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:
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.
it’s great to find a site with people going through the same procedure. I had my tympanoplasty 18 months ago, I too experienced the sound of my pulse (it drove me mad) but it does go away. I lost my taste (it came back after 1 month) I was dizzy and sick for a week or so, but it was all worth it as i dont have to keep going to the hospital to have my ear vaccuumed anymore !!! Unfortunately my hearing hasn’t improved its got worse and i wear hearing aids, but my operation was to close the hole to prevent infection to the brain. I was told i could die without the op so my hearing loss is a small price to pay. I’m glad i’m in the minority here with a hearing loss instead of gain following the op – congratulations to all the people it worked for and good luck for the future x
Thanks for stopping in to tell your story, Sandra! Good luck with everything.
I had a Tympanoplasty on left ear on July 28 2011, very painful for a couple days, It’s been just 10 days so the results are not known yet, I worry if its been successful, I’m a avid swimmer, and diver, and that’s how this mess started, with many swimmers ear infections, I hope someday to swim again, but have doubts.
Hillary,
If you read around on this page, you’ll see that it gets better after a little time. I wish you luck!
Thank-you, I need alot of luck right now.
Sandra
Believe me you are not alone. There has been many of us that just gains a small amount of hearing after the surgery. Actually when you think about the surgery, just to be able to hear again is amazing. The material used to replace the eardrum is much thicker than the original eardrum. So it can only act similar to the eardrum. But at least it works. I, like you, need hearing aid to hear somewhat normal. I lost my right eardrum in a welding accident. I had the surgery a year ago April 3. So in closing, do not feel alone. The best of luck. Keep in touch.
Hi Sandra!
Omigosh, I thought I was the only one who went through hearing my own pulse. especially every night before going to sleep..It’s so comforting to know, I am not the only one going through this. I just had my Tympanoplasty (and canalopasty) last September,ang I am hoping that it will all be okay soon. Cheers to everyone!
My personnel experiences are I am not satisfied with tympanoplasty done on left ear. I had it done during Jun 2010, the surgeon informed you have to go for both typanoplasty and mastediactomy. Soon after surgery within a month I developed red spots inside the eardrum and latter it developed into a small hole which has not closed till date though I still continue taking all medication and being careful that water does not enter into my ears as warned by my surgeon.
The surgeon also informed care you should take after surgery is you should not develop sinusitis or ear infection.
Now I continue to lead my life with blocking sensation and very mild ear loss in affected ear.
The surgeon explains she does not know why the perforation has developed again and she plans for coiterisation, I have to now decide & consult other surgeon’s opinions.
They also conclude since I am diabetic type 2 it has not healed in my case then my question is why do surgery at the first case.
You say you had a mastoidectomy as well did I. i am 6 days post op. Did you have does trememdous neck pain from surgery. The nurse says that people do complain about that due to positioning. I found immediatedly i was able to get more air to breathe. Doc says my hearing may not improve. Wondering how long this sensitivie ear thing will last?
Wowza that is a huge bandage. I am glad to hear that you are better!
The bandage is a good look for you, you should adopt it as a style statement. Hey, college may be the last time you can dress like a crazy with relatively small repercussions.
Of course, covering up your ear might render the whole surgery kind of useless…
Matt and Kim, you know the real reason I wrote that post?
I just wanted to get blog comments about that photograph.
Hi Ricky,
I wanted to tell you enjoyed your story about the tympanoplasty. My son, who is 12, had this same operation in July. He, like you, has spent his life to date wearing ear plugs while swimming and showering. Because this surgery is not quaranteed to be successful, we thought about it long and hard before deciding to go through with it. We had gotten two other opinions and also researched this procedure at great length. After his surgery evertyhing looked great. He had 3 scheduled follow ups with the surgeon. At the 3rd follow up, unfortunately a small whole the size of a tip of a needle has reappeared on his eardrum. The doctor said there is a chance this may heal. We are keeping our fingers crossed, we will be going back in a month of so to see.
I felt compelled to write to you because not only did we just go through a similar situation, but I also know you. I work at Dover High/Middle School as a substitute and you are also my neighbor. I live down the road from you. I found your website to be interesting and I wish you lots of luck at Tufts. Beantown is a great place to go to college, enjoy it!
Do you know if Pattie’s son’s hole healed back after it reoccurred? My 8 year daughter underwent the same procedure and now 9 months later she has 2 holes in that ear. Waiting to see the ENT on Tuesday but was looking for some information. The hole is from the tube that was in her ear. Her left already has very little hearing due to a different condition and I am very concerned about the holes coming back in her “good” ear. Thank you.
Hi Patti (& Richard – glad you wrote this column)
Just wondering if your sons ear healed over after this? My son (6yrs old) just had the exact same thing happen to him …. I’m so hoping his heals over and he needs no more surgery’s
Oh I’m just seeing Donna’s reply aswell. Donna did you have any luck with your daughters ear? It’s been 8 months since my son’s surgury.
Thanks
Pattie, thank you for *your* story. I hope, with all of the empathy I can find, that your son has the best of luck.
And really, thanks for wishing me luck in Boston. I think with all of the luck people are wishing me that nothing could ever go wrong.
I just came across your blog and my son 13 just had this procedure for the second time. I know this might sound like a stupid question, but was your ear put back properly, or did your ear look different?
My sons ear is a little lower and sticks out more.
Hey how’s it going I’m having this surgery on the 8th of Jan and scared to death its not my first I had a patch out on it a year ago which didn’t work out. So here I am with a little over a week to go until surgery I was just wondering about the pain and how much of a scar that it left behind.
Michelle: I don’t like to dwell on this, but yes, my ear was put back slightly off from where it was before. It was very noticeable to me at first, but other people didn’t usually notice it unless I pointed it out to them.
I’ve since learned to live with it.
Jasmine: With only 6 days until your surgery, I can understand why you’re afraid.
I was in a fair deal of pain directly after the surgery, but the pain medication they gave me helped a lot. It wasn’t unbearable.
I have no noticeable scar.
Good luck! Please let me know how the procedure goes.
Thanks for posting this pic and for your story. I’ve had many tympanoplasties, which unfortunately for me didn’t work. So I had to go the other route. I hope you don’t mind but I linked this entry to a post I made today at britishcowgirl.livejournal.com.
Cheers!
Hey,
Like yourself ive had ear problems all my life, so recently i decided to have my tympanoplasty about 9 days ago. I know someone already sorta asked this above but i wanted to ask anyways. In regards to your ear being put back on right i noticed this as well. Not only is my ear really swollen, but it sticks way out to me. I feel like i have one of dumbo’s ears… while other ppl say its only slightly noticeable from the front, they all agree that from the back you can really tell. With this said i’m worried it wont go back to normal. While i understand that it cant really go back to the way it was exactly, im curious to as if it will at least go back to its normal place a little bit.. When i asked my doctor he said its just swollen and that it will go back to normalish in a few months once it fully heals. Ive had suregery berfore on my ear twice so my right ear has always been a little off, but it was liveable and not really that noticeable. However, i feel this is VERY noticeable. I guess what im really trying to ask is, will my ear stay like this more or less? or is only like this because its only been about a week since the surgery?
~Andrew
Andrew,
The placement of my ear bothered me for a while, but after some time, it either fell into place, or I got used to it. It doesn’t bother me anymore.
I honestly think that a week since the surgery is too soon to worry or be concerned about this issue. I wish you the best of luck!
Richard, I appreciate the information on you Tympanoplasty recovery. I am 61 years old and I am in the process of having a Tympanoplasty on my right ear. I have been in the autobody repair business my whole life and have never really had any major injuries caused by my profession, until January of 2009. While lying on my side under the front of a car, welding on a new inner structure part, a welding spark entered the rear of my welding helmet and into my right ear all the way to the eardrum and burnt a huge hole in the eardrum. It was quite painful to say the least. The burn has finally healed even after a bad infection set in. We are now in the process of scheduling the Tympanoplasty surgery. The loss of hearing for me was quite annoying. Unlike you, I have been able to hear throughtout my life and to have half of my hearing gone in an instant was quite a blow. Like you, having to turn my head to hear and the Tinnitus is really aggrevating. I am looking forward to the surgery and pray that is is successful. At my age, I will not be able to undergo a number of surgeries. So my wife and I are hopeful that the first one is the only one needed. I have been touched by your original posting and I am very happy for your success in getting your hearing back. I am sure that if mine is successful, all of the discomfort and pain that comes with it will well be worth dealing with just to be able to hear again. I can’t immagine going through life not being able to hear as you did. Thanks again for your posting and I wish you all the success in the world at whatever you do.
Hi Mr. Bagby,
I am a 54 year old nurse who developed a bad hospital acquired infection in my ear. I now have tinnitus and some loss of hearing. I find it difficult to hear in noisy social gatherings. My md has asked me to wait a few months before considering surgery.
Have you had your surgery yet? How is it going for you?
If you are willing I would love to hear how it is going for you.
Best wishes for a successful procedure and rapid recovery.
Kay Johnson
Kay,
I would have to say for the most part everything is going good. My surgery is done and the healing I believe has ended for the most part. I have a major hearing loss in my right ear but at least I have regained something. So that is a positive note. And my objective from the beginning, was to regain some type of hearing. I have got to say that the Tympanoplasty is truly an amazing surgery. It has got to be without a doubt the most irritating and uncomfortable recovery I have ever witnessed. You would think that with all of the things that were going on in my head during recovery, there would be no way that all of the things would just one day stop. And seemed like overnight back to normal for the most part. This to me was truly amazing. I think, with the exception that I have a severe hearing loss, the only other things I have gained from the surgery is an occasional earache, apparently for no reason, and my right ear is extremely sensitive to loud noises. I am told that this may be a problem when it comes to hearing aids.
I went today to be fitted for a hearing aid. I was told that with the severe loss in my right ear, I would need a powerful hearing aid to recover the higher db loss. So we are not sure if I can use a powerful hearing aid because of the sensitivity of my right ear. The amplification my be too much for the ear to handle. So this remains to be seen. I will be trial and error so to speak. We will start that in a few weeks. So that is where I am at the present.
Have you made any decision about your surgery? I really believe that there is a lot about this surgery that is yet to be known. There seems to be an awful lot of questions without definite answers. A lot of maybe’s, possibly and lets wait and see. Don’t get me wrong, I am not knocking the procedure at all. After all it worked for me. I know one thing it is really hard to talk to people that have had the procedure and I truly thank Richard for the blog he has created. I have gained relief through the blog just being able to air my feelings throughout the proceedure. So if you decide to have the surgery, I wish you God’s speed with a fast recovery. Just keep in mind that it is all worth it. Patients and a lot of sleep, will get you through it. And most of all listen to you doctor don’t make any decisions on your own. The blog is here for a reason. Please use it.
I am here if you need me,
Billy Bagby
I am glad you have a blog, I have had a perforation in my ear for about 10 yeas now and had the surgery 5 days ago…a Tympanoplasty and middle ear bone surgery… you can find 100 articles about the procedure but none about the recovery and people’s experiences with it. Just curious how long did it take for your hearing to come back to where it was previous to the surgery, and for the packing they must put in to disolve or fall out my next appointment isn’t for another month and 1/2 ? I cant hear hardly anything out of my repaired ear yet. Also, like Andrew one of my concerns was my ear is sticking out, and is lower (sounds like a couple of months is the concensus?). Thanks again for the blog, it gives people recovering some real life experiences.
Hey ,
. honestly im really happy that you have this website richard cause like paul says there are alot of websites about tympanoplastys but none about recovery… like u said the ear has gone down a little bit still sticks out but im hoping it will go down some more.. again its only been a month the hearing hasnt come back yet but they have done some of that vaccuuming in the ear that u wrote about. im pretty sure the hearing will come back in a few more months along with the ear going back to normal..ish..
so ive been checking back here every so often,
considering now its only been a little over a month since my surgery i was seeing if anyone else had posted any new info
oo and to paul, lets hope its all worth it yea? im in the recovery process like you.. im only a month ahead of u.. all i can say tho is that month feels like forever without being able to hear lol thanks again richard for having this site
bringing all of us hearing impaired together
~Andrew
ok so i had the surgery like 2 weeks ago & my ear was swollen but it healed. my ear also had dried up blood & that made it so hard to hear & when i talked it seemed like i could not hear myself clearly. after 2 weeks i tried to removed the dried up blood and i did. it was kinda thick & the end of it was still wet because of the ear drops i waz using. the reaosn i did so was because the ear drops didnt go into my ear because it just soaked into the dried up blood. i waz wondering if i did the right thing because right now i feel like my ear is still healing & i have an appointment in 3 weeks with the docotr and since i removed the dried up blood from my ear, the eardrops go straight in. i still cant hear clearly from the ear but its better than before. i hope to get a response because i’m kinda worried because i feel like i shouldnt had removed the dried up blood from my ear. it looked very thick and long too. i know there are still some more in there but i’m not going to touch it until the doctor takes a look at it.
Billy Bagby – Thank you so much for your kind words! I really mean this; everything you said was outrageously nice. I wish you the best of luck with your procedure, and I hope you come back and keep in touch!
Paul – It took me a full six months before I felt I had gained the maximum amount of hearing I was going to. Give it time. It really does take that long for all of that packing to dissolve. Also, if you re-read the information on this page (http://www.richardmondello.com/category/tympanoplasty/) you’ll find, with more detail, how my hearing progressed through time.
Andrew – Please keep us posted on your recovery! I’m glad you’re being patient with hopes of a full recovery.
femi – I’m not sure if that’s what you should have done. I would ask your doctor as soon as possible.
Richard, Thanks for the reply on my posting.
I had my proceedure done on April 3rd. Everything went quite well especially the fact that my ear canal was large enough and after trimming the eardrum for the graft, I had lost over 75% of my eardrum surface which gave ample room to do the proceedure through the ear canal. So I didn’t have to have my ear removed for the proceedure. Although the surgery was done through the ear canal, the first two days after the surgery were quite miserable for me. I went back for a revisit on April 9th and so far everthing is fine. We won’t start removing packing from the ear for another 2 weeks then hearing testing 2 weeks after that. I will keep in touch and let you know the final outcome.
i did & he actually said that wasnt a big deal as long as i keep the ear away from water. ma surgery is kinda different from everybody else’s though. my ear drum actually shifted away from its position creating a hole beside it so they took some of my skin to replace the hole inside. i still dunno about this packing everybody is saying. does a tympanoplasty require packing on every surgery? well i have an appointment in 2 weeks with the doctor so they will vacuum the ear & i’ll hearing testing procedure will follow after that. i think getting the surgery was the worst decision i’ve ever made in my life. my hearing waz perfect on both sides but my ear dischaged a yellow liquid but when it dried up i could still hear very clearly. the doctor said if i didnt get the surgery then an infection could affect it going into my brain. well now i had the surgery & ma left ear is ok. not perfect like before but its still ok. maybe if they use the vacumm the it would be better who knows. i’ll keep u guys updated
Billy – that all sounds great! Everything appears to be going as planned, and that’s really awesome that you were able to have the procedure done right through the ear canal!
