Tag Archive for 'ear surgery'

Tympanoplasty Question

Published on January 8, 2009 in Tympanoplasty. 96 Comments Tags: , , .

It’s a quote-post today, folks. Here’s me, writing about my Tympanoplasty (a surgery I went for in February, 2008), back in August:

At this juncture, I’m renaming the category of the blog that tells this story of my life from “ear surgery” to “tympanoplasty”. Hopefully, that’ll make it easier for Googlers to find my experience.

Looks like it worked. I got this question today via email, and with the permission of the person who sent it in, I’m reposting it, hoping that someone with the same concern in the future will feel better reading it.

Googler wrote:

Hey Richard,

I randomly came across your blog while I was looking for information about tympanoplasty online recently. I underwent tympanoplasty on my left eardrum 3 weeks ago. The size of my perforation was moderate, but was located in an accessible region of my eardrum and hadn’t caused too much hearing loss in my ear. It also happened fairly recently (in March) so I hadn’t lived with it long, but I knew I wanted to take care of it as soon as possible for reasons I’m sure you know of.

I have been a little stressed out lately, as my ear is still plugged from the surgery and everything is very muffled. My doctor swears that there is a lot of packing left to dissolve but for some reason I am worried. My ENT used the gelfoam dissolvable packing, therefore he will not be removing it manually. He also went through my ear to repair the hole therefore I only have a small incision from where they took the graft.

My hearing is much worse than before the surgery and it’s so annoying having an ear that feels completely plugged and muffles sound. I especially hate being in loud environments because I can hardly hear anything due to the muffling in the left ear.

I guess my question for you is, how long did it take for you to hear better again after the operation? I suppose your situation is a little different than mine since you had more hearing loss, but I am wondering when I am going to start getting my hearing back. My doctor says it can take 6 weeks to dissolve, but I am really stressing out about it.

There isn’t much chance of the surgery making the hearing worse that you know of is there? Anyways, I suppose I e-mailed you for a little piece of mind, to talk to someone who’s been through it.

Thanks!

Here’s my response:

Hey Googler!

It took me about four months to fully recover my hearing. At the beginning, I suffered immense discomfort, not only from the sore ear drum, but from the muffled sound, especially in loud environments, like you said. Only being able to hear from one ear threw off my sense of direction and placement in the world. I went through periods of intense worrying – “Will I ever hear again?” – because it took much longer than I thought it would to recover the sound. I’d wake up every morning, hoping that maybe I could snap my fingers and hear something today.

At first, I didn’t believe my surgeon when he told me that I had packing in my ear, still, after some time (two or three months). However, after more and more visits of him removing packing from my ear drum, and me taking drops in my ear to dissolve the packing, it got better.

I can’t assure you fully that everything is going to be okay – no one could assure me of that three weeks after my operation. I remember the fear I had; nothing could quell it. What I can tell you is to give it some time, and from my experience, you’re doing well.

I wish you the best of luck, and please keep in touch to let me know how you do. I’m glad you chose to email me. I put the information about my surgery online so that it could one day help someone, and it looks like it finally is.

Take care.

And finally, here response:

Thank you so much for replying so quickly! I feel like everything you said I have thought and felt these past few weeks.

You really helped my spirits! It is stressful bc I was not informed beforehand that it could take so long to get my hearing back.

Your blog was worth it! :)

Thanks a lot.

Googler

Again, I hope posting this here helps someone in the future. As always, feel free to email me any questions you have (about anything, really).

My Tympanoplasty, A Retrospective

Published on August 23, 2008 in Ricky and Tympanoplasty. 132 Comments Tags: , , .

This is the landing page to the story of my tympanoplasty. However, it’s just a slice in the middle of a larger story, which you can find in the tympanoplasty category of my blog. More importantly, this post and the others contain useful and inspiring stories from people at different parts in the healing process. Always be sure to read the comments, and don’t be afraid to contribute.

Earlier this year, I wrote about an elective surgery I undertook to recover hearing in my right ear. From the time I was little, my right ear drum had a hole in it, a perforation. I went for several procedures as a child to repair the hole, but none of them were successful.

