It has been a 3.5 years since my GK treatment and 3 years since posting about it so I’m way overdue to give an update.
The 1 year, 2 year and 3 year post Gamma Knife surgery audiograms for my treated ear are identical, so no further hearing loss! There was concern I’d lose my usable hearing and essentially trend towards deaf, but that didn’t happen. Speech recognition has been very close to pre Gamma level from 52% to 48% at the 3 year point.
Had MRI’s at the 1 year and 3 year anniversaries with reviews by Dr Sisti. At one year the small tumor was approximately the same size as pre gamma, possibly slightly smaller, but not yet “dead”. At 3 years, same size, but per the shading of the tumor, judged to be dead, so quite relieved!
Overall, quite pleased with the results of the treatment. The objective was achieved to prevent the growth of the small tumor from pressing on my cochlear, which was just 1mm away, and thereby preventing further hearing loss. Except for some minor dizzy incidents 6 months post gamma, I haven’t had any since. With hearing aids (Phonak Audeo Paradise) I have decent hearing in what’s left (2K hz and above need 100 dB to hear w/o aid, so the corrected hearing about 70 dB). My hearing 1K and below preserved.
I was on a path to lose my hearing, have worsening balance issues and possibly require invasive surgery, so in my particular case, treatment via low dose GK was successful. Very thankful for the support and histories presented on this forum that gave me the confidence to treat my issue quickly - a few months after a serious balance issue and rapidly declining hearing loss. Dr Sisti was instrumental in his advice for the quick treatment vs another doc’s opinion to wait a year and retest. His team was fantastic in making the procedure as comfortable as possible.
Hope this update helps others who are going through their journeys!