Femi – Give it some time. You may have hearing return – it’s too early now to say anything for sure. Either way, your doctor’s rational about infection is nothing to doubt. If there’s any place to have an infection, that is not one of them!
hey guys. i had my surgery about 3 weeks ago. i keep hearing my heart beat in the ear that i got surgery on. is that normal? Also there’s like some kind of sound that i keep hearing, sometimes its ringing sound & sometimes i hear that kind of sound when you are in the woods camping. i dont know what to do because i’m really stressed with my situation. i just wanted to know if any of these occured to you guys. i still keep using the eardrops & i;ve been stayin away from water ever since i had the surgery. when i was asleep, the dried up blood came out of my ear & the doctor said its normal as long as the ear packing behind the ear drum & around it is still there then i should be fine. pls help me out guys. i just want to know what everybody went through during the healing process,the mumblin sounds & heart beats. thank you
Paul you will get all kinds of sounds in your ear. They really can’t tell you why and can’t stop it. It is terribly annoying, I understand that for sure. Even though it is not a ringing only they still call it tinnitus. I have heard just about everything I could imagine after my surgery that I had on April 3rd. So we have been there about the same length of time. As long as you are putting drops in your ears and there is packing in it you will get things coming out of your ear, very normal. Hang in there and best of all be very patient with the ear healing. Good luck
WOOHOOO! Jus got bak 4rm da hospital & dey removed out all the ear packings. my ear is clear for now. its actually betta dan b4. i still have anoda appointment in 3 weeks so who knows…my ear could just be perfect again!!! i’ll keep u guys posted.
I’m putting a comment bump in this thread, hoping that you all will come back and update me on your status!
I had the surgery a week ago. Everything went well and I had maid pain. In the last two days the pain has been so bad. Saw the doctor he said Im healing well. Im just wondering if anyone else had pain as it was healing. I was trying not to take pain meds.
berm – give up the good fight. Take the meds. It’s worth it.
When did you feel like your self again? Its hard for me not to be active. The pain is better with the meds. My ear always feels like its throbing,better with the pain meds.Its been only a week and Im back walking with the dog and shopping. I just want to be able to return to jogging and swimming. I don’t feel like that day will ever come.
Thank you for responding it helps to know someone else has gone through this also.
Slowly, my new self became my “self” again. It was a slow process, and I can’t say that I ever returned to the same person I was before the surgery. Over time, I became better than that old person, but it took time.
Walking hurt me for some time. I missed more days of high school after my surgery than my entire high school career before that point, combined.
Take it easy. Know that you’re doing yourself a favor by doing so.
The pain feels better today, with the meds. I was cleaning the back of the ear and the scab started to fall off. It looks ok and feels ok. When did the incision behind your ear heal? I feel that the back of mine looks good.
Heal? Well, I can still tell that the operation happened by feeling behind my ear. I’ll always be able to.
After getting my sutures out, I felt I was “healed”. It was good enough for me..
I had this surgery 8 days ago. Four days after my surgery I woke up with a ringing in my ear and it’s been there ever since. Did anyone else experience this in their recovery? My doc said he wants to see me on Monday if the ringing doesn’t stop. I just hope it has something to do with the packing and once it dissolves the ringing will stop. I’d appreciate any info on this. Thanks.
From time to time, I had a ringing, but never sustained.
I’m glad you’re seeing your doctor about this.
Whenever I sleep I had a little wet and dry blood come out. Is that normal? I know dry,but some wet? My ear is going back in place like before. As far is ringing, I get it every once in a while. Mainly my jaw hurts. Did anyone else jaw hurt? I just feel so fragile, my doctor says Im healing well and I in week two. I don’t feel like I can do to much. Can someone tell some of the activities they were doing in week two. Im walking mostly.
The discharge, like Caleb has written, is normal. Two weeks after my procedure, I was just taking life very slowly. Very slowly.
Don’t rush yourself in healing.
Yes fluid discharge is completely normal. I never had any issues with my jaw but my Dr went in through my ear canal instead of making the incision behind my ear, that may have something to do with it. As far as my recovery I went to a wedding three days after my surgery. The only discomfort I experienced was from the packing. Maybe if I would have taken it easy for longer I wouldn’t be experiencing the ear ringing. Consider yourself lucky if you’re not going through this it is quite annoying.
Caleb I feel your pain. I had a tympanoplasty on the 17th and have had a sustained high pitch ringing ever since. It is very annoying. I saw my doctor on Tuesday and he didn’t seem too concerned about it. I hope it is a result of the packing and will go away with time.
It will. I remember my high pitch ringing noises as being a sign that my hearing was coming back. It took me months to get those noises, and I was glad to have them.
WOW! first off – I am so happy and thankful I found your blog.
Like many of the posts said – there’s NOT any other sites out there talking about the recovery process…
I am turning 30 years old next month and just had my tympanoplasty AND mastoidechtomy surgery done this past Tuesday – July 21st.
quick fyi – the mastoidecthomy was to remove all of the scar tissue surrounding the ear drum.
Basically – I had only half of an eardrum left – that is how bad the hole in my right ear drum got. The other half of the ear drum was all scar tissue – due to YEARS and YEARS of ear infections.
I was 7 when they first put the tubes in – and it became my life not to be able to get water in my ears. To me, it was second nature – but obviously no one around me (except my mom who had the same thing) understood. So after years of my ear problems – I just got “used” to it…
I am sitting here still with the bandage on my ear, knowing that I will have a few months of healing time ahead of me…my first post-surgery follow up appointment will be this thursday – until then, pain pills are my friend! lol.
I honestly didn’t even think twice about having this surgery – I have hearing loss in both ears and am also in the process of getting a hearing aid for my left ear. My doctor – who is one of the best in the MidWest – told me that this SHOULD (but obviously isn’t guaranteed) to help the hearing as well as diminish the ringing (I have horrible tinitus as well).
The hearing loss has really only started to affect my life in the past year and a half. I’ve always had troubles hearing – but not to the point it’s gotten to. I think I’m at about 40% loss of hearing. It started to affect my relationship with my (now) husband – my friends – my job…but once I finally realized that my HEARING was the reason why I started to look “anti-social” to people – I realized something needed to be done.
So that is my story – thank you very much for sharing yours and I will definitely be checking back to read about other’s healing process.
I know my doc said the surgery itself should take about 6 – 8 weeks to actually heal and then about 4 months for the hearing to get back to normal. All I know is I hope I’ll be able to get back to being active soon because I’m all about keeping healthy and I have already put my gym membership on hold for 3 months – but that may end up being longer.
Anyways…I’ll end this as it’s gotten long – I just have SO much to talk about when it comes to this issue. Again – thank you so VERY much for sharing your story and for everyone who’s responded to your blog – you have no idea (or well, maybe you do!) how much it helps to know that I’m not the only one going through this.
Thanks and I hope you heal perfectly.
Keri-Ann – I’m happy and thankful to have the company of all of you! It’s great that this site is working to be a resource for people.
Your story reminds me so much of mine. The idea of people thinking of you as anti-social because of your hearing, your second-nature ability to keep your ear dry, and the effects of countless ear infections have resonated with me. Thank you for sharing your story with us; I really do appreciate it. Although I’ve advanced somewhat since I started my journey, your story triggers so many memories.
I hope your recovery is quick and successful!
Please, please do keep in touch. I come back and read these comments whenever there is a new one, so I look forward to hearing how you’re doing in the future.
Well I guess I have made it to the end of it all. I took my hearing test last week. I was told that my hearing is probably as good as its gonna get. I was somewhat disappointed with the outcome. I guess the fact that I have some hearing back should be a big positive note. Now I understand that the 97 to 98% success rate means they can restore some kind of hearing with the surgery. Tests show that I have restored about 25% of my hearing at 4 feet. Past that everything is very distorted. They are not sure that a hearing device will help because of the distortion and have no idea why the distortion is there. That is one thing that I have noticed about this surgery, there is a lot of not really sure and have no idea about the results. It sure was a lot of discomfort and pain for the end result. And now I am also having earache pain in my right ear, days at a time and again no one knows why. It has been 4 months since the proceedure and I am still getting disolved packing in my throat. That thick salty nasty taste I am quite tired of. So Richard I told you I would let you know the outcome and thats about it. I will let you know if there is any changes.
I appreciate you coming back to tell us how you did. I know that taste you’re talking about, and I’m hopeful that it will decrease and disappear over time.
Like you, I wasn’t entirely pleased with the amount of hearing I recovered, too. Then again, I’m now able to shower without an earplug and go swimming. For me, there was more to the procedure than hearing recovery.
Are you a recipient of any of these “fringe benefits”?
My doctor said that having a hole in your ear drum, is not good because it could cause infections. It’s close to your brain,that is the reason I had it. My hearing was great before,but the doctor said I couldn’t swim. Im in week two and doing sctivites,just no jogging or heavy excercise. Im not back to work because my job requires some heavy lifting. The hard part for me is not being able to hear well because of the packing. I have trouble sleeping because Im not so active. Sometimes I get little dizzy just because my sleep is not great and I have to take meds to sleep with. Right now I say I wish I would not had it done,but the other part of me says. Would I have gone without swimming my whole life? Im doing much better than two weeks ago thats for sure. So that is a positive! I don’t want to have it again if it does not repair. My doctor said I was healing well. Any feed back helps.
Berm, it’s going to get better. Just give it some time. I panicked after still not feeling well after a few months – it just needed more time. I’m glad to hear that you’re doing better than two weeks ago! Every block of two weeks will make you two weeks better!
Good luck.
Adam, has your ringing stopped or decreased at all? Mine is not as prominent as it was a few days ago. Each day it seems to become less and less noticeable. Hopefully it will be completely gone in the next few days. Best of luck to you guys.
Caleb, The ringing is still pretty loud and hasn’t lessened……oh well I guess everyone’s recovery is a little different.
hey guys..i just came back to let you know that i’m still going through the healing process..i got over excited about my hearing getting better so i stopped using my eardrops
an infection came but the doctor told me not to worry..i’m still using the eardrops. been using it for 3 months now & i wonder, when my ear gets blocked how do i still keep using the eardrops because it doesnt go directly int the ear..the dried packing keeps blocking it..i’m still using the ear plugs tho..been using them since i had the surgery..any advice? i would appreciate any help. thank u! 
I think I’ll speak for everyone when I say the best advice is to listen to your doctor.
Hello again! I just had to come back and post to people who (should) understand.
As far as the ear goes that had the surgery – right now it’s still just healing…it’s been about 2 1/2 weeks now – and i’m FINALLY starting to get some feeling back in my ear…there’s still some numbness, but it’s not nearly like it was. It actually feels like my right ear is a part of my head again! lol. Course, the doc said NOT to pop my ear at all…so of course that ear started popping on its own last week and it’s been driving me NUTS! Did you (or anyone else who may read this) have this problem? Everytime I swallow or sometimes just breathing makes it pop. My next appt is Tuesday so HOPEFULLY it hasn’t affected anything – but we will see.
But I’m very excited and happy – I got a hearing aid in my left ear. I have hearing loss in both – and i hope hope hope that my right ear (surgery ear) will eventually have hearing returned to it, as my doc says COULD/SHOULD happen with the surgery – obviously though, it will take months to do…but the hearing aid in my left ear is an absolute GOD SEND!
I don’t think I read if you, Richard, have a hearing aid or not – and I don’t remember anyone else saying anything about having to have one. But I can not tell you how awesome it is to be able to hear people again!
Anyways…Later!
I don’t have a hearing aid. It hasn’t been that bad for me, thus far.
I am in week 3 of recovery from my second tympanoplasty. Yep…both ears have been done as a result of life long ear infections, Eustachian tube dysfunction and PE tubes that fell out and the holes never healed plus an unfortunate accident with shampooing using a shower massage on full blast. I have had the same experiences that you all have mentioned on this website…the pain (take the meds as prescribed to stay ahead of the pain), the swooshing heart beat tinnitus which increases with physical activity-even walking, the yucky salty taste on the sides of the tongue-even when drinking water, the snapping and popping as the ear heals, intermittent hearing the sounds like a broken stereo speaker, and an intolerance to loud low and high pitched sounds. I wear a hearing aid in my left ear which I had turned up a bit to help me out during recovery from the healing right ear. It took about 3-4 months for the hearing to return to my left ear when I had that ear done. I expect the same for my right ear. I am patient with the healing process. It just takes a long time to really heal well. Best wishes to all of you!
Susan, thanks for stopping by! I appreciate it. Your experience sounds typical, and it’s great to have these experiences together.
Well its been a month and Im feeling much better. I did have snap,crackles and pops. I still do. Its getting better and Im feeling more and more like my old self. I do have to say loud enviroments bother me. I guess that will come with time. Im not swimming or lifting yet. I see my doctor this Wednesday hope its still ok.
aye berm do u still have pitched sounds? i still have them
No pitched sounds. It still doesnt feel like my ear is part of my body.
Richard thanks for your article. Around July8th, I was surfing, and was tossed straight to the bottom, left side of my head first. The impact, and the hydraulic pressure caused by a earful of seawater caused my eardrum to rip away from the edges, not typical, they say. If you look at a clock face, from 9 o’clock to 4-5o’clock was peeled back, like halfway peeling the seal from a yogurt container foil seal.
I knew what had happened immediately, as I had a very slight traumatic perforation in 1998, when thrown from a Jet Ski. It was two little holes near the middle of the eardrum, which healed on their own. When you perforate your tympanic membrane in water, you lose all sense of balance, the first time in ’98 I struggled, the recent one I nearly drowned, as the impact was so hard, it sent seawater through my Eustachian Tube and into my throat. I was in 3-4 feet of water and could not stand up, it was a bit scary.
Knowing what had happened, I finally got out of the water, and told my wife, “we have to go to a doctor, I perforated my eardrum”. She gave a weird look, and asked when.
“Now”, I said. We gathered the children, dropped them off with my sister in law and headed to the beach doctor.
Of course they sent a Physician Assistant to come see me. I told her what happened, she looked in my ear, and ZIP, BANG, she was off to find a doctor.
They gave me Vicodin, and some Antibiotic drops, and said it would heal on it’s own. Funny thing, they assumed this without seeing the hole. “We can’t tell how big it is because of all the blood in there, but it’ll be okay”.
A month later, no improvement, and a pending job offer is temporarily declined, until i get it fixed. I go to an ENT. He said the first doctor was a bit negligent with his “it’ll be okay” diagnosis. I was scheduled for Tympanoplasty.
My surgery was today, technically yesterday morning. They were able to use tissue from my Tragus to use as a patch. They also were able to do everything through my ear canal, so I didn’t have to get my ear half cut off to get it fixed; this was relieving.
Right now I’m bandaged like in your picture above. In the morning, I go to see the ENT Doctor/Surgeon (same guy). I have a ton of questions, as it affects my employment, but also stuff like, swimming, flying, sneezing, etc; when can I do those again?
Sorry for the long post, but I’ll come back here with follow up info, as your site was the first to pop up on Google, and was helpful to me. I’m 35 years old by the way. Thank you.
Robert
Don’t know if these still work when searching the net but:
Keywords: Tympanoplasty ear surgery recovery tympanic time Stapes Malleus Incus Hammer anvil stirrup Ossicles
I replied to your comment here: http://www.richardmondello.com/2009/09/02/another-piece-of-great-feedback/
Thanks for coming by! Please keep me posted!
Robert H, mine was not done from the ear canal. Im on my month 2, I lift alot for work. I have not been back to work. I was able to sneeze towards the last month,swimming he gave me ok last week but I was to scared. Flying Im ok this month, but also will be scared. I think its all a adjustment. It takes time.
I had the eardrum repair and middle ear prosthesis done the first time in 1980. It was a waste. I am scheduled to have it done again on 9/18, hopefully with better results. Dr. has told me that I should be able to go back to work in 2-3 days, but after reading your posts I am not so sure about that. Was the pain from this a mild nuisance or all out?
The pain was “all out” for a few days, but I had plenty of pain medications for that.
The pain went away, and turned into a bothersome lack of hearing.
