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

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Guest
Guest

Hi there,

I had my stapedectomy operation done in December 2006 and thought I'd share my experience with anyone who might be considering this operation and sprawling patient forums as I did.

I was 60% deaf in my right ear and had early signs of otosclerosis in my left ear. I decided to go ahead with the opeartion largely because insurance doesn't cover hearing aids. My specialist was Mr. J A Lavy who I can't recommend enough. He explained that there was a 1% chance of total hearing loss and 10% chance that my hearing wouldn't improve and as others have mentioned they may not be able to do the operation should my facial nerve be in the way.

I had the operation done under local anaesthetic and was also given a sedative. I have to say the most painful part of the whole experience was the injections in my ear but they are over in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately my ear canal was too narrow so they had to make an incision in the top of my ear but that really wasn't a big deal and has left the tiniest of scares. I watched the operation as it was being done through their camera which was quite reassuring as there were a lot of loud noises as they chipped away at bone etc. I fell asleep as they were doing the laser bit and came round after they had sewn up my ear drum. The advantage of them doing it under local was that they could do a mini test on my hearing there and then.

I felt extremely dizzy after the op - don't underestimate how dizzy u'll feel. I think that it is a little under played on a lot of these sites about how rotten you'll feel for the next day or so. I ended up staying in the hospital overnight.

My recovery took a week and it was a week of very squelchy noises, having to have someone wash my hair (you musn't get it wet) and restless nights as obviously it's too painful to lye on the operated ear.

Once the padding came out (2 weeks) everything was defeaningly loud and had a tinny quality about it but that settled down over the following two weeks. But I would be prepared to negotiate your social life for this period as I found that going out a bit of an overwhelming experience as I found my sense of sound direction was completely off.

Yesterday I had my hearing tested, you have to wait 6 weeks in total before it's testable, the results were fantastic I now have a normal right ear and can use the phone on that ear and hear what people are actually saying rather than just pretending to understand.

There is a small chance that I may have to have the piston replaced years from now as I am only 25 and so it may wear out also I may need to have the left ear operated on in time but I don't see this as a major issue considering how well my first op went.

The things that I have been told I wont be able to do post op is scuba diving and sky diving (shucks!)

Well that's it - hope that's helpful!

[i:0f5ba42d8b]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:0f5ba42d8b]

5 likes, 204 replies

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  • tbro1124
    tbro1124 Guest

    Posted

    Hello no my hearing actually going worse no tinnitus, but after the surgery till now I sometimes hear a motor boat running in my head lol weird. And yes I did find a new doctor. Is your hearing better since they suyrgery?

    • cassie44515
      cassie44515 tbro1124

      Posted

      I had my packing out yesterday and can say my hearing is definitely improved. I went outside and could hear the leaves blowing on the ground. I still have packing stuck on ear drum that needs removing in 2 weeks
    • tbro1124
      tbro1124 cassie44515

      Posted

      That is great to hear. I hope my surgery is successful this time

    • lm80
      lm80 tbro1124

      Posted

      So did you have your 2nd surgery, TBro?  How did it go?
  • cassie44515
    cassie44515 Guest

    Posted

    What a great forum. I'm 5 days post right ear stapectomy and am feeling pretty crap, headaches, lots of pressure and the ringing/whooshing etc in the ear can't wait for it to all pass.
    • cassie44515
      cassie44515

      Posted

      Will add that I also seemed to have lost taste and have numbness to the right of my tongue aparently quite common and resolves itself, anyone else had this? I'm so grateful I got to have the surgery but just can't wait to feel better
  • Harsham
    Harsham Guest

    Posted

    Hi,

    It was so spooky reading your review as I am being operated on by MR Lavy on 8th July and am completely and utterly petrified, especially since he explained the risks of how the face could drope or you could loose the taste buds and feel in the tongue if it goes wrong... I am still going ahead as I am hoping this won't happen! Brave or stupid I don't really know?!

    Are there any tips you can give me please for things to do after and to aid recovery please? Thank you Harsha

  • Harsham
    Harsham Guest

    Posted

    It was so spooky reading your review as I am being operated on by MR Lavy on 8th July and am completely and utterly petrified, especially since he explained the risks of how the face could drope or you could loose the taste buds and feel in the tongue if it goes wrong... I am still going ahead as I am hoping this won't happen! Brave or stupid I don't really know?!

