I had a stapedectomy on January 9, 2008. Here is the story. For background I previously posted:
Disclaimer — I am not a doctor and this information cannot be interpreted as medical advice, it is just my experience told for anyone who is interested.
In 2005 I discovered I had a hearing problem.I was listening to music through headphones and it seemed to me that one side was not working right. So I turned the head phones around to find out that it was actually one of my ears that was not working right. So off I went to the doctor who sent me to a specialist who diagnosed otosclerosis of the right ear.
As I found out, the only treatment for otosclerosis is surgery and in late 2007 I decided to get the surgery done. At the time I was living in Kuwait; having the surgery done locally was not an option. On top of that, my medical insurance did not cover the surgery as it is deemed the otosclerosis to be a pre-existing condition. I found out after the surgery that pre-existing conditions are covered by my insurance but not for non-emergency treatments in the United States. I assumed I was going to be paying for the surgery.
Having to cover the cost of the surgery myself was both good and bad. It was my money getting spent, but I had the freedom to choose where in the world I could go for the surgery. My research into the procedure showed that the successful outcome of stapedectomy surgery is mostly dependent on the amount of experience of the surgeon.
I checked out whatever I could find online, plus I contacted the surgeon in Canada who made the original diagnosis. The surgeon was not able to accommodate me probably because as as a non-resident of Canada I have no public medical insurance coverage in Canada.
I also looked into various medical tourism places in India and Thailand. Generally they do not do stapedectomies. They do more profitable procedures like hips, knees and hearts. I did get one response from a surgeon in Chennai, India who said he would do it for less than $2000 but I was not comfortable with the idea being somewhat familiar with how things are done in India. I also checked out one place in Europe but got no response.
Then I approached the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles, California and they were very responsive. I sent them copies of my hearing exams and they confirmed the need for the surgery. Dr. Jose Fayad phoned me from LA while I was in Kuwait, to discuss the operation. He said if I had to fly immediately after the surgery, I could, even the next day and have follow up elsewhere. I was not keen on this. I planned to stay for three weeks after the surgery for any follow up. Dr. Fayad had good news: he said I could SCUBA dive after the surgery, assuming success, as long as I would use good equalization techniques. The clinic was quite flexible about the dates which was good because I had to juggle a lot of commitments to to make time for the surgery. Finally, my operation was booked for January 9, 2008.
The House Clinic does the operation under local anesthesia while in some other places it is done under a general anesthetic. I was inclined to opt for the local anesthetic and after my surgery I asked Dr. Fayad more about the advantages of the local anesthetic. He said one major advantage is that for a general anesthetic they put in an airway and after the surgery removing the airway often cause coughing. Coughing stresses the ear which should be avoided after a stapedectomy. Another advantage is that the surgeon can check the placement of the prosthesis during surgery by asking the patient if they can hear. This obviously couldn’t be done with someone under general anesthesia.
View House Ear Institute in a larger map
The total cost which included the surgeon’s fee and the hospital costs, was about $9000 US. Fortunately I had friends in the area that I could stay with so I didn’t have hotel costs. The only other costs were car rental and the flights to and from Los Angeles.
I was Emailed forms to fill out prior to arriving at the clinic. They also sent me a list of potential side effects which they are obliged to inform the patients about. They assured me that the side effects are rare.
- Taste disturbance and mouth dryness are not uncommon for a few weeks following surgery in some cases prolonged.
- There may be further loss of hearing in up to 2% of cases. Up to 1% may have severe loss and may prevent the use of an aid in the operated ear. Should the hearing be worse following stapedectomy tinnitus may be pronounced.
- A perforation in the eardrum develops in less than 1% of cases and is usually is due to an infection and may heal spontaneously. If healing does not occur surgical repair may be required.
- A very rare complication of stapedectomy is temporary weakness of the face. This may occur as the result of an abnormality or swelling of the facial nerve.
Upon arrival in LA I went to the House Clinic for my pre-surgery appointment. There I reviewed the paperwork, had a hearing test and met Dr. Fayad. They advised the following post-operative instructions.
- Do not blow your nose and do not pop your ears by holding your nose. If it is necessary to sneeze do so with the mouth open.