It’s now been two months since my surgery and a little over a month since I first made a comment on this post. My behind the ear incision doesn’t hurt anymore and I can wear glasses comfortably. My graft healed to my ear drum. So, my hole is patched. I am now waiting for the gel and foam packing in the middle ear to dissolve and for the ear drum to thin. I guess the ear drum becomes thicker when it’s patched and as it heals it thins out again. This is very necessary for hearing. Although I can hear using the repaired ear. Optimal hearing won’t be back for another 2 months. I don’t have to worry about water in the ear while showering any longer and I was able to ride mild roller coasters on vacation. (The Cyclone at Coney Island was clickety clack wicked-loved it.) Best wishes to all.
Susan, thank you for coming back and giving us an update. It’s the reports of all of these commenters, much more than myself, that make this site a valuable resource.
I’m glad you’re healing well! It’s remarkable how long that packing will take to dissolve! Just hang in there.
I am happy to have found this site as my 13 year old daughter is schedule for Tymanoplasty and ossicular chair reconstruction Sep. 30th. They So downplayed the healing process!
She is a serious dancer…do you think that this is going to prevent her from being able to dance? She has an audition in Dec for the Performing Arts HS she wants to attend and I am now very concerned with how the impaired hearing and balance are going to affect her…
I’ll certainly be mentioning all of this to her surgeon, but I wanted the opinions of people who have actually had the proceedure
Michelle,
Hello! I’m sure you will get other replies – but I come here from time to time to read about everyone’s procedures…it has been 2 months since I had my own tympanoplasty (and also a mastoidechtomy at the same time) – and I have always been active as far as going to the gym / being active…my doc gave me the ok to go back and I’ve had NO issues at all. my surgery was july 21st.
everyone’s healing is obviously different as is their reason for needing the surgery. i myself just had over 25 years of tubes in my ears and 25 years of ear aches – and it just ripped apart after years of dealing with this.
i wish your daughter luck!!!
I certainly couldn’t do anything near dancing after my surgery. As you’ve read, I couldn’t participate in my gym class for months. I’m sure this is different for everyone, but I think that you may have to re-prioritize some elements of your daughter’s life, perhaps.
I had surgery July 9 and I feel it took me a while to get active again. Im now back to almost normal as far as being active. Loud noises still bother me. It all depends I think.
Thanks for the update, Berm!
Things will keep getting better. I never entirely became insensitive to really loud noises, though.
Richard, Thanks a lot for posting on this It is great stuff to read. I just had Tympanoplasty 3 days ago. I have Hiccuped and belched with my mouth closed and experienced some popping in my ear when doing so. Just worried that I have dislodged my graft. Wondering if you are any one else could comment on what it feels like when this happens. or if you have done something simular and not dislodged there graft.
I also experience some pressure build up in my ear when I chew food. will let everyone know what happens during my followup in 2 weeks. Thanks again for the blog on this.
Martin, you’re very welcome!
I wouldn’t worry too much about the sensations you’ve having. They’re very common. However, if you’re really concerned, call your surgeon. Seriously. It’s better to be put to rest than to worry.
Martine, I have alot pressure eating and sometimes bleeding. My ear is ok now. My doctor said it was normal.
My tympanoplasty was done in March 09 and I thought I would hear very well. The dr. took the packing out and I took a hearing test. My head feels like a coconut and I really can’t hear any better. Is there still more packing in my ear? Can I use ear drops to clean my ear? I am very sad that I can’t hear clearer. How often do they have to do another operation to get it right?
Listen to whatever your doctor says. Please, express these concerns to him or her.
Hey Everyone, I am Sam, I am 27 and live in London, England.
Thanks for all the useful information on this site. I had my Tympanoplasty on Friday afternoon. I felt no real pain until the early hours of Sunday morning and I have been on painkillers every 4-5 hours since (it’s now Tuesday evening). I am experiencing sharp stabbing pains, throbbing which is like listening to your own pulse, my head also feels like it is in a bubble, diziness and a sore jaw and also a strange numbness in my tastebuds on the right side of my tongue. From reading everyone elses stories this would appear quite normal and all part of the healing process.
I had a myringoplasty (I believe its a similar procedure) around 14 years ago. This was unsuccessful due to infection. After 14 years of worsening infections and some hearing loss I elected to have surgery again and hope this will releive the infections. Without wanting to sound unpleasant having discharge running out of your ear every few weeks was beginning to get me down. I am hoping that if this attempt is successful I will be able to swim and wash my hair without fearing I may trigger yet another ear infection.
I am glad I stumbled across this site and feel that through reading others experiences I have been able to put my worries to rest. The pain I am experiencing appears as normal as it can be!
Thanks for your help and good luck to anyone else going through this x
Hi I am Alison, from Cheshire England. had my surgery on 26th November, a tympanoplasty with new ear bones and also closing up of the mastoid cavity left by a previuos op 17 years ago. was extremely apprehensive beforehand, but surgery went well and I came home same evening. Sneezed that night and panicked as ear bled all night, went back to see my lovely surgeon following day and he checked it, all seems OK. Things healing nicely now it seems, but my hearing is odd – I can hear things at high pitch in my ear, which I couldn’t before, but they are on a slight time delay, almost like an echo. Does this settle down when packing dissolves etc? Back to hospital on 18th for another check up, still off work and will probably stay off for 4 weeks to ensure I don’t catch any infection or swine flu from work colleagues! Even if my hearing doesn’t improve, then I will be able to swim etc without fear of ear infection, something I have not been able to do since I was a child. Hope you are all recovering well too. Alison
Alison, I wrote a response to your comment on the front page of my blog, here: http://www.richardmondello.com/2009/12/28/nice-words-from-new-friends/
Hey there Richard, your website has been informative, thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve had a hole in my ear drum for almost two years, but only recently had the opportunity to have a tympanoplasty, due to insurance issues. My operation was on the 30th of last month. I’m experiencing many of the symptoms that I’ve read about here, draining, bleeding, vertigo, all of which has become compounded by a particularly nasty head-cold. My ENT, who I respect deeply and has been treating me since I was a child, prescribed oral antibiotics as well as drops to avoid infection. I’ve been taking a barrage of decongestants, but I’m afraid that between the head cold and the drops (which seem to be hastening the dissolving of the packing) my graft has dislodged and failed. Although my drops seem to be kept from seeping into my inner ear, (every time I used drops previous to this surgery, they found their way into my sinuses, of course) when I sniff or blow my nose (I do so as gently as possible, which my ENT said should be alright) I have that familiar sensation of air moving past my eardrum. I won’t be able to get a hold of my doctor until Monday, but would love some piece of mind before then. Have you experienced anything like this while in recovery? I’d love to hear that it’s possible that my graft is acting like a flap and letting this air through because it just hasn’t completely healed yet, but I’ve got a bad feeling….
Thanks for listening!
Randy
I didn’t experience anything like you mentioned – the sensation of air moving past the eardrum.
Unfortunately, it’s Monday now. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner! Hopefully you were able to speak with your doctor today?
Hello…I never received an email saying that you replied, (I thought i had notifications enabled but I might have been mistaken) so sorry it took long to get back to you. I’ve been told that the graft seems to be in place, it’s now a month after the surgery. My ENT says it looks like it is in place, but seemed concerned that it isn’t healing more by now. Apparently I don’t have long for the graft to start becoming living tissue, as opposed to just grafted dead skin, before it shrivels and will need to be removed. When I use ear drops in my bad ear I can taste them in the back of my throat not too long after, and I can tell there’s still a hole my eardrum when I sniff too hard or go up a mountain (my left ear pops, my right ear doesn’t need to.) I’m hoping that my ear just hasn’t healed yet, but I have concerns…
I’ll let you know the later outcome. Hope all is well.
You always something’s wrong when the doctor looks in your ear and says “Uh-oh.”
Turns out my graft is sticking nicely, nice enough to seal my eardrum at least. My doctor seemed more concerned now that the drum itself is now concave; a sign that the eustachian tube is not functioning in my right ear.
Funny thing is he say’s it’s either temporary and will go away, or has always been there. He’s been looking in my ear since I was 8 years old, so I’m hoping that he would have noticed it by now, and it’s temporary. Otherwise, it’s inevitable that the ear will re-infect, blow out a new hole, or both. I’m on anti-inflammatorys now, and have noticed a significant amount of drainage and noise, but the drum still feels pressure. Wish me luck, I’ll report back!
Well wishes to everyone who’s posted!
Well, I went back to the doctors, and he looked in my ear drum and says he see’s a perforation. It may have been caused by my malfunctioning eustachian tube. He wants to give it a month and see what the hole does, and it it’s still there, he wants to put a patch on it.
randy i want to know if your eardrum is ok now..i think im experiencing that air too passing in my eardrum..and i had a bad feeling too..
Hi Richard,
Thanks so much for setting this website up – it seems to be turning into a tympanoplasty support group!
I had a tympanoplasty in April of last year – I was extremely nauseous and unwell until the packing was removed. My hearing has not returned to normal. I had a perforated drum but had few hearing difficulties prior to the surgery. I have now been categorised with moderate hearing loss and have been told that I will have to purchase a hearing aid – at a cost of nearly 3000 dollars. I’m just wondering has anyone else experienced this post-surgery or has everyone else’s hearing returned to normal.
Kind regards,
Felix.
Felix,
I’m really sorry to hear about your experience. Really, very sorry. Hopefully someone will have some feedback for you. Please, take care.
Felix
I had my tympanoplasty April 3, 2009 almost 4 months after my accident. I had a welding spark go into my right ear and destroyed my eardrum. I was told by my ENT that my hearing would be restored but too what extent remained to be seen. Because the tissue used to replace the eardrum was much thicker than the normal eardrum, it would stand to reason that the chances of the hearing being restored to normal was not very likely. Since the surgery, I have regained normal face to face conversation hearing at about 4 feet not much at all after that. The graph on my hearing test looked more like a ski slope than a horizontal line. After the surgery my right ear was extremely sensitive to loud noises. The ENT and Audiologist were not sure if I would be able to wear a powerful hearing aid necessary to restore my hearing. They were concerned that the powerful amplification might cause other problems and be more that I wanted to deal with. But as luck would have it, it was an incredible fix. I am extremely happy with the end result. Felix as you were saying, my hearing aid was about $3000 but I believe it was worth every penny. Good luck with what ever you decide.
Now in closing, I would again like to thank Richard for the Blog. It has been a blessing for me through the injury, surgery and recovery. I have learned from the experiences of others and hope I have been able to help someone with mine.
I am always here,
Billy Bagby
To Felix- I have hearing aids now, too (digital completely in the ear). It’s not so bad. Hearing aids bring your hearing up to normal and really have some amazing tech features. I consider both of my tympanoplasties a success (left 2007, right 2009). The holes in both of my ears are healed. I am waiting for one of my ear drums to thin out a little bit more, but have been pleased with the whole process. I knew that recovery of a little hearing was probable and that complete recovery was not going to happen. I really wanted the holes repaired to prevent outside infection and to be able to shower and swim. My hearing loss was due to chronic childhood infections and normal aging (I’m sure listening to loud music and going to concerts didn’t help). I’m 44 years old by the way. The perforations were due to ear trauma (shower massage mishap). So, my mild-moderate hearing loss was not a result of my surgery. I hear the pain over the cost of the hearing aids, but they will bring your hearing to a normal level. Good luck.
Hi guys, great information on this site. I am scheduled to have my tympanoplasty next Monday but am having some serious second thoughts. I have had a small perforation for about 5 years, but never had an ear infection or major problems. The worst part is that I can not swim in the ocean because the salt water KILLS if it gets in my ear (as I’m sure you know). My question is did you guys think that all the recovery is worth being able to swim? If I had the infection problems some of you did, I would think it is a no brainer, but I’m just not sure. Berm, you seem the most skeptical so I would love to hear what you think in hindsight and in my position.
philippines. i had my tympanoplasty last january 15, 2010. during the first few days, i can hear my pulse in my repaired ear but right now i can’t hear anything but popping sounds when i swallow. is this normal? it has been 2 weeks since my tympanoplasty and i can’t hear anything. i’m scared. i’m scheduled for a follow-up checkup on feb.3, but my fear of not hearing anymore is killing me day by day.. please help..
To Clark~ Oh my goodness! You need to relax. You just had the surgery done. It will take a 6 months to get your hearing back. Your middle ear gel foam packing needs to dissolve. Your ear drum needs to thin out as well. It is thick due to the graft placed on it. The graft needs to attach to the ear drum and then it needs to thin out. Right now your ear drum is swollen, red and resembles nothing close to a normal looking ear drum. It’ll be the same on Feb. 3rd. All of the crackling, popping and pulse sounds are normal recovery effects. Concentrate on healing-sneeze big and loud, don’t hold it in, don’t use a straw to drink, don’t blow your nose hard, keep the ear dry when showering to prevent any chance of infection. Try not to work yourself up. It’ll take time to heal. Be good to yourself.
Hi, I want to let you know I had the tympanoplasty in July. Before that I was getting lots of ear aches and infections and had a hard time flying. I didnt know I was not able to swim. Til about 3 months before surgery. It was a tough surgery and hard recovery. I hated the recovery the popping,bleeding,not be able to chew. My hearing is great and Im back to normal. I probably wont do a concert any time soon, but that is not a loss. It takes time and you will recover. Just remember its a long ride. I know I say I would never do it again but my hearing was fine before and I had minimal pain before. Now my hearing is great and no pain.
thank you very much susan! i’m just kinda worried.. i hope my tympanoplasty will turn out to be just fine..
Thank you Berm.. by the way, i’m from the philippines… i’ll keep you updated on my recovery.. i hope it’ll be fine.. no infections, no complications..
First of all, thank you for this site, Richard. It seems all the medical sites that take up the top 200 listings of the search engines only focus on the actual procedure instead of answering the many questions that patients have following a tympanoplasty.
I actually had a severe random blowout on my eardrum about 4 months ago that woke me up in the middle of the night. It’s scary when you go to a well-known ENT and after looking in your ear he says,”Well, I’ve never seen that before.” I went in for surgery and he discovered a cyst had attached itself to the back of my eardrum which required him to remove 80% of my eardrum.
It’s been one week since my surgery and I am dealing with the same healing anxiety that everyone else is experiencing. Every time I yawn or hiccup, I freak out hoping I didn’t mess anything up in there. I haven’t had a whole lot of pain or dizziness, but I have had the ringing, the popping of my ear when I swallow, and one symptom I never expected. I actually lost my sense of taste after my surgery. From what I’ve read, there is a nerve that runs behind the ear drum that controls your taste buds and can easily be damaged during a tympanoplasty which can cause temporary loss of taste. The annoyance of not being able to hear a thing is the main downside, though. Being a full-time musician, this is torture. My doctor didn’t seem to be concerned when I called in to update him on my symptoms, so I will take that as a good thing.
It’s just the waiting game now. Thanks to all who posted here. This site is gold for “post-tympaniplastians”.
Bobby, you’re very welcome. I’m amazed every time someone says they enjoy these comments and posts.
That story is awful, and I’m so sorry to hear this happened to you. Let us know if you have any questions or if you need anything. We’ll all do our best to help.
Just have hope that things are going to be okay. They will.
Hi Bobby!
How’s ur hearing now?I hope your hearing came back to normal already.Nov of 2009 I had my eardrum ruptured…and so my hearing went form normal to moderate hearing loss…and the only thing that depressed me the most is not being able to hear sounds from outside of my ear,especially my voice. I sing in a church choir and it was really depressing because I wasn’t able to hear the accompaniment clearly, even the voice coming out of my mouth.. and sometimes they tell me I am out of tune,so I figured I had to put my hand in front of my mouth extending to my ear so that i’ll be able to hear my voice(my choirmates knew about this and they were very supportive but they don’t know how many times I cried at night because of not being able to sing properly)…It came to a point where I had to record my voice at home while singing, and listen to it with my other ear just to make sure I am not out of tune..and I cry afterwards.haha!
My doctor didn’t seem concerned about it too, maybe he doesn’t know it’s that important to me.