    Are there any tips you can give me please for things to do after and to aid recovery please? Thank you Harsha

    • blue26535
      blue26535 Harsham

      Posted

      Those might happen and will go away in a week. I had them. They are not bad at all.
  • ravi49536
    ravi49536 Guest

    Posted

    Hello everyone,

    I would like to share my experience I M very much scared I am 31 yr old did my surgery on right ear 9 days ago my packing hack been removed by my surgeon after 1 week of surgery and surgeon said gel packing will be removed automatically ... I M not able to hear anything from my operated ear until se go near me and shout ,I M feeling little bit of dizziness but no pain at all ....will my hearing improve anyone with this experience ????

    Thankyou guys

  • amir1361
    amir1361 Guest

    Posted

    Hi every one

    I had stapedectomy 4 days ago but during this day I made some stupid mistakes that make me anxious about the result of my surgery. for example to day I was sitting on the chair and pull heavy table toward my self with my feet then suddenly I remember not to pull heavy thingafter stapedectomy or yesterday my head hit to car's window I can't hear with my operated ear is it possible that these accident made bad effect on my surgery?

  • valerie30908
    valerie30908 Guest

    Posted

    I had the surgery two weeks ago and my experience was very similar.

    I wasn't hearing anything at all for almost a week afterwards and for the first few days my other ear felt plugged up. Not sure what that was about, but the "plugged" sensation cleared up on its own. 

    My understanding is that it's completely normal not to hear anything on the operated ear at first. There is connective tissue that needs to grow back onto the prosethetic and that takes a bit of time - makes sense. It took about a week before I felt like I was getting some hearing back in the operated ear. And though my surgeon removed the packing the very next day, the ear was still bleeding heavily for 3 days and only stopped weeping about 10 days post op. Cotton balls and prescribed ear drops (to speed ear drum healing) were my friends. Two weeks out I'd say I'm now hearing a bit better than before the surgery, but it improves daily. I definitely can't handle loud noises yet (including if my own voice is raised). It almost sounds like it distorts like a loud speaker would if turned up too high. Hopefully that settles down with time!

    Also, as the OP said, do not underestimate how crappy and dizzy you are going to feel afterward. It's bad. I was laid out for a couple of days with the dizziness and resulting nausea. This was completely glossed over with the surgeon in preparatory meetings so I was delusionally ill-prepared for what the recovery was going to be like. My son had tubes put in his ears a few months ago and he was playing floor hockey in my dining room with his uncle that same evening. For some reason I thought this recovery would be similar. It was not!

    All told, while the recovery is a bit of a doozy, the surgery seems to have been successful and I'm glad I underwent the procedure. I'm 35 and wasn't particularly interested in hearing aids for the next 50+ years.

    Best of luck to you all,

    Valerie

  • anthea95238
    anthea95238 Guest

    Posted

    Hi Guest,

    Have read your long report on how your Stapedectomy op went.

    I am now almost totally? deaf and cant hear anything after having oteosclerosis

    for many years!  I wear small canal hearing aids that enable me to hear,

    and the right one is more powerful than left one.

    I am seriously considering having this op in one ear, but feel nervous of what

    to expect. Have been offered the op, said I'd think about it, and now feel the

    time is near to go for it!

    Please can you give me any words of comfort  and details of the op!

    You say you were very dizzy after Stapedectomy, isnt there medication to help

    counter this??

    from another sufferer of hereditary oteosclerosis! many thanks.  

    • susan57889
      susan57889 anthea95238

      Posted

      Hello, did you end up having the surgery?  I have also had oteosclerosis for many years and wear hearing aids in order to get along. I had the surgery done yesterday which is what brought me to this discussion dorado.  Your situation sounds exactly the same as mine. Just wondering what you decided to do since this post
    • joanne8798
      joanne8798 anthea95238

      Posted

      Hello! I'm one of those with your situation as well and even with the complications I had (nov 2016, 2 operations in 4 days....too large prosthetic put in first time that pushed on my balance bone causing bad vertigo/still recovering, replacement/corrective surgery discovered strange shaped canal left air/gas bubbles partially giving me vertigo also, and they rebuilt my eardrum), I am happy to hear again and it's worth it! My story seems unusual in a few ways so expect an easier recovery, listen to your dr instructions and I bet you will love the results!!!

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