- Do not allow water to enter the ear until advised by the doctor. They recommend lambs wool or cotton placed in the outer ear opening covered with Vaseline. I purchased some silicone ear plugs which I used instead (disclaimer, take you own chances, if they leak it isn’t my fault). They are putty like and you can mold them into the outer ear without inserting them into the ear. They worked with no leaks, though I have short hair and washed my hair very carefully trying to get minimal water on my ear.
- Do not take any unnecessary chance of catching cold. Avoid undue exposure or fatigue. I feel this should not be overlooked. I felt very good after the surgery and probably overdid it a little the day after, as I did some driving around doing some shopping and felt quite fatigued by the end of the day. I think a full day or two of quiet rest would have been better to speed the recovery.
- Do not have dental work requiring drilling of the teeth until three weeks after surgery.
- You may anticipate pulsation, popping, clicking and a feeling of fullness or occasional sharp shooting pains. You may feel as if liquid is in the ear. I had some of this but it was not too annoying and there was no pain.
- Do not plan to drive a car home from the hospital. In fact they won’t let you drive home, somebody has to come get you. And they will not let you take a taxi alone.
- Patients often experience dizziness, with nausea and vomiting. Some unsteadiness is common during the first few days but should subside in a week. There may be brief dizziness on sudden head motion or in bending. I had none.
- You may notice some hearing gain at the time of surgery but then normal post operative swelling will reduce your hearing. Exactly what I experienced.
- The maximum improvement in hearing occurs at four months. I did not feel any change at four months. My hearing a month after the surgery was good and has stayed the same.
- The cotton ball in the ear canal should be changed daily and as needed when bleeding occurs. Some bleeding is normal. If the ball changed more than four times in a day notify doctor. I had no bleeding.
- A slight water discharge is normal for a week after surgery. If longer or yellow (infected) contact the doctor. I had none.
- There may be occasionally shooting pain. You should not have continual pain. There was no pain.
- Four days before the three week post operative appointment put a few drops of baby oil in the ear canal twice daily to soften any encrustation. Allow oil to remain five minutes. I didn’t do this. And I should have. Read on.
I went to the clinic the day before the pre-surgery appointment. The photograph below is the hospital across the street from the clinic.
There is a great Mexican restaurant at the street corner.
Dr. Fayad explained the procedure. He said there is just one time during the procedure, when he is drilling through the footplate of the stapes (oval window) into the inner ear, when I absolutely should not move. He said he would tell me before he starts drilling. He also said it would be very loud when he does the drilling.
I received my final pre-surgical advice, nothing to eat or drink after midnight. So the next morning I started the day very early because I was supposed to be at the hospital by 6:00 a.m.
I took a wrong turn on the freeway on the way to the hospital but managed to find my way without a GPS. I arrived early at the hospital and parked. I fearing huge parking charges because I could not find any street parking. I found out that with a paper from the nurse the parking would be free.
So the time had come.
They asked me to take off all clothes and jewelry (better leave it at home) and put on a hospital gown. I laid down and rested while they started an IV. The nurse couldn’t find any veins in my elbow so I got the IV in the top of my hand which isn’t the most comfortable spot. But it was well done, and I had only a mild discomfort. In fact it turned out to be the only real but minor discomfort during the whole procedure. They said the IV was to keep me hydrated and was also used later for the sedative. They took a small vial of blood from which they used a drop to seal off the piston of the prosthesis where it goes through the oval window into the inner ear.
I was wheeled upstairs into the pre-operative room and got some Versed (I think about 1 mg) which is a like super Valium and commonly used for sedation. I felt very focused and not nervous though I’m not the nervous type. Who knows how much of this cool was due to the drug? Speaking of cool, I did notice that the operating room was cold and the nurse told me it is kept cold because it keeps the germs down. But they do have blankets if you need them.
As I was being prepared for the operation they they made a sort of tent over my head so I couldn’t see up. Then they washed my ear out with a cool feeling disinfectant and suctioned it out.
Then Dr. Fayad came and said it was time for the local anesthetic. This was a needle into my outer ear area, but I barely felt it. So the Versed might be magic or I’ve got a high pain tolerance. (And generally when I am ready for something I can keep good focus and not be too bothered by pain) I’ve had a fair bit of dentistry and those needles are felt (especially for the root surgeries I’ve had on my top front teeth, which feel like the needle is going up through the gum all the way up into my nose but I digress …)
Then the surgery started. First the eardrum was cut and moved away. Then he took some time in the ear to remove the stapes. It seemed to take longer than I expected but there are tendons and nerves in there to be careful about! I heard the odd loud crunching sound as he was working to remove the stapes from the footplate.