I had my tympanoplasty op last September and I hope it’ll be okay soon…I can’t wait to sing my heart out again! =)
and to Richard, I know this was posted 2 years ago…how are you now? I just had mine recently.. I just googled post tympanoplasty recovery ( to see if the recovery symptoms I am feeling are normal) and came through ur site. You don’t know how much I felt at ease knowing I am not alone… I wish everyone here Goodluck and God’s grace. =)
So happy to have found this site. I particularly related to Bloise’s story about not being able to hear her own voice when she sings. I also experienced the same thing and ended up dropping out of my choral group. Bloise, if you are still folloing this site I would love to hear how you are doing.
I thought OMG I drank from a straw,I sneezed…Everything so far is ok. Its been since July and my ear feels ok. It feel full,but that is it. I can hear,swim…it takes time to heal.
hello! got some sad news. my doctor told me that the graft they put in my ear slipped out from its position, i don’t know why. he shall soon refer me to the ear specialist to see if i can undergo another tympanoplasty. he also told me there will be lesser chances that the graft will hold on if i decided to have another tympanoplasty because of the scars left by my first tympanoplasty. i really want my eardrum fixed. i’m still praying for it.
Clark, I’m really sorry to hear that. You’re in our thoughts. Let us know what happens.
I understand what you are going through, I had tympanoplasty done twice on my left ear as well as my right. It is extremely frustrating when things don’t go as planned but after all of my operations I have almost normal hearing! Be sure to not get discouraged and keep a positive attitude! Good luck!
Hi. I had tympanoplasty on my left ear Feb 5. The worst part was when they sent me home the day of surgery. I was SOOOO nauseous, vomiting, couldn’t move to even go to the bathroom! I NEVER want to feel like that again! God bless my mom for taking care of me like a little baby! After a couple days that went away and I just vegged for about a week. It is important to eat properly as low blood sugar made me get the shakes and tingles, which made the dizziness even worse. The problem I’m having now is my neck, shoulder and arm on my right side – guess it’s from having to lay on that side for so long – having to get massage to try and relieve the pain. The doctor says it is healing well. My hearing is a little better, but the packing has not dissolved yet, so I am hoping for much better results than I have presently. It sure gets boring not being able to get out and exercise! My energy level is way down!!! I’ve started taking vitamins again and am tempted to get some of those 5-hour energy potions. Guess time and patience is what is needed now. Thanks for your blog! It’s always helpful to hear what others have experienced!
PS: Keep Q-tips out of your ear! My arm accidentally got bumped and the Q-tip shot into my eardrum like a bullet. I have a friend whose mom was cleaning her ear and her husband opened the bathroom door and bumped her elbow and the same thing happened to her!
It’s been almost 3 months now since my surgery. The packing seems to be dissolved mostly, maybe a little left. I get some ringing occasionally. I guess I’m 75% now re my hearing, not quite sure. Thinking I’ll never be “normal” again, though – the barometric pressure can really mess with me. Still wish I hadn’t stuck the Q-tip in my ear! Guess it could be worse!
I had my surgery three months ago and will see my surgeon for my third post surgery check-up next week. At present, I have fluid in my ear, slight discomfort in my ear, and hear crackling sounds occasionally during the night. I wonder if that is normal and I am anxious to see the doctor to see if all is as it should be. I am so glad to read about the time frame for complete healing..seems so long. I wear a hearing aid in the “surgery” ear as well as the other one but have not been able to have the aid for the surgery ear in three months. Being an active person involved in lots of activities, I have felt frustration and, at times, grief. Hearing is minimal and I wonder if the packing has completely dissolved. So good to have found this site as I now know that healing is going to be a slow process. I probably should not have delved into activities so soon. Thanks , Richard, for providing a place to express concerns. Here I know others understand.
Hi richard.
I just had my Tympanoplasty yesterday and im at home today. I am having pain and i was wondering what the recovery is like. Please be honest with me. i am 15 but like you in a way that i have never ever missed one day of School even if i was a little sick, but i am taking this time off for recovery. I need some answers because i am hearing my pulse alot! Its driving me insane, i have occasional ringing and i have had quite sharp pains. Also hoow did you shower?
Hello there!
I’m sure that by now these problems have mostly subsided. For showering, I had my Mom help me wash my hair in the bathroom sink. while covering my ear with an earplug and a layer of plastic layered over it when a cup held up to make a tight fit.
I was born with a 60% hearing loss and have undergone 14 operations to get it fixed, including tympanoplasty 4 times (twice on each ear). It is amazing what can be accomplished these days with surgeries! My last operation was almost 2 weeks ago and I can already notice a huge difference in my hearing which is just amazing and I am so excited to go back for my post-op visit to get the packing taken out.
For those of you who have gotten sick after your procedures, I believe that it has a lot to do with the type of anethesia you receive. With 14 operations I have had plenty of time and chances to get it just right and I no longer have any sickness after my operations. I normally wasn’t able to eat anything except for jello and apple sauce after my surgeries before we figured out the anethesia was the source of my sickness. With this last surgery I was able to eat anything the day of my visit! So if you know you get sick, be sure to talk to your doctor because maybe they can change up your anethesia and hopefully that will solve everything!
If you live in Florida and are planning on having the operation done, Dr. Silverstein is absolutely wonderful and his whole staff has just been so nice! (www.silversteininstitute.com) Good luck to everybody who is planning on having it done, it’s such a blessing to have a second (well…14th?) chance at hearing!
Chelsey, thanks for your perspective on this! I completely agree — many of the problems post-operation are anesthesia. I remember how much it bothered me when I went for graft operations as a child. It’s scary stuff, really.
And also, they say to never stick anything in your ear that is smaller than your elbow!! They have ear drops out that help to dry up your ears if you get water in them and also helps with removing wax!
I had bilateral tympanoplasties done in the 80′s. Now some many years later my right ear is still great but my left is gradually lossing some hearing and I have recently develeloped tinnitus. Overall it was a miracle to regain most of my hearing back then and lose the risk of menningitis.
glad your doing fine.
thanks for this blog. It’s nice to see input from people with surgery!
Richard, great info on here! Hopefully, I can add a little info here for the folks needing tympanoplasty and similar procedures due to cholesteatoma.
I had a modified radical mastoidectomy with tympanoplasty on my left ear when I was about 14. Due to the more serious nature of that surgery and the damage caused by the cholesteatoma, all of the ossicular structure had to be replaced, as well as a cartilege eardrum graft made. For about 20 years, I enjoyed remarkably good results out of that ear given the extensiveness of that surgery and prior pathology. Only recently (I’m 33 now) has there been any noticeable diminution of hearing in that ear, but in having a strong right ear, I never had to wear a hearing aid or contemplate further surgery.
However, one morning I woke up, and I just couldn’t hear worth a crap from my right ear. I thought possibly I had an infection, so I started taking Mucinex and popping my ears more frequently in hopes that this would correct the new deafness. After about 2 months, nothing happened, so I went to the doctor who had been maintaining my previously operated upon ear (cleanings, monitoring, etc.) and he recognized what he thought was a cholesteatoma in my right ear. Sure enough, after he passed me across the hall of the otolaryngology center to a doctor experienced in identification and correction of cholesteatoma, the diagnosis was made, a CT scan ordered, and a hearing test administered. My right ear hearing was now only as strong as my left ear. Before I even left the Dr.’s office, he was working on getting me a loaner hearing aid so that I wouldn’t have to suffer my new deafness when around others at work or home.
So, I just had a tympanomastoid type III w/ ossicular chain reconstruction yesterday. The operation was over at about 2:45 pm, and I was in the car on the way home at 4:15, still dizzy and very sleepy but otherwise feeling fine. Got home at 5:30, after my wife swung by daycare to pick our daughter up and ran into the drugstore to get some mild pain meds. I slept from the moment I got home until a little past 8 this morning. I feel surprisingly good. I have decent balance and mobility, and any impairment I have is probably more due to the mild pain meds and residual effects of anesthesia and hunger than to the effects of the operation. Honestly, I think I may go back to work on Monday if I can pull away from the pain meds sometime on Sunday, which I think I can do.
In yesterday’s surgery, the doctor made the incision behind the ear, removed the cholesteatomatous growth, did a light cleaning on the mastoid, and replaced a part of the incus which had failed or disconnected due to the disintegrating effects of the enzymes present in the cholesteatoma. According to my wife, per the doctor while I was in recovery, an eardrum recreation was not necessary, which is obviously great news for me, and will probably mean that my hearing has a much greater chance to return to normal.
For the time being, however, I have a loaner hearing aid in my left ear to compensate for its historical weakness until (hopefully) the hearing in my right ear returns to the normal range, of which my doctor seemed to believe was the most likely outcome.
So, I’ve had cholesteatomas in both ears now, and had successful operations to correct them. The more extensive operation in my left ear has left a slight impairment due to the fact that I effectively have no ear canal to compress and direct the sounds (canal wall down)as well as having a cartilege – as opposed to skin – tympanic membrane graft. The cartilege prevents a future retraction of the eardrum into the middle ear, preventing another cholesteatoma, but obviously doesn’t have the sensitivity of an epitheleal graft.
20 hours after my surgery, I’m feeling good and I’m excited that I probably won’t be laid out for the next 2 weeks. Who wants to burn all their vacation on recovery from surgery?
By the way, I rather enjoyed the anesthesia as it was first administered. It feels almost like first big drop on an old wooden roller coaster! Coming out of the anesthesia, it’s better to just go back to bed and sleep if off than to try and fight it. The worst part of this operation was getting the IV inserted, and that was even less painful than giving blood for a physical checkup.
A few corrections: I did receive a tympanic graft. I even have a divot above my ear to prove it. The Dr. had to shave up into my hair (and I’d just gotten a haircut!) to create a spot to dig it out.
Still, no pain to report. I am astonished. My first surgery 20 years ago was miserable. This time, I was on about 2 Aleve a day starting just two days after the surgery, and Friday (day 7 since surgery) was the first day I took nothing at all.
I did go back to work for part of a day on Monday (I work in IT) and regular hours the rest of the week. Honestly, the first day I felt REALLY NORMAL was Friday (day 7). The biggest symptoms of my first week of recovery were a slight change of taste and a super sensitive tongue – salty food was killing my mouth – as well as constant thirst. Water is cheap!
Right now (day
I still have a little trickle of discharge in my ear canal that doesn’t ever amount to more than a speck of the red-to-red/brown fluid on a cotton ball, and only a few times a day. I am a little concerned because it doesn’t smell good; it honestly reminds me of the smell of the fluids that would come out of my ear when I was a kid and prone to infections. I have placed a call to the nurse’s pager and will get this checked out, but it’s Saturday, and the day before July 4th. Bad timing. Oh, well. It appears Berm actually had some puss-y infectious liquid, and his eardrum came through.
The only other thing I can think of right now is that my tragus hurts. Evidently, Doc harvested some cartilege, either for a disc to preven drum retraction, or, possibly, and much less of a good omen, to recreate a footplate connection on the stapes.
That’s another thing. Regarding my doctor, I’ve only spoken to him the day he diagnosed me, briefly the day of the surgery, and the following Monday for him to sign a release for my return to work. My wife spoke to him briefly while I was in recovery, but she isn’t quite as interested in the details as I am, so I have no way of knowing the extent of my surgery. It’s really a point of frustration for me. However, he works in a co-practice with my regular ENT who maintains my other post-op ear.
Glad to hear you’re doing well! Don’t get too confident. Take it easy and don’t overdo it.
Thank you to everyone who has posted on this site. Richard may you always be blessed with everything you do. I just had this surgery July 2. I had a Tympanoplasty with ossiscular reconstruction. I am in day 3 and doing very well except for the fullness I feel that comes later in the day. Not really sure what that is about, feels like someone shoved a cork in my ear and it is stuck ! Overall I was off pain meds on Sunand use tylenol occasionally. Your site has assured me to give it time and I will. I will post again after my dr visit friday. I have gone nearly 25 years with not being able to hear well and this will truly be a god send if this works.
I am two weeks post op and things are going very well. The pressure I was feeling was relieved when I was given drops for my ear and that took about 2 days. Right now I have some bubbling noise and some heart beat noise that I can constantly hear. I can already tell a difference so I am very excited.
I had my operation June 28, 2-1/2 weeks ago. Thanks, Richard for creating the only online “forum” for t-plasty recovery. Considering the discomfort and worrying following this surgery, perhaps we should start an actual forum…I think the reason that hasn’t happened is, despite how you feel a few days or weeks post-op, the vast majority of patients have excellent results.
I had my 2 week post op a few days ago, with good news. I was terrified that I’d dislodge the graft somehow. My doctor sort of chuckled when I told him that. I think it’s important to be very careful, but we all probably worry more than we should. One thing which concerned me was the popping sound or feeling when swallowing, and sometimes spontaneously. This site was helpful in calming my fears about that.
For me, the first week was very rough. I needed pain meds until the morning of the 4th day. On the sixth I got out of the house a little. With the 7th day being a holiday, I returned to work on the 8th. I could, and still can, tell when I’ve overexerted because of the pressure and resulting pain in my ear. Haven’t taken anything for pain since about day 9 or so, but that means I have to either ease up (go home and lay down–office work still stresses and hurts) or just deal with it. To paraphrase Richard above, take it really easy and let your head heal up for goodness sake.
I am a paddler – solo open canoe – and clearly can’t go anywhere near a whitewater river. Shouldn’t have before, I’ve been asking for an infection by paddling unprotected since I accidentally punctured my tympanic membrane a year ago. I’m very curious about when I’ll be able to use some good earplugs and get back out on the river. I’ll let you guys know all about that as my journey progresses, including durations and earplug details – I hear you can get some that keep water out but let sound in. By the way, my hearing loss was minimal pre-op but I believe the hole was enlarging and I’m glad I went ahead and scheduled the surgery, despite the fact that I’m missing about nineteen paddling trips!
So, at 2-1/2 weeks my pain is minimal. Packing removed and my hearing is slightly worse than pre-op with tinnitus about the same. On this, the 3rd weekend, I’ll actually get a little work done but pay close attention to the pressure and pain and ease back when it begins.
Thanks again to Richard and all you posters,
Elliott
Just had my post-op on Friday (3 weeks to the day.)
Like most of the posters, including Elliot above, I, too, was worried that I was overexerting myself. I had a Friday surgery and was back at work the following Monday, with no pain and only mild sensations of occasional unsteadiness. Really, for me, pain was non-existent but for a slightly sore/stiff jaw muscle. It did take about 2 weeks for me to feel at 100% energy-wise, though.
Anyway, the Dr. walked in, sucked a little bit of the remaining antibiotic goo out of my ear canal, and said, to the word, “You can get water in your ear now; also, it’s OK to blow your nose – in fact, I prefer you do so that your ears both pop.” After 3 weeks!
Anyway, I’m only now starting to hear the popping of the packing in my ears; occasionally, I’ll experience an epiphanic pop followed by a remarkable jump in hearing levels. Intermittently, through the last 2 days (days 22 and 23), I have moments where I heard either the highs or lows with great clarity, and then the packing shifted or re-adhered to some momentarily unbound surface and my hearing subsided to “normal” low levels.
Dr. says that if my air bone gap doesn’t close to withing 20 decibels, he will realign my prosthetic ossicular chain through my ear canal until we get good results.
Anyway, don’t worry about the graft working or not; I was slightly careful after the surgery, but there were times when an unruly child needed by attention and suddenly I was heaving 50 pounds over my shoulder! I also carried a few servers and monitors only a week after surgery, although I was careful not to give them the usual shrug-and-strain dead lift.
Just think of the Dr’s warnings as “just in case” guidance to prevent you from becoming a worst-case scenario, not to tell you that if you do accidentally sneeze through your nose that your surgery is a bust!
