Hi there, I had my stapedectomy operation done in Decem...

I am curious to see other replies.... for me I have to say that I am experiencing exactly what you have described except that it has been only 5 weeks since my stapedectomy surgery and I have not had my ear tested yet. I can hear very well from the operated ear now but yes, the ringing and ocean like noise has not chaged (exactly as it was before the surgery). I called the nurse yesterday and she told me that it takes about 4 months to completely heal inside and all the noise is part of it and it will get better. I still feel shart pain once in a while as well. Not often but it happens. If I yawn I feel all sort of cracking noise when I inhale and if towards the end of the yawn I close my mouth I feel pressure in the ear as if something was being lifted so this part scares me as it feels I am moving the stape. So no yawning or sneezing for me. I am keeping my fingers crossed but anxious to hear what others have to say. Great group of contributors on this list.

Janete

I too know what you mean about movement in the ear.  I was told that is natural and not worry too much about the prosthetic slipping. Just take it easy and no strenuous activity and fast movements.  It's easy to worry about that but he assured me it's not as easy to move as one would think.

So you have noticed the noises much louder after exposing yourself to loud sound for a while?  I just worry that I'm damaging something.   

Strange enough... the noises happen mostly when I don't sleep well, when I am stressed (my job is very stressful) and when I expose it to loud noise. 

My hearing test will be in July. 3 months after the surgery.

Hope others will reply.

I am 6 weeks post stapedectomy on my right ear.  My ringing in the ear started 3 weeks after the surgery. My doctor prescribed steroid for 1 week which did not help at all.I have not had my hearing test done yet, but I can certainly hear better.  I had stapedectomy done on my left year 30 years ago and my hearing on that ear has been near perfect since then. Had no complication at all. But this ringing this time is driving me crazy. My doctor did not assure me it would go away. So feeling pretty nervous. 

Sorry to hear about your issue as well.  It really is maddening.  Today I have crickets but later it will be a dull high pitched ring.  Doc said to wear a soft ear plug at loud events in the coming weeks.

I find it interesting that you had this done 30 years ago and you had no hassle.  Wow!  That would give me hope that this next round will pan out for you.  My doctor DID assure me that it would go away.  But his eyes seemed hesitant.  It's different for everyone which is something that does NOT comfort us, I know.  My other concern is flying.  I'm afraid my ear will explode!  

You may want to try Ginko Biloba or ask about Neurontin.  These things have been known to help tinnitus.  And also music or tinnitus relief sounds help me tremendously when I'm working.

Good luck!

I am using a humidifier at its high speed at night and its sound seems to help me. 

My doctor says flying should be fine. After my previous surgery, I flew overseas after 4 weeks and had no problem.

Do you know if I should be careful about someone sitting next to me talking loudly? My son screamed once and I felt a discomfort in the recently operated ear.

My original complaint was pulsitile tinnitus and the ear feeling full all the time.  The hearing thing never totally bothered me, honestly!  I was just hoping that it would take away the heartbeat sounds and the full feeling, but the ear still feels full and I still have the pulsitile tinnitues PLUS the horrible ringing!

That actually was my original question about exposing yourself to loud sounds.  My doctor seems to think it's ok but that I should "protect" my ear by placing a cotton ball or a soft ear plug for a few weeks while it's still healing.  But never once did he say it would damage anything.  I'm still pretty confused on that topic.

Similar to Blue's surgeon, my surgeon doesn't talk much either. He just smiles and say that everything will be ok nonce the inner part is healed. In a way it kind of make sense... if the old stape was removed and a new one put in...it needs to heal for the new part to integrate successfully. 

Sometimes I think that maybe when I washed my hair (two weeks after the surgery yup I waited that long), maybe a small drop of water got in causing the ringing and other sort of sounds. after the surgery I had the ringing but not as loud. So I don't know. I think we should just wait and get together again in two months and compare again. Hopefully we will have good news to each other.

I do not regret the surgery because I can hear. But if you didn't have the ringing and other noises before I know how bad it can be and for that it is unfortunately.

