Stapedotomy Recovery, Tinnitus Just Got Real

Hi all, I’m new here…

I'm a 27 year old guy from Sweden who was diagnosed with otosclerosis a few years back now. Got it in both ears but mostly in my left. I got a stapedotomy done about 6 weeks ago in my left ear.

Everything was fine, had a bit of high pitched tinnitus since the surgery but nothing I really thought about.

However, what is now almost two weeks ago I had my first real social weekend interaction since the OP. So without describing the whole scenario too much in detail. We had some food and drinks at a not too loud restaurant, got home, I was setting up Mario Kart next to the TV and then a friend (without probably thinking about it) started blasting some loud music in a not too big speaker next to me, but still. This continued for about 1-2 minutes until I moved away, we then lowered the music considerably. I was however not bothered by it, it didn't hurt or anything. I was under the influence of some alcohol though so maybe that took the edge of.

Since then I have had a lot of weird noises in my ear. One pretty darn loud high pitch noise. But the most annoying one is a loud low-pitch ringing that is there most of the day. It does seem to fade when I get my pulse up tho or drinking a glass of whiskey which kind of gives me hope that it might fade...

But I do feel pretty darn stupid right now. I can't stop going back to that moment, why didn't I just move away instantly? Could this have been a start of a life long suffering? Or maybe this is something that can happen when the ear heals after a surgery?

I don't really know how sensitive the ear is to noise induced tinnitus after a stapedotomy surgery, it is supposed to be more sensitive of course but I didn't think it would be this bad.

I talked to my doctor last week on the phone, 4 days after the event happened. He gave me some kind of anti-oxidants that I took for 5 days and said that the "ear is sensitive in the beginning" aaaand not much else really.

It's not getting better, I'm still only 6 weeks post op. But damn, this is rough. I feel like shit. Constantly tired, can't sleep, can't work.

 

I'm confused, a stadectomy is suppose to improve hearing?
did improving hearing worsen your tinnitus?

I see you also had an acoustic trauma but that was afterward.

 

@GregCA had a stapedectomy I think, he also has otosclerosis.
I’m sure he can offer you some insight.

I hope it improves for you as time goes on.... your ear is still healing.
Did you have some tinnitus prior to the surgery?
Can you mask yours frequency noise?
@Bandanaman21

 

Hi,

To answer your questions @Contrast and @Samantha R. The stapedotomy has improved my hearing as far as I have noticed, haven't done the post-op hearing test yet, still got 3 weeks to go but I definately hear more on that ear now.

I did have tinnitus before the surgery and the surgery also did remove most of that tinnitus up until the acoustic trauma. Now its worse than ever.

I do my best trying to mask the tinnitus by listening to music/watching tv shows with earphones but only on my unoperated ear since i want to rest my operated one.

But yes, as you might all understand, my main concern is: Did the acoustic trauma cause all of this ringing or might it be a normal part of healing? I just don't think I can stand this type of volume from my tinnitus for the rest of my life.

 

@Bandanaman21
It's impossible to tell why you have new T, but you seem to think that there is a correlation with your "loud event" 2 weeks ago.

You had surgery 6 weeks ago, and the restaurant/party/under-the-influence-of-alcohol 2 weeks ago, which puts it at surgery +4 weeks. I don't know if your surgeon told you, but the ear takes a very long time to heal: the packing itself (which holds the drum in place) is only removed 1-2 weeks post op when a basic fork test is performed. After that, we are talking months, possibly 1+ year until the ear "peaks".

Perhaps your "event" exercised some part of your hearing apparatus that hadn't healed yet, but nobody can tell for sure.

What I suggest to you is to be as healthy as possible during your recovery. I don't think alcohol helps recover, so skip that. If you do recreational drugs, I'd also skip that. And I'd also avoid loud venues and/or parties, unless they are on the quiet/calm side. If you have any deficiency (vitamins, etc), I don't think it hurts to address it.

It was probably not very wise to not take it easy post op, but the good news is that your ear is still healing and you can expect more changes, probably on the positive side, in the next few weeks/months, provided you can keep a healthy lifestyle, from diet to ears.

Has your doctor put you on Fluoride?

Good luck!

 

@GregCA

Hi Greg,

My doctor did tell me that for some people it can take 6-12 months for the ear to be back to optimal shape and I understand that I should not put too much strain on my ear during this period of time. He took the packing out after 1 week but did not perform any basic fork test. He did tell me that everything looked like it had healed nicely.

I had been taking it EXTREMELY easy for the first 4 weeks, basically didn't leave the house more then a few times for like taking a very calm walk.