Good luck to all. These surgeries are usually successful when measured by the air bone gap results. My Dr. says 85-90% are within 20 decibels on the first shot.
Well, my hearing did eventually get back up to within 20db on the air/bone conductivity comparison. This didn’t last for long, though. After reaching its peak this past spring (approximately 9 months after surgery), my hearing started to diminish again. The Doc inserted a tube during one of my regular visits but this only lasted a few months and gave no noticeable gains in hearing. This did allow him to determine the problem was middle-ear-related, most likely due to the placement of the prosthesis from the last surgery.
So, I had another surgery last Friday, Dec. 2. This time, Doc was able to go through the ear canal. Last time, he had to go in behind my ear due to the presence of the cholesteatoma and the need to clean it out very thoroughly. I must say, this surgery through the ear canal was a breeze. I was on my feet and walking out of the recovery room 1/2 hour after being wheeled out of the OR. We even stopped by the grocery store and picked up some snacks on the way home. I am now on day 8, and pain has been very minimal.
The only real concern thus far has been the large, very hard “plug” of dried blood that came loose and fell out of my ear this evening. It was rather disconcerting; I hope there was nothing attached to that thing that needed to stay in there!
I am likely just being paranoid, though. Anyway, hang in there, everybody!
Shea,
How are you doing now? My situation may be similar to yours..please tell me how you are doing as I have been very worried.
Elliott, you’re very welcome. I’m so glad to hear my site has helped you and that you’ve been taking my advice to take it easy for as long as you can afford to. Awesome. Please come back and keep us updated.
Richard,
Hi, I am 34 years old and suffer from chronic middle ear problems. I have unilateral buzzing tinnitus. I have been looking into a tympanoplasty as I have bilateral perforations.
Just wondering if you had tinnitus before your surgery? Or wondering if anyone else here had pre-op tinnitus and the effect on the tinnitus post-op?
Also, I am having a hard time finding a surgeon. Any recommendations out there? I’m willing to travel, but I live in the midwest.
Thank you so much!
I recommend Dr. A. Fishman at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. I just had a tympanoplasty on Monday, so far so good. I do have tinnitus however it was worse before surgery. Richard, I found your blog on the eve of my surgery and it helped me to know what you and others have gone through during recovery. Thank you!
Annie
Where in the midwest are you located. I am in St Louis. I had my Tympanoplasty last April. I have a great surgeon if you are interested.
P, thank you for the recommendation, I appreciate it! How is your recovery going? So good to hear that so far so good!What type of tinnitus did you have before surgery? Was it both ears? Constant? Buzzing, ringing? Could you tell immediately that it was better? Also, if I may ask, why did you need the tympanoplasty? And, did your doc recommend surgery or did you request it?
Billy, I am also in Missouri! Yes, I am interested! Who was your surgeon?
Thank you guys so much.
I had a big, huge hole in my left ear drum. The doctor recommended it. The ringing was one of the clues.
It’s so hard to describe. It’s like a leaky faucet or a motor. Sometimes it’s like a hammer. I think it is in both ears and I can’t really tell if it’s better because today everything is muffled. No one knows what caused the hole but I’ve had ear infections for years and it might have occured during a cross country flight.
I had my 5 week post op a few days ago. Doc said “I see a dry eardrum, no packing, and a patch. No visible holes.” He instructed me to continue to keep it dry for two more weeks, though I can shower with an earplug now (still doing the shower cap and separate hairwash with water pic and tupperware cover), and I can paddle conservatively. The funny thing is, I don’t feel very brave about paddling right now. I feel very cautious, even though I know that my doctor’s instructions are more cautious than some I’ve seen here. Richard was right, the Tympanoplasty changes you, and the recovery apprehension lingers, though subtly, for some time.
After the doctor checked me out, I visited with the audiologist who fitted me with Doc’s Proplugs. She insisted I use the non-vented kind, though I protested that I’d read about kayakers using vented (kayakers must roll the boat and be prepared to get wet much more so than an open boater) in order to keep water out but still hear. She stated that the vented kind will let water in. She’s the expert, but I’ve found evidence online which seems to disagree. The vented plugs apparently have only a tiny opening to allow sound but not water through. In any event, the non-vented plugs which I got still allow sound in, much more so than a plug which inserts in the ear canal. I used them in the shower for the first time today, and it seemed like a drop may have gotten in, probably operator error. I’ll get better at inserting them.
At almost six weeks post-op my pain is very minimal, an occasional ache. My scar has blended in with the help of Vitamin E oil. I have just a little bit of a ringing sensation, and my hearing is improving every day. I went to a restaurant this evening and the ambient noise barely affected my hearing. In past weeks loud places have tended to exacerbate my sense of hearing loss. Sensations of pressure persist in the morning; these are easy to mistake for hearing loss and usually return to normal soon after my morning routine. Rubbing finger and thumb together next to my ear is getting louder and louder, though I still can’t perceive the same high pitched “shoosh” that my good ear picks up, just the bass tones. I can again enjoy music at a normal volume without the sensation of being in a sewer pipe. This is a big emotional milestone.
I spent last weekend at a lake house with friends, we rented a ski boat. I drove the boat and held the video camera. It was a little disappointing but I just had to keep the long term goal in mind. There will be other ski boats, but this attempt at repairing my eardrum took much time, money, pain, and discomfort. Repeating it would be much less pleasant than skipping a turn on the wakeboard.
I return to the Doc in 10 weeks or so to check up and perform a hearing test. That will be about 15 weeks post-op. For the record, I’m a 33 year old male who suffered from a punctured tympanic membrane for about a year prior to my tympanoplasty. My puncture was accidental and self-inflicted while cleaning my ear. The ear in question had been punctured about 13 years previously due to trauma, healed fine the first time but refused to do so this time.
Hang in there my tympanoplasty friends, it does get better.
-Elliott
I forgot to include a small detail that you should know: I also quit smoking on the day of my surgery. I had smoked for 17-18 years, or about half my life, and my last quit was 13 years or something like 100,000 cigarettes ago. I was absolutely terrified to quit. Being knocked out for 4 days on pain meds helped quite a bit, by the time I came around the physical withdrawals were pretty much gone. I’ll carry the psychological demons around for the rest of my life, they’re pestering me right now.
If you smoke and you’re going to have a tympanoplasty, don’t put your recovery at risk by continuing to smoke. Once you’ve fully recovered, take advantage of your progress and stay quit. Don’t take another puff. It could be another 100,000 cigarettes before you’re able to put it down again. Cold turkey is the only way to get it over with quickly; don’t settle for cutting down or other Nicotene Replacement Therapy. These methods only prolong withdrawal and reduce your chances of quitting for good. Please check out http://www.whyquit.com if you’re considering quitting. Thanks for listening to my ex-smoker rant.
-Elliott
Elliot,
Thank you so very much for leaving these stories. Although I’m clearly beyond healing, I appreciate that you’re willing to leave a piece of your life with us. And the call to stop smoking — so true, so true. With luck, your comment will help someone.
Well, I visited the doc yesterday for my 8-week post op (Tympanoplasty). Bad news quickly surfaced when he noticed a hole had developed on my new drum. He placed a patch over it and administered a powder form medication and gave me a prescription for this.
It interesting, when I visited the doctor three weeks prior before returning to work my ear was fine. I am suspect that the heavy lifting and activities at work contributed to this new hole. The doctor doesn’t seem to agree, but I am really disappointed.
If this patch doesn’t work, he will have to go back into my ear (surgery again) lift up my new drum and place a piece of cartilage behind the hole for reinforcement and to complete the drum. I really hope I will not need surgery again
Did anyone else have a similar experience after their tympanoplasty and new eardrum was placed? Thanks!
Mike G,
That’s troubling news. I’ve got fingers crossed for you. Keep it dry and stay positive, eat right, get lots of sleep, lift nothing, etc. Do everything you can to help it heal.
-Elliott
Hi everyone,
I have a perforated left eardrum…got it about 2 years back. My doctor has advised me to go for a tympanoplasty…so i`ll most probably be under the knife this november.
Anyways, a few days back..i came to another city..the temp here is much cooler than what my hometown is at this time of the year..2 days ago..my left ear started behaving strangely…it feels kinda like its “blocked”…I suspect it`s just earwax…i am not in pain…also there have been no discharges through my ear…however this feeling is quite annoying…since I`m new at this pplace…it`ll take some time to find a good doctor…in the meantime i was wondering if anyone among you had an idea as to what was wrong?
I underwent Typanoplasty and Mastiodectomy 3 months back in India, Bangalore.
I am diabetic, Though the surgery went successfully without much pain, took rest for 10 days with recommended dosage of antibiotics, but after 1 month I had sinusitis but took doctor precautions by taking antibiotics and cold suppressants this took sometime to control.
After 1 month I visited doctor as advised and it was noticed, my ear was infected with small hole in the eardrum, antibiotics was recommended and my recent status is the hole still appears but infection is controlled. It is now advised to visit after 2 months and was told hole should close automatically, informed it could have happened due to cold.
Care should be taken water should not enter the ear and with sinusitis (nasal spray and cold tables are advised to be taken regularly)
I am not satisfied by the surgery, only hope it will heal and the small hole will be closed automatically.
manju
Hi,
Just posting my 2 cents. My left ear as a child had nine sets of tubes for drainage issues. Last one was when I was 18 entering college and my ear drum was weak but hearing was decent and it had no holes. That was 17 years ago and not a change in my left ear. Then, highly competitive tennis this past June had an overhead land right on my left ear and blew the weak ear drum out. I debated all summer but trying to wade in a swimming pool with my two year old and four year old boys with an earplug in my ear just wasn’t suitable as well as the obvious hearing loss. Thus, I went in for a tympanoplasty on October 4, 2010.
I found this blog about two days after my surgery as like many of you, I underestimated the state I was going to be in following the surgery. Everything you experienced (ringing, loud hammers, pain, etc) I experienced too including the doubt that things were actually getting better.
I just had my 2nd follow up appointment today (at 6 weeks) and got a mixed bag of good news and bad news. First, the ear drum is in one piece with no holes after the doctor did his Hoovering on the foam gel he could see. However, after doing a hearing test my hearing was really worse than he expected. It was kind of pointless for me during the hearing test too – I could tell the woman was pushing sounds to my ear but I just didn’t want to guess nor I could hear the sounds in the left ear. In any case, the doctor thinks the gel behind my ear drum (in the inner ear) isn’t dissolving because my eustachian tube might not be functioning properly. He just prescribed me an antibiotic. This is the 3rd time since my surgery I’ve had an antibiotic because I got a cold 2 weeks after surgery and he wanted to ensure I didn’t get a sinus infection. In addition, he prescribed prednisone and nose spray. I’ve very worried at this point because he says he might have to put a tube in the ear to help the drainage if things don’t clear up on their own. Anyone else have this happen to them? Obviously, my history of having to have tubes in my left ear doesn’t bode well for a properly working eustachian tube so I’m concerned about my hearing long term.
Ricardo
i loved reading this and actually seeing that people have gone through exactly what i have. I have been suffering for 10 years with these issues..only i had holes in both of my ear drums. i found an amazing doctor in cleveland ohio who performed surgery on my left ear in april and my right one in august. this makes me happy
Thanks for this blog, as many of you, I just went for another typanoplasty 2nd weeks post op now, this time is the left ear , as I had one done last Feb for the right ear. Thanks God, my right ear was the worse nightmare for me for at least 2 years. As I had both ear drum busted since I was a child from chronic middle ear infection. As the result, both of my ears had holes, and the right ear had much bigger hole ( doc said its size was 2/3 of eardrum, so you could imagine, but the thing was I did never noticed I had any hearing loss but prior to the op they did tested me I lost 50% hearing loss in the right ear, all I noticed I always struggled when chewing and listening at the same time, my hearing at that time was close to zero, i could not hear anything. But all that time I had no problem with any ear infection for 20 years, but lately, I had it and had a lot, it was out of control no medication or drops could help . So the operation was the only way. YES, my right ear done last Feb and it went so well, doc even surprised the progress that my right ear went. As after the right ear op , he said, it took him much longer in the operation room than he expected, as a lot of inflammation inside which he could not see, after the op for right ear, I did feel throbbing sound in the 3rd week ,it lasted for about 10days, and went away, he said it actually a good sign as the blood vessel growing into the graft. I had so much pain after the op for right ear though, I was in bed for 1 week as so much headache and dizziness. But the op was a big success as after 6months I had my first hearing test, it is 99% hearing like a perfect ear. Doc said it is very rare that the condition like mine that it has restored hearing that much.
So the left ear op just got it done 2 weeks now, this one was much smaller hole but the chronic infection was the reason I had to go ahead with this. I feel not much pain at all like the other ear op, just hearing a little high pitch sound, that is all. Will see the doc in 1 week. Hope it goes well for me.
Hope you guys out there all go well with this kind the operation, it is worth it as for me I had no more ear infection for right ear ever since, I am looking forward to jump to the pool
As a follow up to my original post so others can see my progress, I had my 10 week checkup this past week on Wednesday December 15, 2010. My ENT removed some leftover gel packing that was still in my ear canal (mild pain but nothing serious) and we also did a hearing test. The hearing test turned out a lot better than my 6 week checkup. I got 15 decibels of my hearing back but the left ear that had the tympanoplasty is still not where the doctor wants it with respect to the hearing even though the ear drum itself has healed really well. We have decided to do another 10 day course of steroids, switch from regular Claritin to Allegra-D (not covered by my insurance so $65 for generic) and another prescription of Nasonex nose spray. He also gave me the go ahead to blow through my nose and clear my eustachian tube 4-5 times a day as he thinks I still a fair amount of fluid in my inner ear. I am meant to see him again in February and that will be D-day with respect to putting a tube in my ear. He said he’d prefer to put it in an area of my pre-existing eardrum and not the area covered by the new graft from the tympanoplasty but he won’t know until we actually decide to move forward with the tube. I really don’t want the tube as it would mean at least 2-3 years of no water in the ear and there is likely to be a hole in the eardrum afterwards but it if means I can hear “normally” again in the left ear then it might be worth. Update in February 2011.
Also, as much as I truly appreciate Richard’s blog as there was no other place with any kind of patient experiences, I thought it might be worthwhile to start a Tympanoplasty community at WebMD. If you are interested, it’s here:
http://exchanges.webmd.com/tympanoplasty
Hello all! I have truly found all of your postings informative and inspirational. My first surgery was at the age of 2 1/2. I had several cholesteatomas in my right ear that ate away my ear drum and three bones. I had surgery again when I was 22 on the same ear for the same thing. I have had 85% hearing loss in my right ear for most of my life. I am currently 31 years old, and I had surgery last November to repair my hearing. I have a new eardrum and three artificial bones. It has been just over a month since my surgery, and I am still feeling a lot of pain behind my ear. I think that this is because this is the third time my ear has been operated on. I have occasional moments where everything and everyone is extremely loud, and I am excited to see what the future has in store! Good luck everyone!
I’m 9 days into my recovery and am so angry with my Dr. that I refuse to go back and here’s why He told me nothing!! Trusting him I didnt read up on it and now I’m not finding alot of info on recovery and just to let everyone know what all the Dr. did say was 1. cant wash your hair for 5-8 days, and the care sheet sent home from hospital says keep area dry no antibiotics was sent home with me and I’m trying to read the wonderful comments and replys but as many of you know it’s well dizzing so to speak but thanks for all the info and hopefully soon I can get it read to find out where Im at in my recovery and when I can shower my long hair… ps Did I mention I have 5 kids 2 whom are on the Autism spectrum!!
