Wow, the last few days have been a whirlwind. My husband took the news very well. I think he may have been expecting something. We were able to locate his military health records from 1999, and all the hallmark signs were there. Unilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and fullness. Everything happens for a reason though. Had it been found then, it more than likely would have ended his military career. Now with only two years until retirement, he should be able to finish out his 20. I'm just glad that we're far enough away from a military installation that he has more options in choosing where to be treated.
Since the last post, we've already had our first appt. with a neurosurgeon who's very well known in Nashville. Because of his young age, their recommendation is surgery. We'd pretty much come to that conclusion ourselves from what we'd read online already. There's just not enough long term data out there for the radiation option and the hints of possible recurrence and malignancy in the radiation field are a little scary. My husband wouldn't be comfortable with leaving it in there anyway. He really wants to just get it out at this point. We did learn that it's just starting to emerge from the canal, so I think we caught it at the right time. We've been referred to otolaryngology now for a full hearing workup to determine the best approach. Obviously with being in the military, my husband isn't keen on the idea of 100% hearing loss in that ear. We've also requested a second referral to a neurotologist at Vanderbilt for another opinion. If there's anybody on here who is active duty military, we'd love to hear from you! We're trying to figure out what if any impact this will have on his ability to continue active duty service. From what we've read online, everything points to the MEB process.
That's it for now. Keep the advice coming! It's helping us both!