Before drilling the footplate he asked me to hold steady. He did the drilling again warning me that it could be a bit loud. This also turned out to be not too bad. Then he put in the prosthesis. It is put into the hole drilled through the footplate which is situated over the oval window and projects into the inner ear. They used the LASER to heat shrink the other end of the prosthesis onto the incus. Then Dr. Fayad whispered in my ear and asked if I could hear him, and I certainly could: loud and clear!
After the operation I stayed in a private hospital room and took a short nap. Then I watched some mediocre daytime TV while waiting for my friend to arrive to drive me to their home. I left the hospital around 11:30 a.m.
They let me take home the stapes. Note the ruler marks are 1 mm apart.
I did not experience any dizziness and there there was no post operative pain. I was given a subscription for Darvocet-N I took one the night after anticipating that the pain would build but it didn’t.
For the first week there was very little hearing. The packing fell out about four days after the operation. There was a bit of cracking in the hearing during this time also. Then about one week after the operation my hearing improved drastically and I went for follow up two weeks after. The usual follow-up time is after three weeks but I could not take more time out of Kuwait.
The above photo is from a 3.5 hour hike I did ten days after the surgery.
When I was going in for the hearing test they first looked into the ear and saw that there was dried blood and gunk covering my ear drum. I had not followed the instructions about putting baby oil in my ear. So I waited for the doctor who put drops in and then removed the gunk so I could go back for the hearing test. Now the ear was really working and the hearing was even better!
The yellow area shows the main areas where I gained in hearing after the surgery. The operation was very successful!
Now I have two functioning ears again. I can have greater enjoyment listening to music, use the phone on either ear, no longer miss parts of conversations and can enjoy watching TV with my family without deafening them. I am also reminded of how good the surgery was whenever I have a shower and hear the loud gurgling of the water splashing near my fixed ear.
So now I will go annually for a hearing exam and send the results to the House Clinic for their records but I look forward to continued good hearing with no problems for many years.
You can Google away for more information and also here are some good resources:
- There is a good active Yahoo group called otosclerosis2
If there are any queries or corrections to this article, please comment.
Hi all:
Thank you all for posting…it really helps to hear everyone’s expereinces. I am scheduled to have my first stape in right ear on Wednesday, 11-4, with Dr. David Haynes in Nashville. I have had to re-schedule twice due to having sick babies (I have a 9 month-old and 3 year-old), so trying again and hoping we all stay healthy! I am very nervous about the dizziness b/c I am so prone to it – I even fainted at my own wedding! But I am more than ready to hear again. I am worried also about the lifting restrictions because my son is not walking yet and weighs about 22lbs. Anyone have little ones? How long did you have to wait before lifting?
Great to know of your very successful experience with this surgery, Ian — thank you for your well-written and documented (stapes bone – cool!) account. I will have this procedure on my left ear on Monday and am glad I found your blog. It’s much clearer than the info I’ve received thus far from the doc and hospital.
It’s now been 2 months since my surgery and the results have been life changing! After the ninth day my life pretty much returned to normal. It took that long for the dizziness to disappear and for me to drive. I returned to work on the 5th day but had to have my husband drive me that first week. It took 3 or 4 weeks for the inner packing to dissolve and my post-op 4 week checkup and clearing of debris in the ear for complete return of hearing. The improvements are apparent at work and home, and I only occassionally have to have someone repeat what they said. My officemates are as thrilled as I am. As is often the case with hindsight, I have realized how severe my hearing loss was, and how isolating it was. As far as my other ear, I still have some loss there, and have decided to proceed with surgery on that one on New Year’s Eve. That should restore me back to pretty much 100% hearing. Thanks Ian for your blog! It’s really reassuring for those considering the operation and gives a thorough and realistic description of the steps.
Thank you for this description and the picture of the removed stapes was really cool. I had my stapedectomy four days ago. Much of what you described is similar to my experience though I was under general anaesthetic for my procedure in London, Ontario.