Your page was really interesting to read. My 11yr old daughter just found out today that she will have to undergo yet another tympanoplasty. She had tubes as a toddler, and one of the tubes left a perforation in her tympanic membrane. She has had two tympanoplasty surgeries. The last tympanoplasty was successful, as the graft did take. She had significant hearing loss, however she had two great years of being able to swim, shower, etc. with no problems. Then a couple of weeks ago, she had a cold, and somehow, the congestion, the infection or whatever….caused a new hole. The surgeon at Cleveland Clinic who performed the most recent surgery, said that part of the graft was thin. I believe it just blew. So….as we are planning for another surgery, I was online looking for some miracle sollution to this problem. We want to find a doctor who is an expert in this field. Her doctor at the Clinic was great, but he no longer practices there. We are hoping that someone out there knows something we don’t. My daughter has a total perforation, meaning there is only the rim of the tympanic membrane left. Therefore this is very hard to repair. However, I find it hard to believe in the year 2011, there is no permanent repair? I am hoping that someone can recommend a surgeon/specialist in or near Ohio who specializes in repairing this condition. My daughter was upset about having to go through all of this again. I reminded her that many children are dealing with much worse. That helped to put it into perspective, and she is doing ok now. Thank you for sharing your story and for creating this web page. I wish you, and everyone else much luck!
Tiffany, The doctors in Otolaryngology at Northwestern Memorial in Chicago are very good.
Just happened to come up on this blog by accident again. Daniel, since my last post, my daughter underwent another tympanoplasty at Michigan Ear Institute, along with a Mastoidectomy. The repair was successful, but there was no improvement for her hearing. Dr. LaRouere at M.E.I. looks forward to more advanced implantable hearing devices to be available in the next 5 years, and we hope to eventually take advantage of them. For now, my daughter’s ear is repaired. The doctor recommends that she keep water out of her ear for life as a safeguard. While this is disappointing, it is tolerable.
Tiffany, thank you for your post. Maybe in time her hearing will improve. The body sometimes takes time to heal. I’m just sending hope as I don’t know the exact circumstances. I had multiple tube surgeries when I was younger than 10 yrs old. When the last tube came out the resulting hole never healed and so I had a hole in one eardrum for over 20 years. I did not go underwater without a plug for all that time. Finally, last year, I had a tympanoplasty that successfully (so far) repaired my drum. My point is that I have been ok keeping water out of my ear for all that time. I wish your daughter good luck. While she can’t hear that well now, maybe her other senses, like sight and smell will become more acute? Either way, medical technology gets better and better..
Hey….When I was 16, I had a serious ear infection that wrecked havoc on my left ear…I went to the doctor but he told me the problem would heal on its own… A couple years later…When I tried to enlist in the military — I failed the hearing test by 20+ decibels on my left ear. My hearing didn’t heal on its own.
On January 25th, 2011… I had my Tympanoplasty surgery…not sure which one…but it’s the one where they cut a little piece of your ear and plug a hole.
it’s been three weeks… I took a hearing test on 2/14/2011, and so far, my hearing has improved between 15-25 decibels depending on the frequency. And there is still room for improvement…I will take another hearing test in 6 weeks — I will let you guys know how it works out.
The pain was very minor, I only used the pain medication for the first 2 days…A LOT of popping, crackling sounds.
I am inexorably happy I underwent tympanoplasty surgery.
Finally, some good news…
I went to the doctor a few weeks back for a 4 month checkup and found out my hearing is almost 100% in the left ear where I had my tympanoplasty in October of 2010. I only have a slight hearing loss on high pitched sounds. My left ear is the ear with eustachian tube malfunction and thus I’ve had a lot of tubes put in my eardrum over the years so the doctor in December of last year really wanted to put a tube in my ear when my hearing hadn’t returned. He was extremely concerned about infection as not everything had drained properly. I’m super happy I convinced him to try another dose of steroids and allergy medicines to clear the eustachian tube because it worked. I also got permission at that time from my doctor to hold my nose and clear my eustachian tube. He said to do that 4-5 times a day from December of last year until my appointment earlier this month (February 2011). If you are having drainage problems after your tympanoplasty you should ask your doctor about what worked for me (i.e. steroids and clearing the eustachian tube). My hearing has returned and my left ear is actually popping with elevation now – something it never did as a kid. I’m meant to go back in six months now although I have to be on the nasal spray and Allegra-D pretty much the rest of my life. I can shower again without the cotton ball/Vaseline combo on April 1. I’m very much looking forward to that. It’s been a long journey and one that I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be but right now I’m here telling you all that there is a chance that you can hear and swim again although diving into pools is something I probably will forego without an earplug. Best of luck all…
Hi richard!thank you for you blog where i found in google while searching about the tympanoplasty surgery.Am so worried about myself because i need to undergo tympanoplasty surgery by july 2011.I was advised by my doctor to undergo this kind of surgery since he said my right and left eardrum was totally damaged.
I have a chronic middle ear (otitis media)since childhood.it was severe during my childhood days up to high school days.I still suffered during college days but not much.it was during my high school days that i noticed some difficulty in hearing and i even end up to speech defect.but due to poor living of my family i didn’t get any chance to consult a doctor nor a chance to tell my family that im not comfortable with my situation.instead i prayed and prayed and believed in God that someday He will lead me to a place where i can find the answer to my prayer.
And now i came to a place where i can say “this is the place where i can find the answer to my prayer” And it was indeed true.Am presently working as a live in caregiver and i found out that in this country where i staying now,the tympanoplasty surgery is free.My doctor said i will not paying any charges after the operation.
But my worried now is about the upcoming surgery on july.my doctor just told me that i need to undergo tympanoplasty surgery since my two eardrums was totally damaged.So he referred me to a specialist who will do the surgery.I never undergo to CT scan.is this strange?you guys undergo ct scan first before you had your surgery?my doctor told me that the surgery will only takes 1-1 1/2 hours and then i will go home the same day after the surgery.he said after the surgery i will stay in a recovery room just 2-3hours to have a rest and after that they let me drink water and send me home immediately.is this true?because am worrying.my employer doesn’t know about my plan for the surgery because i don’t want to tell them.when my doctor told me that i will go home the same day after the surgery i thought it will be alright not to tell to my employer since my work is not so heavy so i thought i can work immediately after the surgery.my work as a caregiver is not heavy.am taking care of an elderly who is still doing good only need to have a company since she had an alzheimer.do you think guys i can resume to work after the surgery?
And i want to ask question about after the surgery,you guys have the same pictures as with richard?having the ear wrapped with bandages around the ear and in the forehead?
thank you and am hoping for your response guys.am so worried now but am trusting God in everything
dear belle,
i’m happy for you that you’ve found a way to get the surgery performed.
after the procedure, you will need time off work in order to insure the success of your healing. you will not be able to hide the procedure from your employer. you will be in pain and require pain medicine and rest in order to recover properly. plan for about a week in bed, you may be able to go back to work sooner but don’t put your ears in danger for the sake of a day’s work. after that week you’ll still need to be careful, keeping your ears dry and not straining to lift. please follow your doctor’s orders, not mine, and err on the side of caution.
best of luck to you. please take good care of yourself after the procedure.
I’m not sure if anyone is still reading this forum. There really is a lack of info on the net for recovery experiences for this type of procedure.
I had a tympanoplasty 8 days ago. From behind the ear. The first few days were fairly painful, with a small amount of bleeding. In terms of sounds, my ear pulsed for about 3 days continuously. I’ve been taking it very easy.
Right now, I basically feel fine. However, hearing out of the ear is near non-existant. I actually was expecting more pop-ing sounds. Anyone, have/having a similar experience?
It’s rather un-nerving to have all of this work done… and then feel fine… and to have worse hearing (hopefully, just temporarily).
Also, am I the only one who is paranoid about burping and hiccuping? My ENT said it’s nothing to worry about. But wow every time it happens. I near freak out.
Hi Dominic!
If you read around this site, you’ll see that I had a similar experience to yours with the temporary hearing loss. I was terrified, hoping each morning that I’d wake up with some hearing back. I can’t promise you anything, but I really want you to know that your experience isn’t unheard of. Just hang in there.
Yes, I did read that. Thanks for the reply.
I wish I could “feel” the packing better. I know it’s there, but my ear basically feels the same as before the surgery, except with greater hearing loss…
I guess all I can do is be patient.
Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences. I just had a tympanoplasty a week ago. I am carrying a lot of stress, worrying about damaging the graft; not leaning over to far, not lifting anything too heavy, loud sounds, stretching, yawning, coughing, smiling, laughing too hard, eating hard foods (like nuts)…I am used to the tinnitus from years of it and the pulse in my ear I have heard before. I hope it goes away. Has anyone had issues with completing a full yawn or even burping (through the ear)? I am afraid I will pop the graft off! Also, two days ago I put pressure on the drum by sleeping on the affected “packed” ear. I heard a “pop” each time I lifted my head from the pillow. I am concerned I pushed on the drum by leaning on the packing that fills my canal all the way to my outer ear. Thanks for any feedback.
I had mine two weeks ago. I talked to my surgeon about the burping/yawning thing. He told me not to worry – the bigger issue is “forcing” air out by holding a sneeze in or trying to pop your ears. Even though he said that, I still stress about it. It’s hard not too…
Thanks Dominic. I am trying not to sneeze..Even if I blow through my mouth it will be strong.
Daniel,
I am close to 10 months post-op and I understand your anxiety. There were times I wanted to contact my ENT surgeon for an appointment as I was sure that I had done something to compromise the graft. Each visit to the surgeon proved to bring good news of a normal, healthy recovery which relieved my stress – for a short time before I began worrying again.
I think the removal of one of our senses heightens the anxiety. Then come the noises and sensations like the ones you described. If you have any kind of an imagination you can invent a way that a certain sound or feeling means trouble. I would say you’re carrying quite a bit of stress.
The simple fact is, there’s no sense worrying because you can’t do anything about it. If the graft does become dislodged, your doctor himself can do nothing but wait. All that’s left to do during the recovery phase is rest up, be careful, follow doctor’s orders, and work on calming that anxiety. I think posting here is a step in the right direction.
That being said, the statistics are pretty good on successful tympanoplasty recovery. I can’t speak to your particular circumstances, but my research and personal experience were pretty positive overall.
I hope this helps you get through the next few weeks.
regards,
elliott
Thank you Elliott for your considerate reply. And thank you Richard for creating this blog. You’re right Elliott, there is nothing I can do. It’s that loss of control that creates more stress. I can’t see my drum and I never will. The pulsing continues. I sneezed yesterday for the first time, through my mouth. There was a silence afterwards, as if a car had just crashed. I needed to sneeze and sometimes I laugh. I’m hoping it continues to heal.
Elliott, I’m just curious if all is still well?
Hi Debra,
I’m also two years post-op now. As far as I can tell, I’ve had no regression in my condition. I noticed early on a persistent tinnitus and a eustachian tube which is difficult to clear. These symptoms persist; the eustachian tube issue may be related more to bad sinus function than anything else. In my earlier posts I mentioned a “pressure”, and I soon learned that this was the cause. I don’t hold my nose and blow to clear the tube, just afraid to. Rather, I’m pretty good at swallowing to make it go away. Certain things like spicy food will make it clog, I’ve noticed.
These things are a little bit annoying, and facing them as possibly eternal afflictions was difficult early on. But I’ve learned to deal with them and they’re not so bad. Your daughter may have a recovery that is similarly “less than full”, but the cure is by no means worse than the disease.
I enjoy watersports as much as I did before, especially whitewater, without fear of getting my head wet. Balance is key in this sport and I don’t notice any deterioration in mine. I still wear earplugs in the shower, but it’s no hassle and in retrospect it’s probably not a bad idea anyway. My hearing measures 100% according to the ENT, but certain very fine details are harder to pick up by comparison with my other ear.
You asked below about appearance and symmetry. As Rick said, I think one ear may be lower than the other. But as you mentioned, I can’t verify if it was like that before! I definitely don’t look in the mirror and see a lack of symmetry. No one has ever mentioned it to me, nor do I notice anyone staring at my ears back and forth. I don’t think it’s noticeable and frankly, I don’t think the barber can even see my scar when cutting my very short hair.
In short, I’m happy I had the surgery despite the few issues. Rolling the dice with infections and possible complications from them would not be preferable, in my opinion, to the results that I’ve had. One indirect result that is absolutely positive is that I quit smoking and still don’t smoke. Thanks for posting and I’ll be happy to answer any other questions you have.
-elliott
Thanks for this blog, I just recently had this surgery done 5 days ago, the pain seems to get worse as each day passes plus just recently i been getting pain in my jaw…the pain isn’t my concern really, I know it’ll get better sometime, it’s the loud banging pulse noises I hear in the ear like it’s my heartbeat or something…did anybody else have this problem and how long didn’t last? The noises will get worst if I lay down so I have to sit in a recliner chair to sleep though, I just want to know if anybody else had this problems and how long did it last? The beating is starting to get unbearable…thanks for any help, I skimmed through most of the comments to see if anybody had similar issue.
the pulsing noise is very common and will diminish over time. yes, it feels like it’s never going to go away… but it will.
Increasing pain however isn’t. if you’ve been taking your meds (as prescribed) and the pain is still increasing, I would contact your doctor.
Thanks dominic for the quick reply, strangely enough pretty much all the pain went away when I woke this morning, I have a slight pain left but barely feel it, I’m still stuck with those pulsing noises though, I’m glad to hear they’ll go away, it’s been 6 days now, hope they go away soon.
It’s been almost 2 weeks and I still very much hear the pulsing. It probably continues for awhile.
I’m at week 3 post-op. Currently dealing with pretty intense popping an crackling when swallowing. Anyone else dealing with the same thing?
I sure did, and it was hard to eat. Is very normal
thanks
Just wanted to give thanks to everyone who answered a question over the last few weeks.
Saw my doc today. (Just under 4 weeks post-op). Ear drum is closed and looking good. Hearing results were only slightly better than pre-op, but there is still much healing to be done.
Wow, Dominic. That sounds really good. You already had a hearing test? I just saw my doctor too. He said it looks great. However, I can’t hear anything out of the ear. 3% maybe? I am assuming it’s the packing on the other side of my drum that isn’t dissolved..
My doctor told me not too worry if the results weren’t great. The internal packing has to dissolve and the ear itself has too heal and mature, which can take anywhere from 2-6 months.
Thank you for the post-op resource! I am 6 days post mastiod-tymanoplasty of my Rt ear due to tympanosclerosis, past cholesteatoma and mult chronic ear infections as a child. (I’m now 53). This is the second surgery to my Rt ear, and I had a previous mastoid surgery to the left ear as well (the first two in 1997). I don’t remember the pain being such an issue with my previous surgeries. I’m day six and still taking hydrocodone! I am a nurse, so I feel like I have a good expectation of the recovery process, but everyone is an individual and so are the procedures we undergo. I called my surgeon because of the pain (he said this was to be expected and enc. me to keep taking the pain meds), and again because I had increased bloody drainage on day 4 from the ear canal (again – to be expected – drainage varies). Then yesterday I awoke from a nap to find the incision behind my ear draining. Fortunately it was not completely open, but their was a lot of bleeding and it was bothersome. I called my dau. who is also a nurse and we packed the incision w/adaptic and 4X4′s, and wrapped with some pressure (similar to what they sent me home with), and called the surgeon again. This bleeding is not normal. They started me on some Prednisone to address the inflammation. Today the bleeding is stopped (for now at least). I use vasoline on the incision when I wash my hair, and try like heck to keep the area dry, but this may have contributed to the bleeding. I do think I’m hearing somewhat better post-surg. I already have bil. hearing aides, but really noticed an increase in hearing loss over the past 6 months. I was fearful the increased loss was going to affect my nursing practice so returned to the surgeon. I guess time will tell. Just remember, each case is different and if you are concerned with your post-surgical response – don’t be afraid to call the MD! Also, just because they send you home right away doesn’t mean your recovery won’t take time – allow time and rest! Thanks for the postings!
