ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Hearing Issues => Topic started by: Fran6774 on February 11, 2014, 03:12:44 am
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Hi,
I'm a 25 yo mom of 2 little kids, scheduled for translab surgery soon. My neurosurgeons are surprised that I still have perfect hearing in my AN ear with a 2.4 cm tumor. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that this surgical approach usually results in ssd, but I feel that tinnitus is something I will NOT be able to deal with on top of everything. So this question is to all those with SSD, does hearing loss always bring on tinnitus?
Fran
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Unfortunately, translab surgery always results in SSD. And with SSD almost always comes tinnitus to various degrees, from hardly noticeable to mind-numbing.
I don't know how much research you did, but there are two other types of surgery that are more inclined to favor hearing preservation (middle fossa and retrosigmoid) and radiation also favors hearing preservation.
Might be a good idea to consult other AN specialists and review the options before committing to translab.
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Hi Fran,
Had surgery in 1992, total SSD, NO tinnitus. Jill :)
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Hi Fran,
Had surgery in 1992, total SSD, NO tinnitus. Jill :)
Thanks, Jill! This gives me hope! Gotta pray and hope for the best!
Fran
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No.
I became SSD as a result of my surgery on 5/31/07.
I've never had tinnitus.
Jan
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I had a 4cm AN with little to no hearing loss prior to surgery. I am a Mom of 4, youngest one is 7. Now I am SSD with tinitus daily. It gets worse when I am tired. I've heard it described as crickets in the ear, but mine has always been like a dull "blank" sound. You learn to live with it.
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:o >:( My translab procedure was done in 2007. The tinnitus I was left with sounds like a tea kettle steeping in a wind tunnel and it is 24/7. I OD'd on zanex twice in the first 5 years........Not a good place to be :( it was awful. I had no idea how to cope. Now, 7 years down the road I have learned a few coping skills. Stay away from loud places cause it makes the noise louder, try to avoid stress coz it also makes it worse. And when you are tired looooook out its almost unbearable. I also found in loud situations.....people, music etc I can put an ear plug in my good ear and it seems to block out some of the background noise that aggravates the tinnitus but allows you to still hear a conversation. Best ones I've found were at Walmart. They are silicone putty earplugs made my Mack's. Not a happy story but the truth. I have worked full-time as the Cashier for a bank before and after surgery, only because my boyfriend ownes the bank. Any other employer would have gotten rid of me long ago and alleviating stress has never been an option. ;) ;) but God gave me a stress reliever in the form of a Beautiful Granddaughter 17 months ago so now my ONLY option is rule the noise and don't let it rule me. Good luck
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Various ear noises I had prior to translab (beeping, white noise etc) are much better 2 months after surgery. Karen
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I have the ringing 24/7. I work as a teacher and the kids can be so noisy at times. Somehow I make it each day. The children are a distraction, but at times is hard to hear when they are answering a question. I have a small tumor on the nerve of the left ear. I was told that one morning I will wake up with no hearing on my ear. This has left me in a situation of limbo. I don't know if I will be able to teach with only one ear. If I try to remove the tumor the surgeon said that the hearing will definitely be gone. I have consulted two neurosurgeons and they both said the same thing. No one can tell me when this will happen. Of course I take it one day at a time and try not to think about the fact that the hearing could be gone suddenly. How will I cope? Will I be able to keep being a teacher? Will this be consider a disability? For the sake of my family I try to go on and just cope with the ringing as best as I can without going crazy. I would like to hear from other people in similar circumstance.
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"I would like to hear from other people in similar circumstance."
Mhdilks,
My situation is somewhat similar. I had gradual hearing loss, dizziness, and a ringing ear in Spring 2013 and was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma in May 2013 thanks to my first MRI. My second MRI 6 months later indicated rapid growth, and I went almost straight to translab surgery. The ringing had become highly variable in pitch and extremely annoying, and my hearing in the left ear was nearly unusable.
Everyone is different, and there may be the possibility that radiation could be an alternative for you. The primary danger of waiting, if your tumor is growing, is that it could begin pressing on the brain and cause damage. It's fine to watch and wait if the thing isn't growing, but otherwise you need to carefully consider your options and take appropriate action.
After surgery, my experience has been total hearing loss in my left ear (as expected), much less dizziness, and the ringing has leveled off to a fairly steady buzz that I often don't even notice. I was teaching at the graduate level until February thus year (not little kids, obviously, like you), and was nearly always able to hear and understand students in the classroom.
Now I'm loooking into a hearing aid, and it seems like it will be the Phonak CROS. I expect this to remove the left-sided gap in my hearing, but don't expect it will help with tinnitus or the problem with noisy environments. I'll try to report back after I get it.
I would encourage you to do the right thing by your health and not worry too much about your fitness for work until after you have dealt with the important issues. Some things are certain from translab surgery (e.g. total hearing loss), but other things are highly variable. I think there is life after this, although different from life before. Sometimes our options aren't great, but that doesn't mean you can't make the best of it and adapt.
Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it until further notice.
JimJ