Having that hole in my ear drum had always been a part of me. I learned to turn my head to hear people better, and I adapted to wearing an ear plug whenever around water, including and especially while showering.

Fast-forwarding eighteen years, this last February, my family and I decided it was time to take another shot. Consulting Dr. Lawrence Meiteles, we were introduced to and studied a procedure called a Tympanoplasty.

The idea of recovering any hearing was truly amazing to me – thinking about it made me instantly emotional.

As a student, I’d always refused to take any time off, unless I was particularly sick. In this case, for this reason, I was willing to take any amount of time off, even in the midst of a busy senior year of high school.

I retell this story now because it’s time to wrap it up. It’s been six months since the procedure and everything is well. I can bathe and swim without an ear plug and my hearing is much better, although not perfect. Although recovery was painful and tedious at times, I regret nothing… not even wearing this setup immediately after the surgery:

Big Bandage

At this juncture, I’m renaming the category of the blog that tells this story of my life from “ear surgery” to “tympanoplasty”. Hopefully, that’ll make it easier for Googlers to find my experience. I entirely and without reservation recommend the surgical services of Dr. Lawrence Meiteles to anyone with an ear drum perforation. I couldn’t be more appreciative to have something I thought I’d never have – decent hearing.

Water

Published on May 19, 2008 in Tympanoplasty. 7 Comments Tags: , , , .

Best news on Earth ever!

It’s as good as it’s going to get. I’ve gone from moderate to severe hearing loss in my right ear to mild hearing loss. And now, because there isn’t a hole in my ear drum, I can get my ear wet! Yes, I can finally take a shower without wearing earplugs!

I’ve been wearing earplugs while showing and swimming for as long as I can remember – my entire life. Tonight, I’ll try to take my first shower without an earplug. It’s both terrifying and liberating.

Hear the Good News

Published on April 23, 2008 in Ricky and Tympanoplasty. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

I went to visit my surgeon yesterday. After a quick hearing test, he has determined that I’m hearing better than I did before the surgery (February 27, 2008). The ear drum is looking good, I have to keep putting drops in it twice a day for the next two weeks, and I still can’t expose the ear to water. I’ll see him again in four weeks.

Monday was my first day back in my Gym class. Admittedly, I’m not the most athletic person, but I’m so happy to be back. For each day I sat out from Gym, I had to write a one page paper on a topic related to athletics, fitness, or health. I didn’t mind at first, but after the forth week I grew tired of the practice. Getting to go back to class with my friends and play kickball outside was wonderful!

My hearing is slowly getting better. Sounds are less sharp than they used to be, but I have a way to go. Higher-pitched sounds and my own yelling bring pain to my ear, but the surgeon told me that my nerve is still getting used to the amplified sounds. Remember, the problem with my right ear was a hole in the ear drum. The nerve that carries the sound information to my brain is in great condition, but it’s been accustomed to much softer sounds than what I’m hearing now. It’s overwhelmed.

This is all great news and reason for me to celebrate. I’m overjoyed, really. :D

Ear Progress

Published on April 1, 2008 in Tympanoplasty. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Visited my surgeon today; he delivered powerful news.

Your ear drum is intact.

My surgeon believes I’m coming along well. He took the last of the packing out from my ear canal with a pick and vacuum. The sensations were both painful and gratifying, knowing that I’m hopefully moving forward.

Sounds are louder now. Unfortunately, they’re loud as they are unclear and unintelligible. I feel like there’s a reverb filter installed in my head.

This is okay, I’ve been told. The ear drum is still healing and there’s some left over packing behind the ear drum that my surgeon cannot remove himself. The ear drops I’ve been using several times a day should dissolve that packing over time.

Progress.

Event Horizon

Published on March 23, 2008 in College Admissions, Dover, Ideas, Monthly Resolutions, Ricky and Tympanoplasty. 8 Comments Tags: , , , .

Rough weeks trigger lengthy and significant blog posts, it turns out.

Due to many personal stresses, including recent developments on the college admissions front, I have dug myself into a temporary sadness and a currently persisting physical sickness. I’ve spent my weekend trying to nurse myself back to happiness and health; my attempts have had variable success. If you’ll bear with me though this lengthy post, I’ve reached a turning point that I’d like to share with you. I’ll break down the recent events of my life and try to tie them together.

