ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: carmen g on March 13, 2007, 10:16:08 am
-
Hi,
I went in for a hearing test yesterday afternoon and have good recovery of the hearing on AN side. My hearing is back to being within the normal range although not perfect. Speech discrimination went from 68% at 25 dbsl and 88% at 40dBSL to 100% at 25 dBSL.
To me this is good news. I still need to get my appt made for Dr. Muckle in Denver, but hopefully I can get it soon and start getting some answers.
Is there anyone here who has maintained the hearing in their AN ear?
Carmen :)
-
Not many of us. At 1.7 cm you're very fortunate to have retained your hearing.
Paul
-
Hey fellow newbie. I was just given a copy of my mri to get the size of my tumor and it is 2.1cm by 11cm in length and I still have hearing in my left ear an side which is at 50 dcbls I do however have complete hearing loss in December but have regained to the 50 dcbls which to me is awesome considering, but was told complete hearing loss after surgery. Glad to "hear" you have hearing still on the an side. Take care through your journey, I'll be chattin' with ya later! :)
Shari
-
Carmen,
I'm sorry. I think I misinterpreted your post. I had the impression that you'd already been through your procedure because of the way you had phrased the second sentence, that your hearing was "back to within the normal range".
I can see that you are still very anxious and stressed out over your impending treatment. There may still be a chance to save your hearing in the effected ear if your hearing is in as good condition as it is now. Couldn't tell you for sure. You're probably a good candidate for Gamma or Cyber Knife. There are others on this forum that could tell you more about those methods (isn't that right Phyl?)
Paul
-
Hi Carmen,
It is possible to retain your hearing after surgery. My tumor was small. I had good hearing before surgery and after, I retained about 85%. My doctor told me that if I wanted to, I could get a hearing aid and would kick that number up to 100%. As of yet, I have not gotten a hearing aid. I do pretty well without one.
Sorry, I can't help you with Gamma or Cyber Knife but there are many others on this website who can. Ann
-
Sorry, I can't help you with Gamma or Cyber Knife but there are many others on this website who can. Ann
Hi Carmen (and Ann :) )
From a radiation/radio-surgery standpoint (esp. where your AN is deemed as "mid-size), there is a higher % of hearing retention. As with any AN procedure (surgical or radiation), there is the risk of hearing loss in the AN ear but for radio-surgery, the % run higher for retention.
For me, my hearing is still 100% of what it was at the time of my Cyberknife treatment 1 year ago (at the time of treatment, it was on the bottom of the "normal" range, with voice recognition at 96%).
In checking with the dr's that volunteer their time on the Cyberknife Patient Support board, they also note higher hearing retention. Some, immediately post-radiosurgery, do note a diminish level of hearing approx 6mos-12mos post treatment due to tumor swelling (with radiosurgery, it will swell for a time, then shrink a little) in which the hearing with decrease a bit... and many (such as myself) do report that post-swelling, hearing goes back to what it was at the time of treatment.
Hoping others chime in as well.... I can only share from my personal experience.
Phyl