, dear. 3 weeks out is still fresh post op.
Is your hearing affected from the surgery? That may affect what you hear as tinnitus. Hopefully the doc is right. There is still a lot of swelling going down in there, I suppose.
Also it took me 6 weeks to get rid of my headaches, but they are gone.
Sounds like you are doing fantastic!
Maureen

[stoneaxe]

I had fairly loud and multiple tones pre-surgery. I noticed immediately as a postie my tinnitus is a now a single tone and much lighter. So far (5 days) its constant at that level.

[moe]

Oohh, Bob you are one of the Lucky ones!!!!
Maureen

[RES]

Adrienne,

My tinnitus is not as loud as it was prior to surgery approx. 5 weeks ago. According to the Dr. it will never go away. If I stay active I don't notice the ringing. Also other background noise tends to help.

Take Care,

Ron

[marymomof3]

Hi.  I had a slight ringing in my ear prior to my surgery, but it is definitely loader now.  My Drs have told me that tinnitis is a result of hearing loss - that the brain is looking for sound in the absence of it.  My ENT recently told me that a hearing aid might mask it, but I haven't gotten one yet.  Eventually I'll break down...