Lost hearing at end of surgery, now what?

[loose screws (tightened)]

According to my surgeons operative report The cochlear nerve was anatomically intact and at the conclusion of tumor dissection. The ABR signal remained stable but several minutes later the ABR signal was lost and did not return.  In other words I'm deaf in one ear.

Well now I have all the parts but they are not working. So what happens to these parts as they sit in my head doing nothing? Do they decompose? Are they repairable? I vaguely remember the Doctor saying the blood stopped flowing and the nerve stopped functioning. Does this sound correct?

I have my next appt. on Dec. 22 and I will ask him about things concerning my hearing then. Just thought I would try to find out as much as I can before then.

Thanks.
Mike

[leapyrtwins]

Loose -

hearing nerves are very delicate, and not as resilent as facial nerves, so generally when they are damaged they are damaged beyond repair.

If you truly are SSD (single-sided deaf), I highly recommend the BAHA.  It's been a Godsend for me and I love it.

There are other good options out there, like the TransEar; and then there are those who choose to just remain SSD without any kind of hearing aid.  It pretty much depends on you and what you decide you are comfortable with.

If you do think a BAHA might be right for you, try the demo.  IMO, it's very impressive.

Best,

Jan

[loose screws (tightened)]

Thanks Jan
My problem with a BAHA is my haircut. No where to hide it. I am happy to hear that you are happy with your BAHA. I'll look at other options.

Mike

[leapyrtwins]

Mike -

I never gave a thought to your haircut; sorry.  Mitch (Trackman) has a BAHA and his haircut is identical to yours.  But, I totally understand that the BAHA isn't for everyone.

You should look into the TransEar.  Those on the Forum who have one really like it and the last conversation I had about it with my neurotologist (during the ANA Symposium in August) was very positive.  He told me that his patients who decide on the TransEar are very happy with it and it's been greatly improved from past years when there were problems with wiring.

Good luck with whatever you choose,

Jan

[saralynn143]

Mike, since you are in California, maybe you would be interested in volunteering for the SoundBite trial?
http://www.sonitusmedical.com/

Sara

[Jim Scott]

According to my surgeons operative report The cochlear nerve was anatomically intact and at the conclusion of tumor dissection. The ABR signal remained stable but several minutes later the ABR signal was lost and did not return.  In other words I'm deaf in one ear.

Well now I have all the parts but they are not working. So what happens to these parts as they sit in my head doing nothing? Do they decompose? Are they repairable? I vaguely remember the Doctor saying the blood stopped flowing and the nerve stopped functioning. Does this sound correct?

Mike ~

Good question.  As I understand it, and I haven't really studied the issue, for AN patients that are SSD, the hearing 'mechanism' remains intact but the nerve is irreparably damaged, so the ear picks up sound, as it always did, but the nerve cannot transmit it to the brain, so you're SSD. I don't believe that the inner ear parts deteriorate or decompose, they simply don't function any longer.  I would guess (and I certainly could be wrong) that the nerve does sort of wither.  My neurosurgeon never mentioned this situation as a problem so I don't believe it has a deleterious effect on my health. 

Jim