Status of Hearing After Surgery

[wcrimi]

I am two weeks ourt of surgery. 

I'd estimate I have about 50% of my original hearing on the bad side. I can make out sounds better than voices/words and the volume is lower. Yesterday, I thought I noticed quite a bit of improvement and of course was very excited. Today, it's back to the way it was the days before that (maybe even a little worse).

When I was released from the hospital, the surgeons felt confident they had saved the nerve (they can monitor that) and I verfied I had some hearing for them while recovering. They told me they couldn't really tell me the status for about 1 month. I am scheduled for my one month exam and some audio tests on Dec 9. I guess I'll know more then.

In the mean time, I am curious if those that still have full or partial hearing after surgery improved in subseuqent weeks or more or less stayed the same after surgery.

Also, as long as I have partial hearing, that does mean that a hearing aid would be helpful doesn't it?






 

[Mathilda]

Wcrimi,

I guess we are more or less in the same situation. I had surgery 3 weeks before you did. My tumor was 11 by 7 mm. Luckily my hearing was preserved as well. So far I experience some more tinnitus problems than before. At the 2 week post-op hearing test the doctor was very optimistic. The outcome was good, almost the same as before surgery where my hearing was diagnosed as "normal". However now, when I e.g. rub my fingers together more to the front of my face, in the area of my eyes, or a couple of inches behind my head, the ear on the AN side doesn't hear  half as well as the other ear. So it seems that it depends on where the sounds come from. For me this has not changed since the surgery. I have no idea whether it still will improve in the weeks to come. I wish it does though!

Don't know whether a hearing aid will be helpful or not. Sorry I can't help you there.

Mathilda

[wcrimi]

Our experience is almost exactly the same. 

One thing I do test it is to use try to use the phone on the bad ear.  I can have a conversation using the poor side, but it's clearly much lower and a little muffled.

My tinnitus also worse. I used to never hear it unless I was in an extemely quiet room (like the bathroom or in my car). Now I hear a kind of hissing sound much of the time and a high pitched tone at others.  Every once in awhile the tinnitus seems to stop for an hour or so and my hearing seems to improve, but I can't actually prove the hearing part. It just seems that way.

Righ after surgery the ear felt very clogged. That has improved quite a bit this week, but it's still there. I'm hoping the hissing is related to fluid still being ear area or something.  My first hearing test will be on the 9th with one of the surgeons. Hopefully I'll learn more then. I'll pass any info along.   


 

[Syl]

wcrimi,

My hearing nerve was preserved during surgery. However, it was stretched during the procedure. My word recognition was not the best before surgery. Phone conversations were impossible with my AN ear. I feel my hearing improved from where it was right after surgery. However, after my recent hearing test, I realized that it's even worse than it was pre-surgery. It's so hard to tell until you see it in the audiogram. There are so many tones and sounds that have remained the same and others that I can't hear anymore. Both my surgeon and audiologist have told me that they don't think a regular hearing aid will help. But, since I still have some hearing left, I am not a candidate for the BAHA either. I made an appt. anyway to try out the regular hearing aids in hopes that something will help.

My surgeon did tell me about one patient that had scheduled BAHA surgery, but ended up canceling right before surgery because she had regained her hearing. I'm not sure how much of it she got back, but this was about a year after her surgery. So I have good reason to remain optimistic since I'm just 5.5 months post op.

They say that once word recognition is gone, a hearing aid only amplifies the noise. You say you can still have phone conversations. Clearly you have retained decent word recognition, making you a good candidate for a regular hearing aid. But I hope that your hearing continues to improve as you continue to heal and that you will not need a hearing aid.

Good luck,
Syl


 

[wcrimi]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. 

[auntsherry]

   Hello!  Lost  total hearing after surgery -  large AN destroyed nerves - I have a question maybe someone can answer for me:

Is it possible to still suffer from occasional earaches in deaf ear?  The family is "sharing" colds - and that has always included earaches for me!  My Dr. in Florida did tell me it is possible - my neurosurgeon's here in Cleveland said no?

auntsherry
learning to live as "my new normal" self (not liking it, but the alternative was NOT a choice!)    

[MAlegant]

I also had good hearing before surgery.  In the first few weeks after surgery I felt I had lost a ton of it.  Also had mad tinnitus.  It steadily improved and at my three-month hearing test, it showed 100% preserved.  I still get tinnitus now and then but nothing like after surgery.  I could have sworn there were crickets in my head. I would have been happy with anything, but to get it all back was truly miraculous.  I think even the doctors were surprised.  Anyway, wait a while and let things settle down.  I hope you get the best possible result.
Marci

[wcrimi]

I also had good hearing before surgery.  In the first few weeks after surgery I felt I had lost a ton of it.  Also had mad tinnitus.  It steadily improved and at my three-month hearing test, it showed 100% preserved.  I still get tinnitus now and then but nothing like after surgery.  I could have sworn there were crickets in my head. I would have been happy with anything, but to get it all back was truly miraculous.  I think even the doctors were surprised.  Anyway, wait a while and let things settle down.  I hope you get the best possible result.
Marci

That's amazing Marci. 