I noticed immediately after waking a noticeable improvement in my hearing but now I am “full” and swollen and there is a lot of noise in the right ear. Dizziness comes and goes but mostly is a moderate inconvenience solved by a few minutes of lying down. The pain is mostly non-existent but probably once every hour I get an awful shooting pain that goes away as quick as it comes. I am not sure if more pain medication would help but I much prefer being lucid so have avoided it.
What I am really surprised about is how my other ear feels. It is “stiff” and I can almost sense the “spongefication: going on there. Provided things continue to improve I anticipate I will have the other done as soon as possible.
That said it’s only been four days so I will try to post back in a few weeks with an update. Luckily I am well looked after by wife and kids so I am getting plenty of rest.
All in all I feel pretty good but am a little anxious to loose the packing (seeing surgeon on day
and see how things feel.
Good luck. Possibly the packing will come out on its own even before you see the surgeon again and your hearing will improve fast.
I had my left ear done in June with amazing results immediately. Very little dizziness, minimal pain and absolutely no nausea. My hearing loss went from 45-55% to 0-10% within 6 weeks. i just had my right ear done a few days ago with totally different results. I hear very little out of the right ear. The packing is still in and the ear is visibly swollen. Pretty much did nothing but rest for three days. I fell better today and will see my doctor on Friday. I am hoping the hearing will improve over time. My left ear is very strong, so i expected/hoped for similar results. will wait to see what my doctor says, I guess.
Sweet merciful mother of God the pain has been unbeleivable!
The visit on Wednesday shows that things seem to be workign but I have developed an infection that has brought on major complications. To boot the nerve that travesl through that area seems to be very unhappy with the procedure and the pain level is off the chart. 30 tylenol 3s might as well have been thrown out the window and now 10 days later I am trying percoset with minimal pain relief. I sure hope that at some point I can say this has been worth it but my recovery to date has been anything but pleasant.
Ouch, we don’t expect such pain and problems. Good luck recovering fast.
Thanks Ian the last three days have been incredibly good. I have seen the surgeon again and he genlty suctioned out the ear to remove all the remnant from infection. That is now past the acute phase and I finishup the anitibiotic tomorrow. I have also found the dizziness to have all but disappeared and am able to drive again. The pain comes and goes from the nerve damage but it is not constant or near as bad as it was.
Now I am just waiting to see what gets restored. The swelling and such is still coming down, delayed a bit by the infection so here’s hoping!
Has anyone had their surgery done in the Midwest? Any recommendations on surgeons in the Midwest or how you chose your surgeon? I’ve been recently diagnosed with otosclerosis of my right ear and intend to have surgery, but just want the best doctor possible. Am willing to travel, if need be.
I have taken the bold step of having the op it scared the hell out of me! I’, on day5 and the dizzy spells thank god have stopped but I have buzzing in my ear non stop? did anyone else get this? packing not due out for one week, uk nhs ….great site…
Rob, I had tinnitus before and after the operation which has stayed more or less the same. During the recovery time I did not notice any increase in it. Did you have the operation with a general or local anesthetic?
(for Pam)
I am a 60 year old computer researcher and had a stapedectomy done March 4 by Dr. William Lippy in Warren, Ohio, a pioneer in the field.
He and associates have performed over 17,000 stapedectomies with very impressive statistics. (The group keeps good records.)
Twelve years ago my son had profound hearing loss in both ears at age 20 due to otosclerosis. Research led us to believe that Lippy was one of the best surgeons available. He trains fellows on a regular basis. He said most of his stapedectomies now are revisions to other surgeon’s work; of the 17,000 stapedectomies, 2,000 have been revisions.
My son had minimal complications and his hearing in both ears restored to normal.
I had no pain, no nausea, no dizziness.
Lippy practices with Dr. Leonard Berenholz who I also recommend. Their staff is friendly, helpful and very competent.
The group’s website is http://www.lippygroup.com.
There are a number of videos made for other surgeons’ reference on the website. If you are research-oriented, like me, you will appreciate them and they will give you an idea of the depth of experience of the group and the evolution of the surgical procedure.
Many of the details of Lippy’s surgial procedure and recovery steps are different than discussed in this blog and the reasons make sense to me.
Another “go-to” group to consider is The Shea Ear Clinic in Memphis, Tn, which did the first stapedectomy in the 1950′s.