Please keep posting here. At least, I can communicate to you here. Others who never had gone through this won't understand the problem.

How's your ringing in the ear now? Did you have it before the surgery?

Did yours get any better? You know, I have been monitoring it... it seems that it gets louder after I expose it to loud noises. So have an ear plug in your pocket at all times.

Glad you mentioned ear plug. I will have to carry it. I feel a discomfort on the operated ear when exposed to loud sound. Even sound of food processor close to me makes me uncomfortable. 

How's your ringing and hearing now? I will have my hearing test soon. But the ringing is still bothersome. I am 10 weeks post op now. The ringing is bad in the morning and usually better during the day.

I am on my 7th week and anxious for my hearing test in July. I have a couple of questions for the surgeon.

Hearing is good. I still can't quite make out some of the words when watching TV but in a group, or one on one it is great. Ringing is still there unfortunately just like it was before the surgery. It doesn't bother me too much as I got used to it but for sure it would be amazing if there was a cure for it. Hopefully there will be a cure soon.

Does your operated ear feel plugged and full when you are laid down and turn from one side to the other? Sometimes I feel like there is something loose in there and imagine it is the stape but it couldn't be because I am able to hear. Right? So that is my question to the doctor when I see him in 5 weeks if its still happening by then.

Let's see what Lyn has to say in regards to her hearing and ringing.

Today is my third day after the right ear stapedectomy, and i do not hear as loud as i did with the first one, only a little when i touch the ear. It scares me. Start hering pulsations and sounds, will make me crazy again, but it will tell me that everything is healing normal.

I had my first stapedectomy for six months ago. I had ringing and fullness sensation for months, but now it is history, the left ear is working normal, and no ringings or other sensations.

I had my right eart operated for 3 days ago, and i am there now, afraid of all the post op care, and the fact that i had less hearing this time compare to the first time. I only hear something if touch it. Even if it is so unpleasant, i want all those sounds back as a sign of norma healing.

I am so glad that your left ear has healed so well.

How is your right ear now? I still have ringing and it's 2.5 months since the surgery. Hoping it to subside.

My operated ear sometimes feel full and I am not comfotable in a group setting where several people are talking. I cannot make out what an invidual is saying. I was thinking of requesting for a CT scan to see if the prosthesis looks good and also going to another doctor for a second opinion. The ringing is still bothersome and makes me upset since I did not have it before the surgery.

I did good with flying last week. How's your ringing now? These days i use earplugs too if i go to a real loud place. That makes me feel good. Have you ever had CT scan done on your ear?

I am 3 months post op.  I had a hearing test a month ago and all was improved. I still have ringing but it's not as bad as it was in the beginning.  This is odd though.  The ringing had reached a tolerable level until he goes in and pokes around.  Yesterday during my 3 mo check up, he used some tools to try and take out some skin that had bunched up in front of my eardrum.  But it was still attached to my canal and it made me jump. But I sware, after he pokes around, the ringing is worse again.  Last night it was so loud.

Today it's back to distant crickets and high pitched tones.  Something else has come about though, and I'm sure this sounds crazy. But does anyone have any experience with unexplained vibrations in the ear?  It's almost like a giant is taking huge steps and it's happening IN my head.  It's a very inconsistant rhythm and I hear it right now.  I heard it at work the other day and I thought someone was drilling underneath me.  I realized as I walked around that it was following me and that it was coming from the operated ear side of my head.

I told the doctor that and he just looked at me.  I mean, what can he say to that?

My other problems I have come back, which I was hoping the stapedectomy would cure.  Pulsatile Tinnitus and a full sensation like there is a bubble in there that needs to pop.  I have been unable to pop my ears for years.

So he puts me on Flonaze and sends me home.

Ugh.  I might get a second opinion.  

PS. I wish this text box checked your spelling!

