Is tinnitus worse after translab or retro?

[mk]

I know that it is quite common to have increased tinnitus or even onset of tinnitus after surgery. I was wondering if there is a correlation between the type of surgery and the tinnitus afterwards? In other words, does it make a difference if the inner ear structures remain (as in retrosigmoid) compared to translab which removes them entirely?
I was interested to see what the experiences here on the forum have been like.

Thank you,
Marianna

[CHD63]

Marianna .....

I had retrosigmoid.  No tinnitus until after surgery.  Initially it was only in my AN ear, now I have it in my "good" ear, only not as loud.

From my limited research, some researchers think tinnitus is a function of the brain filling in for lessening auditory input.  However, I have perfectly normal hearing in my non-AN ear so that would not account for my developing tinnitus in that ear now.

Clarice

[opp2]

I have had tinnitus on the an side for over 12 years. After surgery it didn't get any worse. My tinnitus was sudden onset after a shooting incident with no ear plugs.

[Jim Scott]

Marianna ~

Because you asked: I underwent retrosigmoid approach AN surgery.  I had mild tinnitus in both ears prior to my diagnosis and it was unchanged, in either ear, after the surgery.  Fortunately, the tinnitus is relatively slight and I can ignore it. 

Jim

[tenai98]

I had translab with some tinnitus before surgery...NO tinnitus after surgery....only when I gaze right or left, but not noticable unless I focus on the noise
JO

[mk]

Thank you for your responses. Somehow I had the impression that more people in the forum have reported tinnitus after the retro procedure. I assumed that it may not be common with translab, since the entire hearing structure is removed.

Marianna

[Suu]

Hi Marianna
I guess I'm one of the ones who's noise got worse post-op.
I had my inner ear and ear drum removed and my tinnitus is very bad, mainly after a long day.  It's always there but when it gets loud (like a 1000 sparrows taking flight) it's hard to even concentrate.

Cheers,
♥ ´)
.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•♥ ¨)
(,.•´ (.♥ •´ *Suu

[Lynn Mc]

Marianna,

I had tinnitus prior to Translab & it worsened some after surgery.  It is also much worse if I am tooo tired or in a noisy place.  It is like your TV when all you are getting is snow & that wretched screech!

[Puppylove]

Hi,

I actually had no tinnitus until after I took steroids to try to bring my hearing back. After the steroids, I had minor tinnitus - very soft ringing in the ear. I had retrosig surgery 9 weeks ago and my tinnitus has gotten much louder. I can't ignore it anymore.

[krbonner]

I had translab. I had tinnitus pre-op, and it got no better or worse after surgery. It's different, but not better or worse.

Katie

[leapyrtwins]

My experience.

No tinnitus prior to surgery and no tinnitus after surgery (retrosigmoid).

Jan

[james e]

I have had no change in my tinnitus since my translab. I did have some new sounds for a few days right after the surgery, but they stopped. I read in Discover Magazine that tinnitus is a sound generated in your brain, not in your ear. It is associated with your ear. Apparently there is a feedback system in your ear that notifies your brain of incoming sounds, and your brain notifies your ear it is okay to hear that sound. The problem begins with the system breaking down, and your brain starts generating the feedback...and you hear this in your brain, not in your ear. As the system degenerates more, sounds you hear change, get louder, softer, etc. I am SSD but I still hear those crickets in my deaf ear, but it is really in my brain not in my ear. And yes, tinnitus can change, because your brain is changing. I am fortunate because my tinnitus is mild and I accept that it is there and sometimes I just enjoy hearing my crickets.

James

[kenneth_k]

Hi,

I had translab. The "I'm lying in my bed at night trying to fall asleep"- level of tinnitus is the same after surgery. However, I developed gaze evoked tinnitus, which means that the tinnitus gets a lot louder when I look towards the operated side. Furthermore, tinnitus increases with certain sounds or background noise, i.e. running water.

It is manageable though, and I'm glad I knew beforehand that the tinnitus probably wouldn't change to the better.

Best regards, Kenneth

[james e]

That is totally weird! I just gazed like you said, and my tinnitus increases in loudness gazing towards my good side, and I hear it in my SSD ear (brain), but stays the same looking at my SSD side. Learn something every day! Even works with my  eye closed.

[moe]

Funny,
I too gazed toward my AN side, but my high squealing tinnitus did not change. Good thing because I can't afford for it to get any screechier!

 
My tinnitus was worse post op, with the SSD.  (translab surgery). Since we lose the hearing for sure with translab, goes to show it might "seem" to be heard louder.
Maureen