Hi thanks for the response I had a local anesthetic and was awake odd feeling!! My surgeon was from the Ear, Nose and Throat in London. He was excellent I had the packing out today and was slightly disappointed as the hearing wasn’t as amplified as when I put in my aids. However, I was told this was normal and the tuning fork test sound came louder from the front of the ear rather than the rear which is a good sign, I’m told.
Its early days and I go back in four weeks for my hearing test I will let you know hopefully the good news!!
Pam, I don’t know where in the midwest you are, but I just had a stapedectomy done in St. Louis, MO, by Dr. Richard Chole at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital last week and have been very pleased with the overall experience. Things seem to be progressing well for me so far. My dizziness has subsided more every day. My taste buds are a bit “off,” but nothing alarming.
My father had his stapedectomy done in Sioux City, IA, 7-9 years ago and had no problems whatsoever. He’s never said who his doc up there was, but it’s not that big of a medical establishment…
Best wishes to you!
Thanks for the additional information. I took the liberty of fixing the link in your post to the Lippy Group. There is no “the” in the URL.
Thank you for your weblog regarding your procedure. I met with Dr. Fayad today and I will be having the procedure at the House Ear Institute. Fortunately, I live in Southern California so I will not have to travel far. How did you come to find the House Ear Institute? Were there others in California that you also considered?
I found HEI from my internet research. I had their quality validated by a friend in Canada who is an ENT Physician who said they are OK and that he’s even gone there for training. I didn’t check out any others in California. I have friends in California so I wasn’t completely on my own there for the operation. I tried in Canada, Europe and even India. In Canada I don’t have medical coverage as I live in Kuwait so I was outside the system and they weren’t able to follow through (plus they do it under a general anesthetic which was not my preference). The Europeans never responded and India responded but I wasn’t up to taking the risk for the cheap operation. Good luck!
For Tom, I would really like to talk to you about your experience in Warren; I’m facing the same thing and need to talk to someone who experienced it. Is that a possibility?
Thanks.
Doris
I also had a stapedectomy done by Dr. Fayad!!!! He is my hero! My first surgeon messed my ear up and had the nerve to tell me I would never hear again. It was not until I made an apt. with Dr. Fayad. He gave me hope and assured me he would try his very best to fix my ear. He is an amazing profesional. who truly cares for his patients. I’ve referred 2 persons and they are soooo happy with their reults and with Dr. Fayad.
Has anyone heard of Dr. Ishiyama at UCLA? I went to him today and he suggested the procedure. Oddly I’ve been to Dr. Fayad when I first experienced hearing loss but at the time it was thought to be the result of a loud concert. Four years later it is now diagnosed as something else. I am tempted to return to Dr. Fayad for a second opinion. I have HMO insurance and Dr. Ishiyama is covered. I don’t know that Dr. Fayad would be but for something as critical as this I will do what I need to. I’m just hoping someone has heard of Dr. Ishiyama.
ROB WALLIS
WHAT WAS THE NAME OF YOUR SURGEON AT THE ROYAL NATIONAL?
HOW DID THE OPERATION GO GENERALLY SPEAKING? CAN I ASK HOW BAD YOUR HEARING
WAS BEFORE THE OPERATION?
HAVE YOU HAD YOUR POST-OPERATION HEARING TEST YET? INTERESTED IN RESULTS AS I
HAD A STAPEDECTOMY ON 9TH APRIL 2010. I WAS JUST HOPING FOR SOME OPTIMISTIC
COMMENTS TO PUT MY MIND AT REST! MANY THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELPFUL
FEEDBACK YOU CAN PROVIDE.
REGARDS, MICHAEL
Hi Ian or any one ,(Suggest me)
I had stapedectomy to my left ear during 2001 in India. At that time my age was only 22. Even i didnot know my doctor were doing stapedectomy. Till now i dont have any problem to my left ear. It is very good condition.
Recently i am having hearing problem to my right ear. But now i am living in California,USA.
But i am planning to get operated my right ear with same doctor in india. If i get operated in india, i need to take leave. With my present company , i am get leave for one month or one and half month leave.
After finishing Stapedecomy, surgery, can i travel to USA After one month. This travel is around 21 hours.
Is it safe to travel that much long time after one month of surgery.
Please let me know if anyone face similiar problem.
Thanks,
Mohan
Thanks Ian – looking for the most experienced / best surgeon in metro NYC area…? is there a web site to research who has experience in this procedure ?