Thanks for the update. I am also thinking of getting a second opinion. My doctor completely ignores my complaint about ringing which wasn't there before the surgery. He told me to see him after a year which makes me upset. He is basically telling he cannot do anything about my problems. My hearing has improved but not to my expectation. My doctor recommended hearing aid. I somtimes regret the surgery. If i have to wear a hearing aid anyway and have the ringing that started after the surgery then why did i go through this pain of surgery. I sometimes feel like going to lawyer. He told me before I was an excellent candidate of surgery.

I think a CT scan will reveal if there is any blockage or if the stape is out of place. For me, the ringing seems to have gotten a bit better (I am knocking on wood as I type ). Not a whole lot but a little. I flew to Miami and back last week and I was scared that it would 'blow up' (as Lynz put it in one of her notes which I thought was funny , but it was great. No issues. I feel that sometimes I hear better than others. Before, when I was on the passanger seat of a car I could not hear anything the driver or the back seat people were saying. Now with my left ear operated, I can hear them which is amazing. However, it feels full when I yawn. I still have some harp pain in there from time to time but I am blaming it on my fricken allergies. July 11 is my first hearing test. I'll see what he says. Will have more updates then.

I will ask him if I should have a CT scan to confirm that the stapes is fully in place or not. I had a CT scan in January before the surgery to make sure this surgery would resolve my issue so not sure if more radiation will be ok. Will ask him.

Thank you all for all the updates.

J.

I too asked my doctor about the prosthetic and if it could be shifted.  He assured me that if the prosthetic shifts or unlatches itself, we would know it right away.  This is why those first few weeks are critical that it heals well, because once healed correctly,  I was told a shifting is less likely.

I will give it another 3 months and then really start worrying if nothing changes for the better.  

But I do agree, if you are not happy with your doctor, I would seek another opinion for piece of mind.  

No I didn't. I went to another doctor for second opinion. He said if the prosthesis would have moved my hearing wouldn't improve. He didn't recommennd scan. My hearing is better than before, but the ringing is still there. The doctor said ringing won't go away :-(. So, at some point in time, I might have to wear hearing aid. 

How is yours?

I'm sorry to hear that.  I'm in the same boat.  The ringing is still there but it's definitely "better".  My doctor did say I would get "used to it" and I sure have.  But I do have to say it has improved.  Sometimes I think I don't hear it at all and other times it's there.. I just try to not think about it.  White noise helps, I sleep with a fan now..  and when I'm out and about, at dinner or just outside I don't really hear it at all.   However I feel as though NOTHING has changed.  My hearing seemed better after surgery and I was super sensitive.. Now I feel like I'm back to square one. That ear feels "clogged" or "closed."  Which is the same sensation I have always felt.  Curious what my 6 months check up will say.... 

I also got used to it. I try not to think about it. When I am with people or when I am busy I don't hear it. But when it's quiet and I am all by myself, it surely comes back. I sleep with a noisy humidifier. It helps my ear and skin :-). My ear also feels clogged which I didn't have before. But my hearing is better. My hearing was almost none before the surgery, now it's in 45-50% range. My other ear has been very good since the surgery for the last 30 years. So I can hear now without the hearing aid. The second doctor said I waited too long to have the surgery on the second ear. I wouldn't have complained if I didn't have the ringing and the clogged feeling. This is something the doctor didn't warn me of. When the ringing is bad, I feel down. But most of the times I don't think about it.

Are you considering a revision surgery or a hearing aid? When is your six months check up? I don't have one. Wonder how Janete is doing.

hello lynztree,

It's been 4 weeks since i had my stapedotomy done and i'm experiencing the tinnitus on my operated ear and my hearing doesn't improve that much as i was expected. i am curious to know how long does it take to heal the eardrum? and when all these crickets noise subsides? as you were experiencing the same please give me some hope....

Just happened on to this website so my remarks may not be helpful. I had my right ear surgery in 1967 when I was 26 years old and the left ear surgery in 1982. I am now 79 years old and can't imagine how my life would have been not being able to hear. I don't think there has been any movement of the prothesis. I think the surgery was very new in 1967 . Trust your Doctor.