The End of High School

This last Thursday marked “100 days” left until my high school graduation, an event I’m eagerly dreading. I haven’t been an officer for my class in two years due to taking a position as Student Council President, but I’ve always offered my support. On account of this, I was pleased when I was asked to put together a slideshow of photographs consisting of members of my class. This slideshow was to be shown at a breakfast to celebrate the number of days left until graduation.

Although I’m glad I put it together, it was a very difficult process. Scanning photos with my friend Matt took hours, and cropping them into a slideshow was tedious. More than that, though, I saw pictures of my friends and acquittances as they grew up, all together, in this small town. It hardly felt fair for me to put the presentation together, seeing as though I had only lived in this town for six years of the twelve years of public education. It was an emotional hurdle I hadn’t anticipated.

Regardless, the breakfast ceremony wasn’t a disaster. In fact, it’s had me thinking about my future. My class’ officers asked a few influential teachers and faculty members to say a few words at the ceremony. One of those people gave us this wisdom about Dover Plains:

You guys all know that there’s nothing for you here. Get out, come back, and tell us how you did. Make us all proud.

I’ve known this for years. The town I live in, unfortunately, is a dead end. Regardless, I love it to death. I even wrote one of my essays for MIT on it, and truly meant every touching word I said. (I’m considering posting that essay on the blog. Let me know if you’re interested.)

What the speaker said had me think about all of the work I’ve done to try to improve Dover High School. I’ve had successes due to hard work, and I’ve had failures due to improper planning, the actions of others, and the bureaucracy characteristic of a public school.

I have a few projects, “unfinished business”, on my list of “help Dover” endeavors. Recently, I’ve been wondering whether or not to scrap that list. I’ve gone through the system and put in more work and hours than most people do. I’ve been thinking, why not just let it rest?

I can’t let it rest. I’ve gone through my time at Dover High School believing that I must always try to make the environment better for the next person. It’s the idea that’s defined my career thus far, and I can’t quit now. It’s why I’m alive, isn’t it? I’ll have some interesting stories involving my final hurrah to share, I bet.

Ear Surgery

In the midst of my normal routine, I’ve been wondering if or when I’ll claim an unknown “amount” of hearing back after my surgery almost one month ago. Since my last appointment with my surgeon, when he took a lot of “packing” out of my ear, I’ve been picking up high-pitch sounds, like a female’s voice. The sensations are very sharp and painful, but I expect them to get better.

It’s been my March Resolution to dedicate myself to healing. I haven’t done that as well as I would have liked to. My “can do” lifestyle hasn’t been kind to me, but I’ve been trying to adjust.

College Admissions

In the last week and a half, I was accepted to Lafayette and RPI. Lafayette’s acceptance letter didn’t come with a complete financial aid package; the big envelope only delivered the news that I had been selected to receive the school’s highest merit scholarship, the Marquis Scholarship. RPI’s letter came with a financial aid package that I consider to be lackluster.

Last Thursday, as I was about to start my last hurrah on the Senior Slideshow, my Mom gave me a letter from MIT – a small envelope. My heartbeat instantly quickened as I rushed to open the letter which I knew would bring me bad news. It started:

We have finished the selection process for MIT’s Class of 2012, and while we are unable to offer you admission at this time, we have placed you on our Wait List.

That was my bitter introduction to the proper noun, “Wait List”. The remainder of the letter told me I could either choose to remain on or withdraw from the list.

I’ve come this far, so I’ve decided to stay. Although I know the odds are impossibly small, I would never forgive myself if I didn’t stick around to see what happens.

Turning Point

I’ve had a frustrating week, one which has plunged me into feeling ill. If you’ve been monitoring my presence online, I haven’t been overwhelming positive. The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated, and I hope to play my cards the best I can. Essentially, I’m not really going to change anything in my life right now. I’m just going to keep going, doing my best. It’s a very faux turning point, isn’t it?

Just bare with me as I get back on my feet. It’s easier to write a blog post than to put thought into action, but it’s a step.

Another thought: A huge thanks to the people who have given me their kind words while I’ve been working through this.