It has been 5 months now since my tympanoplasty. I had a cholesteatoma in my right ear (for who knows how long). I’d had a hole in that eardrum for years previously with no symptoms, no infections, no problems. After an earlier hospitalization (about 5 months later) due to toxic shock syndrome from staph aureus from a spider bite (for another forum!) I developed significant hearing loss in that same right ear. I went in to have it checked out and the ENT said he suspected a small cholesteatoma. It turns out it was a bit larger than originally suspected and had eaten away part of my incus bone. So it’s a good thing I went in as soon as I did; he was originally telling me not to worry, no emergency, you don’t have to have it done right away, etc.
The recovery process was painful, as many of you have described: sharp stabbing pains, esp. the first week and occasionally thereafter. Pain meds did zero for me except make me sick. So I had many sleepless nights that first week.
I still have tinnitis (which I had developed about a year or 2 previous to surgery), strange tongue sensations and change of taste (very sensitive to taste, esp. salty foods), numbness in the outer ear, sensitive scar, and occasional sensations and hearing of dissolving in that ear.
Since the incus bone was removed during surgery I have NO hearing in my right ear (other than conductive, which is useless for the everyday world).
Presumably, at my 6 month checkup they will give me the rundown on my chances for success at a second surgery to reconstruct and replace the incus bone.
My worries and concerns: How successful will it really be? I would love to have enough hearing restored in order to function bilaterally instead of unilaterally. My chances for cholesteatoma recurrence–I’ve heard these things can come back! Also, what about all the scar tissue that develops as a result of surgery? Another related issue: I’m in perimenopause. I’ve been having all kinds of strange things happen to my body lately that I could’ve never predicted a year ago…
Anyway, just want to say that I really appreciate this blog! There is nothing else out there that I’ve found in the past 5 months! Thanks for keeping this up and thanks to all who share and respond!
Hopefully they can reconstruct an incus for you to improve your hearing. It is so frustrating to not hear and really does impact your life! I saw my surgeon earlier this week and asked about the chances of the sclerosis/overactive scar tissue dev. reoccurring and he didn’t have a great response – “we’ll just have to wait and see”. I also still have the funny taste and tongue sensations on the right side of my tongue. I was hoping this will improve? I’m weaning off the prednisone now (that did help a lot with the initial pain and swelling issue). I live in the mid-west and pollen/allergies are terrible around here. I always have issues in the Spring and Fall, and I don’t know how bad it would have been if I had not been on prednisone – it certainly wound have impacted my recovery further. I’m going to bite the bullet and see about allergy testing and desensitization shots because all this is connected and if I can keep my sinus issues under better control, it should help my ear issues. (Meds just don’t do the trick anymore).
I think my hearing is improved (the TV vol. setting is my benchmark) – but it comes and goes. It’s only been two wks, so time will tell. Unfortunately I will prob. have to do this all again before the end of the year for the left ear too (deductable is met), as the hearing on that side is worse than the right was initially.
I too appreciate the blog – these are not common issues and the surgical recovery involves a lot of issues. I appreciate hearing the indiv. stories!
Thanks so much Kathy for sharing your experience–I hope all goes well for you. It does seem to be a roll of the dice–hence the doc not being able to tell me what to expect…I too have allergies, and purposely scheduled my initial surgery for December to avoid all the spring mess! May do the same again this time as well…I, too use the TV as a benchmark for my hearing…Hopefully your hearing will be restored to better than it was before! Best of luck to you!
Hope
Great site! I’ve just had my tympanoplasty done on May 3rd. It went really well. Getting ready to go into my 3rd week of recovery now and I’m starting to get a lot of the popping noises as describe and a good deal of pressure inside the ear(slightly painfull but not bad). Since the excessive popping sounds started my hear has decreased which I assume is pressure from the packing on the back of the drum. I had never really gotten dizzy until all the popping started, lol. But hey what can you do?!
My question is, Anyone out there ever actually feel this packing draining inside your ear? I feel it feel/hear it pop and I will feel a little drainage. When I wake up in the morning and take out the cotton ball there is discharge like ear wax(but not the same consistency) on the cotton ball, brownish in color. Is this the packing dissolving or a different issue? Any help, thanks.
I never really felt any drainage. If you’re getting a lot of drainage you should call your doctor.
However, the brownish red discharge is likely just the packing material coming out of your ear. Completely normal. If the discharge changes in color/smell, you should definitely contact your doctor asap as it might be a sign of infection.
Hi TJ,
Yes, I was able to feel the packing dissolving; sometimes I *still* feel a dissolving sensation in my ear, even though it’s been 5 months! The discharge is most likely the packing. My doc said it’s the same color, but different consistency from earwax…
Hope
Well let’s just say I feel like it’s draining but it’s way inside my ear. That little bit of brown stuff only happened once and it wasn’t but a small amount. It didn’t have a smell at all.
TJ,
That sounds normal to me, at least from my experience. Initially, I never got much drainage. There was some drainage later on, maybe a few months on, but never that much. No smell is good (no infection). Sounds like things are going well…
Hope
Well maybe dissolving is a better work for what I’m feeling. But yeah things do seem to be going well.
My hearing is a lot better today. It snap, popple and cracked inside my ear and then I was hearing almost like I use to.
Thanks for the comments.
I too am getting more snap, crackle and popping. The hearing comes and goes, and the fullness is also present. Kind of like an earache, but not. I hope this resolves and clears. Again, the allergies just compound things. I’m taking a day off and staying in the house to see if it makes any difference. Glad things are going well with you!!
I went into the doctor yesterday due to some pain in my ear and he found more fungus growing in my ear which is cause by moisture building up in the canal some how. When he suctioned all that out the pain went away, my hearing was restored and the popping and crackling noises were gone. And talk about a relief…….wow!
T.J., wow! That’s a relief. Keep healing!
I had my typanoplasty done on may 13 and it went better than I thought it would. I actually had more pain from the incision or graph site that the ear itself. I stopped taking my pain meds after three days. Its been a week since my surgery and the soreness on incision site is still there. I cannot rest my head on that side or I get pain and a headache. I am going to ask my doctor about this today when I see him today, but would like to hear from anyone else who expierienced this. Is this normal, or a complication?
Hi Dave,
I had quite a bit of pain that seem to radiate from the lowest incision knot on the back of my head behind the ear. I also could not rest on that side for quite some time. I found that putting ice on it helped. Eventually ibuprofen helped relieve *some* of the pain (I took 3 200mg pills). I recall that it took several weeks for the most severe pain to subside and then gradually it has eased after that. The incision site is now lumpy and sensitive, but not painful.
During the first few weeks, I called the doctor’s office in the middle of the night because the pain was so bad (prescription pain meds did nothing to relieve the pain, nor did ibuprofen at this point) and his nurse told me it was normal! I was told as long as no inflammation or redness or discharge to not worry…
Thanks for the reply Hope. My doctor said the pain on that side of my head was normal. Now that its been two weeks since my surgery the pain has mostly subsided. Now I have a new thing that worries me, my ear started popping everytime I swallow. Its not the popping I had in the first week because of the packing dissolving, my doctor removed the packing after the first week. Its more like the popping you get when you descend in an airplane. I called my doctor about it and he said its normal and its the eustation tube doing its job. It still scares me though as I can feel my eardrum buckle each time it happens. Did anyone else experience this?
Hey dude, Im 17 and had to have this surgery in order to go into the Military. Its been about 5 days now and Im starting to hear / feel popping when I swallow or yawn or even sometimes when Im just sitting here. I go for a follow up this monday, so I dont really know what it all means. Ill let you know, Ill ask the doctor and all. Thanks for your post, I was getting a little nervous with all this popping. Im glad Im not the only one and your doctors explanation of the packing dissolving is encouraging to me. hopefully it all works out!
I also had a lot of pain and it frustrates me to hear a nurse say “that’s “normal”. It is normal to have the pain, but the pain should be treated!!! If your pain is not under control then call your MD and ask for something different to control it. (The same thing happened to me!).
Hi Kathy,
yes, I was very frustrated by this “no solution” response. In fact, when I asked the MD about it, he said ibuprofen worked for most everyone (and as usual, I didn’t fall into that category!) and that’s what he recommended to me. I figured better suffer than deal with just getting sick from something else they prescribed. But the situation was treated as an either-or type thing: either try the H-codone or the ibuprofen!
Hi everyone – have read all of your comments with great interest. My 17 year old son had his eardrum ruptured last year when he was hit in the ear by a water balloon. On a day to day basis the ear behaves much like it is healed but if he gets water in it he experiences the sharp stabbing pain and “fullness” that is indicative of a ruptured eardrum. Saw the ENT specialist last week and while he couldn’t see anything via microscope or telescope he believe there is a rupture that is not being seen. He would like to do an exam under anesthesia and if there is a tear repair it then. My son’s ear canal is rather difficult in that it takes a sharp bend to I don’t believe he will be able to graft via the ear canal – we would probably be looking at behind the ear. My questions/concerns are: he has a huge hiking trip planned in 3 weeks so I believe having the surgery now is out of the question. 3 weeks after that we will be flying to a beach vacation so I think he shouldn’t have it then either. When we get back tryouts for high school soccer begin and as it’s his senior year I don’t want him to miss this either. That being said, we may have to wait until after the soccer season is over in October. Am I being unreasonable in my thinking? The dr led me to believe this is no big deal but reading all of your comments has me really concerned about recovery. Any thoughts, suggestions any of you have would really be so appreciated!
Laura,
In my experience, you are by no means being unreasonable!!! Now I know everyone’s an individual, but when I spoke w/the nurse about recovery, she said it would take at least a week and longer was not unusual! The doc was telling me I’d be fine in a few days. Glad I had that talk w/the nurse so I wasn’t taken by surprise. Now, I’m 44, not 17, but I sure wouldn’t want to take a chance. For me, it was painful for several weeks, no sleep for the first week, basically and pain meds did nothing to help that at all! I had shooting pains off and on for several weeks after as I recall. It sounds like given the unknowns, esp. w/your son’s unusual bend, etc. (I had tiny canals–like a child’s) so they had to go behind the ear…) I don’t think you’re being at all unreasonable. You can’t get water in for several months (I had real challenges w/showers, etc.) and couldn’t go swimming for a long time after either…. Anyway, just my 2 cents worth…
Hey Laura,
My eardrum was ruptured playing competitive tennis: a tennis ball hit me on the ear after an opponent struck an overhead. This was May of last year. I also had a vacation planned to Hawaii in September after the rupture so I decided to hold off on the surgery because flying is a no-no for about 5-6 months. In addition, I wanted to time the recovery during a time when both the tennis season was over but also could afford me the possibility of being able to swim again in the summer (without an earplug). Given how much a sensitive time high school is, I’d personally wait until October. It’s a annoying not to be able to swim or shower without an earplug but disrupting normal/fun activities in addition to recovering could be disheartening. With that said, my plan luckily worked very well. I spent the first few weeks of October last year recovering while not playing much tennis and then was able to play tennis near Thanksgiving. In February of this year I was told my hearing was almost 100% back and I could shower without an earplug again in April, just in time for summer swimming and summer vacations.
Hope and Ricardo thanks so much for the advice – can’t tell you how much I appreciate it! We’re going to go ahead and wait until later this fall to have the procedure done. Maybe Thanksgiving time so he doesn’t have to miss a lot of school. I’ve bought him some good earplugs and while he complains that it is not really comfortable at least he can get in the pool. I’ll keep you all posted later this fall!
hi
i found out yesterday i have to have this surgery and i am bricking it to put it mildly. now i may regret asking this but where do they cut you and how big is the scar left and the pain afterwards? i am hoping to get this done this year as i am getting married next year and would like to be healed before my honeymoon but waiting lists in the uk can take forever
any info anyone can give me would be great right now
Hi Michelle, understandable you are nervous about this; I was too! The incision is made behind the ear (if your canals are too small to go through, which mine were) and is maybe about 1/4 inch or so away from where the ear actually attaches to the head. The scar is not very noticeable once it heals because it will flatten out more and more as it heals and your hair will cover it.
As far as the healing process, it varies from individual to individual, but for me, the first few weeks were the most painful. H-codone was prescribed but didn’t work. I used 3 200 mg ibuprofens after that, but it didn’t really help til 2nd week. An icepack actually helped me the most as the knot on one of the stitches was quite excruciating. I was told later this was nerve pain. Off and on I would get stabbing pains in my middle ear that would come and go at random for the first few months and then they gradually went away. The hardest part besides pain management is dealing with showering/cleaning. I had to keep the area absolutely dry for quite a number of weeks and the canal for several months as I recall–very tricky to do! Overall, I managed, but at first if you don’t know what to expect, it can be unnerving. Hope this helps! Good luck!
Hi Michelle,
my experience on the tympanoplasty surgery is it left a scar behind my ear (keloid scar) and also a small residual perforation in the ear drum for the surgery happened in jun 2010.
I consulted another surgeon & I had done keyhole surgery recently to close residual perforation and for keloid scar behind my ear (the portion which was cut about 1 inch size during my first surgery) weekly Injections are injected in to the scar to reduce the scar (after 4 injections the scar is reduce to 1/4 its size) since it is painful the doctor asked me to visit after a break of few weeks for scar reduction.
About the keyhole surgery it is healing but will know only after few weeks.
That is all for now best of luck on your surgery and take care of all the precautions, I mentioned above facts only from my experience. I heard from the surgeon this happens 1 in 30 cases and I was the unfortunate 1.
my best wishes for good health and speedy recovery.
jacob.,i had my tympanoplasty 2 wiks ago.,i also feel the popping sound when i swallow.,and im experiencing tinnitus..the pain didnt last long in me..its just 2 days..and i only use the pain reliever 3 times..
its just sometimes when i drink i think i feel the water going up to my ear..
so im worried if the leaks i feal in my ear is nit just the gel foam..is anyone here also experience this when drinking..
plzz reply..
but anyway tnx for the blog..richard this really helps..:)
Hi, I am soon to be 61 yo and recently concluded the 3rd tympanoplasty on the same ear (14yo, 29yo, 60 yo). This is in addition to a modified radical mastoidectomy at the same time as the first procedure and an incus interposition at 45yo. all of the above was due to a poorly functioning eustachian tube. Each procedure has been followed by an increasingly easy recovery. The most recent (this year) was done on an outpatient basis with virtually no discomfort once the compression bandage was removed at 24 hrs post-op. Each procedure resulted in a patent graft with significant hearing improvement. The most important counsel I can offer is to have the procedure done by an ontologist who does these in significant numbers and with regularity. Practice does make perfect. I would also share that the ear is more pinned back than the non-operated side. This is due primarily to Tyne need to remove some cartilage for mastoid procedures. Good luck all.
Hey, I had typanoplasty surgery 7 days ago. Everything is going fine but tonight the incision behind my ear has started to seep a discharge its kind of clear with a tinge of blood. I haven’t bumped my ear or picked at the scar. Did anyone else experience this? I would really appreciate any responses. Thanks
I know exactly how you feel. I have had two tymapnoplastys on my right ear and three on my left ear. It’s rough but worth it when you hear everything so much louder.
hiya
well i had my surgery last monday (at last) now in the recovery position of immense pain and feeling fed up. the surgery took 2 hours as the back of my eardrum had become fused onto the small bones in my ear so this was also sorted out and a small piece of skin harvested from my head to make the new eardrum. this leaves a nasty bruised head behind which chuffing hurts. i have the packing in my ear which is painfull and at times leaks which feels very weird and not that nice either. i have to have this packing in for at least 2 weeks then it will be removed. i am hoping the operation was a success as the pain had better have been worth it and i hope this operation will give me some of my hearing back as well.