What happened 2 weeks ago was not meant to be some full on party or anything. We just simply hung out and for some reason a dude decided to boot up some music very loudly which did kinda make me a bit mad to be honest. He was just not simply thinking. This is probably the biggest reason for me feeling very down right now, my recovery was going so smooth and I did everything to make sure I didn't strain myself and then all of a sudden I felt like everything was ruined by this little "incident".

My doctor has not put me on Flouride. He has not even mentioned it. I have read about it, that some people use it to slow down further development of otosclerosis. Maybe I should ask him about it at our next appointment in 3 weeks.

And yeah, the alcohol, perhaps I should tone it down a notch, it does help me sleep but perhaps not worth it in the long run.

Thank you so much for replying. It really means a lot!

 

I really hope you feel better, perhaps it is just a small spike, and like most spikes... It will subside in time. No point now looking back and regretting the past, try to look forward and occupy yourself with quiet activities that will distract you until your ear fully heals. No more headphones even in the good ear if you can (or not, whatever you choose). Be safe and have an awesome holiday

 

the acoustic trauma is the culprit not the stadectomy

 

Yes, the most logical reason would be the acoustic trauma. Question is just what it did in terms of damage.

Cause my tinnitus is real weird right now. Its extremely fluctuating. Like, when I move a bit, get some pulse up, it completely fades for a few minutes same. And some times during the day, I can stand completely still and listen for it and its not even there. Then all of a sudden its blasting full speed when i lay my head down or sit at a computer for a while. And it doesn't really sound like the other types of tinnitus I had had. Its more of a metallic vibrating noice which kinda makes me think something is happening with the prosthetic. But yeah, I can only guess.

 

It is not unusual for people to experience wildly fluctuating T post stapedotomy. What you are feeling may be completely unrelated to your "acoustic trauma".

 

@Bandanaman21 ,
My son had his ear bones out age 7 years old.
He's now 23 and a Architectural technician.
He's fine and no tinnitus and hearing improved. He did have a second operation age 16 on the same ear to remove a mass and a new eardrum.

love glynis

 

@glynis Thats very nice to hear. I hope I will be the same success story as your son in a near future

I guess time will tell. Got my follow up in about 3 weeks. It kinda feels like the ringing is getting better everyday now or perhaps I'm just getting used to it.

I want to thank you all for your replies. Really helps an impatient and worried guy like myself

 

@Bandanaman21 ,
Have you had your packing out of your ear yet ?
love glynis

 

@glynis
Yes im almost 7 weeks post op and my packing was taken out after 7 days.

 

Hi all,

Thought I'd do a short update. What has happened since last time is that I have talked to my doctor on the phone once more. He told me that I should try to equalize (pinching nose and blowing), when doing this I noticed that my operated ear kinda sounded like the air was escaping (a squeek noise) and it also didn't feel like the equalizing actually worked. It was like this for a few days when equalizing.

Now it kinda sounds and feels like it should when equalizing. But this lead me to believe that maybe my eardrum had been perforated or damaged which might be a cause of the ringing. I'm not sure yet.

Going for the 2 month checkup in 1 week where the doctor will actually look in the ear. I also noticed that I seem to have a lot of wax in my ear canal further in, I don't really want to go in there pointing around and I still try to avoid getting too much water in my ear following my doctors orders so I guess I can't do much about that for the moment.

I still have the ringing, but its fluctuating a lot, comes and goes and changes tones during the day/night.

 

I find it quite surprising for a doctor to suggest valsalva/blowing during a recovery period when your ear drum is trying to heal and form a seal with the wall of the outer ear canal.

Is that common @brownbear ?

I personally refrain from putting excessive pressure on my ear drum, even 2+ years post surgery. I also decline tympanometry tests as well in the affected ear.

 

Another update. Visited the doctor today for a 2 month post-op follow up and hearing test. Hearing has gotten better, but not optimal. went from around 44 air to 33. Biggest gains where in low frequencies and the high ones had improved but not as much. I felt like the tinnitus really interfered with the hearing test, had a hard time picking out some sounds.

So, he had a look in my ear, sucked some remaining ear drops out that were still in there. Stated that it looked like my eardrum was a bit retracted and that it could be due to pressure inbalance in the ear. He told me to do valsalva a few times every day for some time to counteract this.

So yeah, not super positive right now. Tinnitus still there, hearing not THAT geat so yeah.. Guess I'll have to give it more time like my doctor says, up to a year..

 

Steroids?

Nicotinamide riboside?

 

@DebInAustralia Nothing of that sort has been mentioned. Maybe not too common that they recommend that in Sweden.

 

I didn't have surgery.
In the beginning of tinnitus I used a loud Shop Vac and developed new tones. My dog barked in my ear
and the new tones got louder. Lasted 6 months to a year. With some whistles and sirens on the side.
Your ears are sensitive, all those annoying sounds will fade.