Right now I think I have somewhere between 50%-75% of my former perfect hearing but the sounds are also a little muffled.  I can get direction well and have a conversation on a phone (though I always use the better ear because it makes sense). That's not too bad.  If this is the way it's going to be, I have no complaints. I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones to have any hearing at all.  To be honest, it doesn't seem like much of a problemll. Even if I did lose it all in the AN ear, it seems that it would be less of a disadvantage than I thought it would.

I also have an almost constant hissing sound that occasionally also turns into a steady high pitch. That's more of a problem because it varies in intensity. When it's at it's worst, it can really drive me crazy because there's no escape no matter how high I put the music or TV.  I'm hoping that fades away slowly because I still have a slightly congested feeling on that side (though it has improved a lot this week).  Perhaps the hissing is related to fluid etc.. still being in that area of the ear.  Next week I get my ears tested. So I'll have a more definitive measurement and base to see where things are going.

 

[Mathilda]

Wcrimi,

How's your hearing now?  What did the tests tell you?  I'm just curious

Mathilda

[wcrimi]

When they tested it about 2 weeks ago, they said I had a little over 50% hearing. 

They also tested it via the bone and said I got much better results that way. I'm not sure why, but they said that indicated that the nerve was in very good shape and that my hearing might improve over time. 

One of the issues I've been having is a congested feeling in the ear, with varying volumes of hissing, and a high pitched tone (I had the high pitch before surgury also). My hearing sort of fluctuates with the intensity of the sounds and level of congestion. 

They think it might be related to post op fluid being in there somewhere, but they couldn't find any when they tested for it.   The other day (Saturday), for part of the day, I thought I had close to 90% hearing. I could hardly tell the difference when I covered either ear.  I was so happy. Then yesterday the hissing was brutally loud at times and I could hardly hear anything but muffled sounds. This morning it's somewhere in between.  I am just hoping that all this hissing and congestion is some fluid etc... and that it will slowly go away and allow my hearing to reach it's potential. If it turns out it's just chronic tinnitus, then my hearing is going to fluctuate and I'm going to have some very frustrating days.

I will say that on average my hearing is better now than it was the first few weeks.  So whatever you are hearing after surgery, it's definitely possible it will improve some.

I hope you are doing well! 

[sgerrard]

They also tested it via the bone and said I got much better results that way. I'm not sure why, but they said that indicated that the nerve was in very good shape and that my hearing might improve over time. 

As I understand it, testing via bone means they are bypassing the middle ear, and getting the sound directly to the inner ear. If you do well on that, it means the inner ear (cochlea and nerve) are working well, and the hearing problem is in the middle ear. Middle ear problems are all in the category of "plugging up," and there is hope for clearing it and restoring hearing. Alas, when I was tested via bone, it was clear that my hearing loss is in the inner ear (sensory-neural hearing loss), which is rarely restored.

Steve

[wcrimi]

They also tested it via the bone and said I got much better results that way. I'm not sure why, but they said that indicated that the nerve was in very good shape and that my hearing might improve over time. 

As I understand it, testing via bone means they are bypassing the middle ear, and getting the sound directly to the inner ear. If you do well on that, it means the inner ear (cochlea and nerve) are working well, and the hearing problem is in the middle ear. Middle ear problems are all in the category of "plugging up," and there is hope for clearing it and restoring hearing. Alas, when I was tested via bone, it was clear that my hearing loss is in the inner ear (sensory-neural hearing loss), which is rarely restored.

Steve

Thanks Steve.  That explains a lot. The one thing that is confusing for me is how the plugged up feeling and tinnitus (hissing volume) varies from day to day and even within the same day.  I've been trying to find patterns (like head position), but can't.  I guess it's usually at it's worst when I wake up in the moring and at its best late in the evening when I'm ready to go to bed, but even that pattern is not totally predictive. Plus, late at night I am usully lying down on a sofa watching TV much like I do when I sleep. So my head position is similar to sleeping. Very confusing. I hope it clears, but I'd settle for the tinnitus/hissing to go way (at least the extreme days).

Wayne

[MAlegant]

Hi Wayne,
The hissing and other sounds along with the clogged feeling will dissipate over the next few weeks.  I was also very sensitive to loud sounds (my dogs barking made me cry) and yet couldn't hear the television.  I really felt like I was underwater.  Now my hearing is back to normal but I still feel like there is cotton in my ear.  It truly has been amazing to experience the extremely-slow-but-there-nevertheless recovery.  Hang in there, sounds like you are right on track.
Best,
Marci

[wcrimi]

Marci,

I also find that I'm sensitive to some loud sounds.  Strange experience.

Wayne

[Syl]

Before my AN, I used to think that hearing loss was sort of like turning down the volume on the radio or TV. Then I started losing my hearing. I never imagined that hearing loss could involve so much noise--all the tinnitus, distortion of sounds, sensitivity to so many sounds. People look at me funny when I explain this to them.

One time I had to ask a co-worker to turn down her music. Not that it was loud, it was just annoying my AN ear. She responded with, "I thought you couldn't hear." So I had to educate her about hearing loss.

Syl