I had my revision stapedectomy surgery on October 13th 2009 and had much better results this go around. Amazing what a .25 Millimeter will do. Went from a 4.25MM to a 4.5MM Richards piston prothesis. It was much easier for both me and the wife knowing what to expect. Dr. House even let me keep the old (4.25MM)prothesis. You can barely find it in the case with your human eye. Just amazing what they can do with something so small.
Larry
I had a stapedectomy two weeks ago. Seven days after the surgery my hearing was spectacular. On the eighth day however I noticed that my hearing changed. I continue to hear well but all sounds I hear are delayed ever so slightly AND the tone is off or flat (what seems to be like a half octave). Has anyone else experienced this? I’m hopeful it will correct itself but it’s been this way now for about a week.
Thanks -
I wrote this article of my experience as I could not find anything available online and hopefully it is helpful to people. The Yahoo groups that I mention are also a resource.
Thanks, Ian. I just had this procedure done Friday, though I had to go under anesthesia because he needed to cut my very narrow ear canal to get in there, so it also required a bit of reconstruction afterward. But so now that I read your story, I’m not so worried that 2 days later I don’t hear any better in the ear yet. Phew!
Good luck on the recovery. I have an ear canal big enough for a truck to drive through which I’m sure was helpful for my surgeon! Possibly you’ll have a little more pain from the ear canal work but I’m sure it will go well.
Thanks for the explanation of your post operative experience. I have my appt with the surgeon this June – and feeling a bit nervous. I have read all that I can find on the internet. My father had this surgery done in the 60′s and I feel lucky that technology has hopefully improved the materials that will be used on me. He kept his stapes bone and showed us as kids – now I would like to find it (he has since passed away), I remember it looking so perfect and small!! I was told I inherited otosclerosis from my dad and also learned my grandfather was practically deaf his whole life.
Has anyone had to have the surgery twice?? Seems I read several articles mentioning that people had to have a re-do a few years later. Hope not!
I am in located in the Western US.
I had the stapes bone took photos of it then it broke and got lost. They say it is inherited but my dad is 79 now and his hearing seems pretty sharp.
Wow, was I surprised to find this. My Dr. was the same Dr. Fayad! I had my surgery on April 29th and it is May 16, 2010. I was totally deaf in my right ear. I used a very expensive hearing aid that I wanted to crush with a sludge hammer because I had to ask people to repeat themselves on a regular basis. I can hear very well, not perfect but good. If it improves with time that will be awesome, but I do have some nerve damage. However, I can hear water in the shower, I can hear full conversations without the tinny sound that the hearing aid provided. It is so natural. I had almost an exact experience as above, zero side effects, two pain pills a little dizziness the first day only. I really followed all directions but Dr. Fayad was just so professional. It sounded to me like he was cutting an oak tree. I was just amazed at how perfect it has turned out for me. I flew to L.A. from Alaska and stayed with my sister.
Ian,
Is it possible for you to send me mail id of Mohan ? I need to know the details of the doctor who has done surgery for him.I cannot afford the travel to US and I do not know any doctor in India who has done Surgery for Oto.
And also your post is really helpfull and gives lot of information.God bless you.
I Emailed your request to Mohan along with your id. So he’ll contact you if he wishes to.
I had a revision about 3 weeks ago. I went to Dr Brad Welling at The Ohio State University and would highly recommend. My uncle went to Dr Lippy in Warren Ohio. I found that Dr Welling is just a bit more agressive in what he will do.
My results are not perfect however, I am able to hear better, just having a bit of a problem discerning the words.
Better every day… I would highly recommend him. People come from all over the world to see him
Thanks Ian
IAN,
I POSTED AN EMAIL ON THIS WEBSITE ON 13TH APRIL. SURPRISED THAT ROB WALLIS
HAS NOT CONTACTED THE SITE FOR SOME TIME NOW. I WAS WONDERING AND HOPING
YOU COULD PERHAPS SEND HIM AN EMAIL TO LET HIM KNOW WE REALLY ARE
INTERESTED IN HIS POST- OPERATIVE PROGNOSIS.
MANY THANKS,
REGARDS,
Miichael
His Email address isn’t working so he’ll have to look here to see your request.