Hi guys,
I just had my procedure performed this morning. I have the horrid bandage on my head right now and it is so tight that my eyes are bulging and my head will not stop hurting despite the vicodin and percocets that I am alternating with. So far I don’t know what to expect for the future. The doctor said that the bones were intact(surprise) because before surgery he said they needed to be rebuilt. So I should regain more hearing than we thought. I have a 20 percent loss in my left ear due to nerve damage and a 50 percent in my right ear due to nerve damage, no eardrum and frequent infections. This will bring my hearing up to a level where I can get a hearing aid for both ears. Thank you for your blogs Ricky, I have been reading them non stop in preparation for this surgery. I am 35 and have suffered with this my entire life. I don’t think I will ever go swimming without an ear plug even if I am told that I can. It’s ingrained in me to use them. Thank you again and good luck everyone. I will blog with any changes. So far, first day not much dizziness and some pain around the ear but more in the head and eyes from the bandage. I can feel the ear draining and popping. Of course, I am highly drugged right now.
ok guys advice needed please
it has been a week since my surgery in the uk. i am in agony and have been since i had this done. the dressing inside my ear keeps oozing and there is pain in the stitches around my ear. also i keep feeling a popping sound in my ear and this is worrying me. i am not due to have the packing removed until the 8th December
is what i am feeling normal or do i need to worry?
Seems quite normal to me. Call your physician if you have concerns.
Michelle,
so sorry you are such pain. I would definitely get the stitches checked out, especially if they are red/irritated. Are the stitches the ones behind the ear? I recall those hurting quite a bit for the first week, but then fading after that. The popping is normal. Not sure it should be oozing a week after surgery or not…I would call/go in…good luck xx
I had a second surgery (Lt ear) at the end of October (first in April Rt ear). For both surgeries I ended up taking Prednisone due to excessive swelling which was causing the incision behind the ear to open/drain (on day 4-6 which is abnormal once closed). I’m hoping I’m done with the ear surgeries for a good time now, but just an FYI – sometimes a prednisone burst can really help with swelling (which greatly improved the pain as well). If I need this again in the future that will be on my list for the MD! This surgery indeed takes time for healing. Nerves are sometimes affected, and the eardrum takes a long time to properly “thin out” and work to maximum effectiveness. Be prepared to give it time and good luck!
The popping sounds and pain are normal. You may want to call your Doctor as well.
thanks guys i called the acute referral team at the shrewsbury hospital and they said due to the surgery i had done that the pain inside my ear was normal and would subside after about 3-4 weeks.
the dressing inside my ear has to stay put for the next week or so and then they will remove it.
the oozing is also normal i am told and that i should keep taking regular painkillers to help with the pain although my eyes feel like they are gonna pop out of my skull right now.
i will be so glad when this is healed and if it hasn’t worked then there is no way i am having this done again
this blog is awesome for people to get information on tympanoplasty as it has given me more info than the surgeon did
This site is terrific…it has helped me get through my recovery.It has been 3 wks since my tympanoplasty. I had perforated my ear drum while descending on a plan flight and then 2 years later developed a cholesteatoma…that was a surprise. I have experienced most of what everyone has mentioned..I am now in the ear popping phase. In regards to the stitches behind the ear I found that Bacitracin ointment was a lifesaver, it kept it moist and took care of the pulling sensation. I still hear the pulsing in my ear, which is annoying at times, but at least my ear has stopped draining. This has certainly been an experience, but definitely worth it if my hearing is restored.
Anne
Well I’m about to enter week 3 after my operation. The pain is still there but more so in the side of my head and the whooshing sound drives me crazy. I went back to work after a week ( wedding and honeymoon to pay for) and I would sell my soul for a decent nights sleep my ear is still oozing and I do not get the packing removed until the 8th so I’m
Hoping this will feel better then. I also have a rotten cold and hate that I can’t blow my nose
Hi Michelle;
Sorry you are still having pain. Does the pain go away when you take Tylenol? Since I am approaching week 4, I thought it might be helpful if we compared notes. The whoosing and the pulsing (don’t know if you have that one) is a nuisance. I found the beginning of week 3 the popping and crackling when I swallowed actually made me feel better. Do you feel and pressure or fullness in your ear? I still do when I wake up. So far I have about 2/3rds of the packing removed. My doctor didn’t remove it all at once. Part is the cotton material and the other is the gel which can be partially removed and also disolves. I think you will feel much better after it is removed. Having a cold definitely makes it worse. You may want to speak to your doctor about using a saline nasal spray to keep your nose moist (also helps to prevent germs entering the nasal area in the winter) or some Afrin nasal spray to help you breathe (only use for 3 days). Hang in there ..it will get better.
about to enter week 4 i had the packaging taken out on thursday and there was loads of it. my ear canal is now massive and either itches or hurts. i am having to put drops in 3 times per day and today i had the most amazing surprise when i could hear my fiance talk to me in my left ear i am slightly hopeful that my hearing will return now to some degree
Good news on having some improved hearing.I found after the packing was removed my ear felt full with pressure, even a bit of pain but that subsided after a few days.
I guess it is from the pressure of the vacuum they used to remove the material. Is your ear popping when you swallow? Tomorrow is week 5, I am hearing my own voice clearer now, but I still have a “full ear” sensation in the morning the outside of my ear is very sore. Are you experiencing the same?
the outside of my ear is very sore and i still have the blocked ear feeling as you describe. my ear canal is very stretched and itches all the time. i wear glasses and they sit on the scar above my ear which is quite sore. i am hoping over time that it will get better at least i don’t have to take painkillers every day which is a bonus
Hey everyone, great comments. I had my tympanoplasty 3 days ago and unlike most of you, I’m feeling great. I’ve had no pain, just taking advil as needed and am on antibiotics. I havent had any ringing, popping, or drainage. The majority of the procedure was done thru my ear canal, so I have a small 1/4 in insicion behind my ear that was secured with glue. No stitches, no bandages, just a cotton ball in my ear. My first follow-up is thursday so I hope no pain is a good thing!
Hello,
I had Tympanolasty done seven days ago. Lots of drainage and tinnitus since the surgery. My hearing is pretty much zero so I am getting pretty nervous. My follow up appointment is not for another ten days.
Update,
I am about a month post op and have more than half my original hearing back (based on a recent audio-gram). In my case, the whole eardrum needed to be replaced as it was completely gone. After the doctor looked in my ear, he said it looked perfect and it could not be healing better.
Still draining at night and have popping frequently. If I hold my head a certain way, the gel foam located in my inner ear seems to move around which allows me to have great hearing.
I am confident that as the weeks pass, my hearing will continue to improve.
Thank you Dr. Kaplan (Reading California)
Hi Everyone,
Sorry I was not replying for all the messages I read regularly.
The reason being I don’t hear perfect recovery at all from all the patients shared here, including myself.
The same message I hear from my colleagues, friends, relatives and other patients in the hospitals.
Only conclusion from my side is we have to undergo surgery depending on type of perforation or infection there is no
escape from it else it becomes worse when the it gets infected.
The post surgery pain recovery process for me was OK, took about 10-15 days since I selected one of the best hospitals; having personal medical insurance was advantage here. After 1 month my middle ear developed very small perforation, I don’t know how it occurred but my Surgeon’s opinion was it may be due to cold,infection are due to my type 2 diabetes. All medication, ear drops, nasal spray prescribed by Doctors didn’t help me since 1 year to close this perforation without surgery. later I underwent postoperative surgery under local Anestesia at different hospital to close small perforation, not painful, but doctor had to remove small tape on my soft ear tissue grafted to close the perforation after 1 week. Now it 2 years since my tympanoplasty and mastiodectomy later followed with procedure to close the small perforation.
Only advantage in this operation I conclude is it saves us from further infection, no improvement in ear loss or blocking sensation.
I am still careful & avoid water entering my operated ear, if it enters accidentally I apply few antibiotic ear drops as advised by doctor. the problem here is we cannot see our own inner ear condition we have to visit doctor and explains us what they have seen or if your hospital provides one request for live camera view of our inner ear (I forgot its technical name) to be satisfied about the condition of our ear inside.
My prayers and well wishes to all of us for painless recovery and healthy ears.
I had my tympanolasty two weeks ago, minimal pain and drainage and was back to work with in a week. I had my entire eardrum replaced.My question is has anyone had experience with this perticular surgery and smoking? Im wondering if anyone has had any complications from smoking post surgery.
Dray, I am not a smoker but my doctor specifically directed that I not use a straw to consume beverages. You may want to call the doctor and ask him/her about smoking as it relates to your recent surgery.
Don’t smoke, doing makes the Eustachian tube swell, which may put extra pressure in your ear and pop the new membrane.
Att. ex-smoker
*doing so
well ir is almost february and i had my surgery in november 2011. hearing not much improved and the pain in the side of my head is as bad as ever (i am wondering if a nerve has been damaged) as combing my hair hurts like a demon. no follow up appointment yet to see the consultant to see what stage i am at. feel the whooshing in my ear daily and it is driving me nuts also i seem to have an almost constant headache and my eyes feel like they are going to pop out of my head (anyone else had this?)
i hope this operation has worked as i am gettingmarried this year and want to enjoy my honeymoon in florida to the extreme and not have to worry about gettingmy ear wet when i swim with a dolphin (or an orka if i am really lucky) at least i am managing to not take painkillers anymore.
michelle, you should see your doctor asap.
i did they said i have tension headaches and prescribed amitryptaline for them, but i do not have a tension headache i have pain in my ear and this constant whooshing sound from it and pain over my ear on my head and it just does not feel right at all. i am wondering if something went wrong with my surgery or if this is normal?
I also had my surgery for a tympanoplasty and removal of a cholesteatoma in Feb and I can relate a bit to what you are experiencing. I still have a constant hum in my ear (not really whoosing anymore) and the feeling of pressure (not sure if it is coming from the inside or outside of my ear). I had the sharp pains on the side of my head last week (which Advil helped to relieve) but that could have been unrelated since it is better- but it definitely did not feel like headache pain.. How is your hearing? I am hoping that it is still too soon since the outside of my ear is still numb… is yours numb also. Have you lost your sense of taste?
I just had an operation two days ago and I was recuperating well. I made a blog about the ordeal. Please click the link below. I can say that all the comments here had prepared me for the operation as well as for my post-op. It’s still a lot for me to expect so I will promise to come back and keep you posted of the recovery process. Thanks all for your comments. It helped me greatly.
http://freespiritedguy.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-initial-tympanoplasty-operation.html
One week after the operation, I was doing great. I can feel my hearing greatly improved without wearing my hearing aid. It was a big challenge though on my taste because I only had a bitter taste every time I chew on the operative side. Instead, I chewed on the other side. I’ve lost 5 lbs for not eating. So far, there’s no pain. Thank God, because I can’t stand Vicodin. It makes me sick and my doctor forbade me to vomit because it will cause pressure to the inner ear. All in all, every thing is great. I will be seeing my doctor tomorrow. Hopefully, everything will be ok.
Hi I had my operation (Tympanoplasty) 3 days ago and got out of hospital yesterday, They went in thru the ear canal so I only have padding and cotton wool in my ear. I have no pain, and feel good, just in the mornings I feel a bit light headed. I do suffer from Tinnutus which is still there,other than that I do feel great. Im due back to doctor in 8 days time to get the padding removed so I wont know until then how I have really benifited from the operation. I was told that I might not benifit now but need to get the hole in ear fixed and it will benifit me in later years. It was my first operation ever so I was a little nearvous about getting it do, but the worse part was getting the line in arm, and even at that it was nothing. So far so good, I will see how the next couple of weeks go.
My daughter is 15 and a competitive cheerleader. She only has a very small hole in her ear that has never healed from repeated tubes in her ears. I know as a teenager she doesn’t want to have to wear an earplug and she does get infections when she swims and we do have a pool, but right now her hearing is good and I’m afraid of adverse affects and surgery creating hearing loss. The hole is also so small and it sounds like a lot of people ended up with small holes after surgery still, so I’m wondering if this is even a good idea.
Hi Debra,
After spending 18 years having to wear earplugs while shower or swimming, I found the end result of my surgery to be a relief. That said, this is your and your daughter’s call. I wish you luck in making a decision and finding comfort in that decision!
Hi Debra,
Have you already tried having it patched? If it’s a small hole they will usually try this first. Mine was a small hole as well, but because of its location (on the edge of the eardrum rather than in the middle) it didn’t take. There is hearing loss associated with the surgery because the grafted skin is a thicker material than the natural eardrum, however, after 2 surgeries, I finally have an ear with no hole and minor hearing loss ( I still hear well enough without having to worry about any hearing aids or anything). I also don’t have to worry about infections. My surgery was to remove a cholesteatoma, which had grown through the hole in my eardrum. My guess is, my body was trying to heal the hole on its own but couldn’t and it wound up being a bigger problem than the tiny hole I’d lived with for so many years. You might talk to your doctor about the chances for small holes after surgery. It hasn’t been my experience and my guess is since she’s young and healthy, her healing would be much better than mine as a 45 yr old.
I just had my surgery 7 days ago. I had a perferation in my eardrum for 6 years. I am experiencing lots of weird sounds. But as ive read this all seems normal. The most worriesome is the popping sound when I chew or swallow. It makes me think I have dislogged my graft. Other than that it has been ok. I know I still have a long recovery road ahead of me. For me I have little hearing out of my opperated ear. Hopefully it will improve, but my main reason for surgery is to be able to swim and get my head wet with out worry of pain or infection. For me better hearing is a bonus. Thank you so much for this website. Whenever I get worried or stressed I come to this website and read the comments to ease my fearsand learn more about if what I am going through is normal.
Hello Rick/all
Had my Tympanoplasty and a Titanium bone replacement on the 20 April to repair a retracted ear drum. Packs were removed a fortnight later(by nurse) and looking good some hearing has been restored. Dont get to see Ent Dr until June 18 as I have been told there is no point seeing a Dr until sweling has gone down?.So all I can do is hope and pray that all is good and that my hearing gets better.
Cheers Kev
Ps have suffered all the tinnitus and heart beats and cracking noises. And still do.
Hi Rick,
I have been diagnosed to have a VERY LARGE hole in my left eardrum. I’ve been experiencing hear loss and this has greatly affected my jobs and my study. I’m very worried I may not be able to hear again normally. The doctor suggested that we observe for a week. He gave me antibiotics and anti-allergy pills (for my allergic rhinitis). For now, I’m really depressed about this. I’m thinking, “How can I live normally now?” or “What if I changed jobs, will a company hire me because of this?” My family and friends don’t understand what I’m going through right now. I read all the posts about the surgery you’ve gone through. I think all of you mentioned that your hearing won’t ever go back to being normal. That depressed me more.
Message for Rick.
Am only 4 weeks in to recovery and found that after my packs were removed that my hearing was quite good. But now am finding my hearing is going dull again. Did you find this?. My op was done by the ear canal no cutting. Also had a cartlidge graft and titanium bone.Prior to op I had an infection for nearly 2 years and when clear my hearing was fairly normal. Also big thanks for your blog:)
Cheers Kev
For those who had ear opened up for surgery, I read stories of the ear not looking quite the same after being sewn back…did anyone else have this issue or did everything seem to be normal? Could just be that a difference of the two ears was noticeable afterwards because they were comparing the two where prior to surgery they didn’t really even compare them. Just wondering if anyone has any input on that..
Debra,
See my above response to this question but, long story short, the symmetry of my ears is perfectly imperfect after surgery
For those who had surgery more recently (this year), I would love to hear how you are progressing and recovering.