ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: chrisabbott on January 20, 2020, 01:14:12 pm
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Immediately following my last tumor resection, I lost the hearing on my good side. It's not related specifically to the type of surgery I had, more a rare side effect of anesthesia & possible change in CSF fluid. Currently, I'm completely deaf, and looking wistfully at the bicros hearing aids that I enjoyed for all of 5 months following losing hearing on the AN side.
My otolaryngologist is recommending cochlea implant as soon as prudent - ie: after my current surgery has healed, and possibly after radiation treatment on the residual tumor. He has info from 3 manufacturers of implants for me to read through, but of course I would love to hear from anyone that has had this done; maybe it will help me make more informed decisions/prepare for this.
I certainly don't want to wait any longer than I have to - its tougher than I imagined to be completely deaf!
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Hi Chris,
I came across this article last week:
https://www.dukehealth.org/blog/acoustic-neuroma-technique-preserves-restores-hearing
Duke has been doing cochlear implants to restore hearing in AN patient’s for sometime.
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You should go for it!!
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I'm certain I will! My doc has also implanted same time as tumor removal for other patients (as described in the article - thank you for posting the link). I lost all my hearing before my first surgery though, and was OK with a bicros set up. My hearing on the non-AN side disappeared about 3 hours after my tumor revision surgery.
I sure hope an implant works well for me - I mostly interview individual business owners for a living, and I like my work well enough to want to continue until I retire (which I can't afford just yet ;o)
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My friend’s 80 yo mother who was practically deaf in both ears got a cochlear implant a few months ago. She is now hearing well enough to converse with others for the first time in years. She is delighted. I hope and pray yours will be as successful as well.
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Thank you - that is good news
I have an evaluation for the implant on the 30th. In the meantime, I'm trying to get beyond the promotional material to the facts about these things - its very reassuring to know your mother recovered conversation.