Ian,
Very informative….and glad to know the operation worked well for you and so many people…..i have otosclerosis for 10 years and none of the doctors i have been to suggested an operation..all say to go for hearing aids. Just seems like over the years it gets worst…thinking of the operation and so far most of the comments i have seen are positives…so I may just try it out.
Thank you again for all the information. Vey encouraging and helpful…
Jaydee
I had the surgery done on 5/13/10. I had the dryness in my mouth and some taste disturbances. I’m not noticing much difference in my hearing yet as there is still packing in there. I’m going back for my follow up on the 4th. I saw Dr. Daspit in Phoenix for my left ear in 2004 and got about a 30% gain. Dr Daspit is in the process of retiring now and I saw the Dr. who is taking over his practice, Dr. Weiscopf. It was different than my original surgery because now they used a laser. Thank you to all of you who posted. I didn’t realize that this procedure was so common.
I have otosclerosis in my left ear and my hearing is getting worse especially after my second child. I am on a floride pill and am looking for a hearing aid as I reached a stage where I can barely hear anything with my left ear. My doctor still insists that I shouldn’t be doing the surgery. He is saying that the improvements will be temporary for a year or so and then things will get worse and I would need to redo the surgery. Reading this blog I see that some people did the surgery many years ago and they are doing fine. I wonder if any of you was given a similar recommendation by your doctor. I will definitely get another doctor opinion on the issue as it seems the surgery might not be a bad option.
P.S I live in Lebanon
Hi all —
After reading your comments, I am really worried about my hearing recovery. I had surgery done on the 2nd of June, my packing removed on the 9th of June at a post-operative check, and I am hearing nothing in that ear at all. How long should it take before I begin to hear if the surgery actually worked? It sounds like most of you had a significant hearing recovery within the first several days. Help.
Your doctor should be able to look in the ear and see what is happening with the eardrum. When I had my packing out I also had a hearing test done and reviewed the results with the doctor. Perhaps they are wanting you to wait a bit longer before testing. Everyone is different in terms of their physical ear structures and if you have small ear canals or other factors I imagine it could take longer to recover.
This post is in response to Jo Ann’s post dated May 10, 2010 about having a second surgery. I had my original surgery on May 19th, 2009 and had to go in for a revision surgery on October 13th, 2009 because of the prothesis being to short. See my previous posts under “Larry” dated June 2, 2009 and April 23, 2010.
Thanks for everyone’s comments. It’s really reassuring to read about other people’s experiences and success stories with the stapedectomy.
Two questions:
1. I have moderate loss in both ears and need the procedure done in both ears. Is it most common to get the surgeries done at separate times? What is the suggested wait period between surgeries?
2. I currently don’t have health insurance. Any suggestions on insurance companies that might cover the surgery? Have many of you paid out of pocket? What do those costs look like?
Thanks for the advice!
They actually won’t do both ears at the same time. The reason being that if they have a problem during surgery that would cause you to lose your hearing in one ear you would still have one good ear.
I only had about 4 months between my original surgery and the revision surgery. I don’t know if that is the rule of thumb?
I had my ear surgery on 6-28-10 on my left ear. I have the disease in both ears but the left was very bad, almost no hearing at all. I was put under general anesthesia, and woke up with the room spinning and spinning, very nauseous too. I started to notice improved hearing within a few days, but have had alot of trouble with regaining my sense of balance. I am constantly feeling like I’m in a state of tipsiness! I still don’t feel safe to drive. The dr. told me my recovery could take much longer due to the fact that the whole footplate of the stapes bone broke off during surgery. It makes me hesitant to do the right ear. I can hear much better, but if the trade off is continuous imbalance, then I would not have done it. I think you all should know that there can be some unexpected results, and good luck to all! My surgery was performed in Vancouver, WA By Dr. Nancy Liu
Thank you Ian, and all the posters here! I was delighted to find your very detailed blog, Ian. Somehow it has really made me feel better to see, for example, the restaurant near the hospital, and the picture of the removed stapes; why is that, I wonder? Anyway, it is reassuring to hear these stories of success and the details of the experience when one is faced with having this surgery.
I have quite significant hearing loss in both ears, and tinitus on the right side. I believe that is the ear we will be taking care of with my surgery, scheduled for 17 Sept. at UCSF Mount Zion in San Francisco. My doctor is Lawrence Lustig.
I will, of course, revisit here to report the results. Thank you again!