Right middle ear implant for sensorineural hearing loss with the Envoy Esteem



Saturday, December 29, 2012

One Month Post Scar Tissue Removal

Merry Christmas all, and Happy New Year! Today I'm one month post op and things are still going relatively well. My ear still feels a bit congested, and still has the sound and feeling of fluid in the ear.
Whenever I sleep on the Esteem side it feels like my ear fills up with fluid and when I lift my head there is a feeling of suction or inward pressure and a pop that releases the pressure and then a second "normal" pop. I asked Dr. S about this and he thinks it sounds like the eardrum is healing, so alright! I'll take that!
I have noticed a slight shrill sound associated with myself, my internal noises, and louder high pitched noises again, which I'm guessing is scar tissue forming. I hope that it isn't going to get worse than this. I go about on C4 for my daily routine and turn it down to C2 at bedtime, and this seems to work well. I like C5, but the sounds that I notice are shrill are magnified so much at this level that it just isn't enjoyable to stay on.
I blew my nose gently for the first time this past week and had major feedback. That sounded awful! I'm also still showering with a cotton ball covered in vaseline in my ear until I see Dr. K again (Jan. 9th) to determine if the hole has healed in my eardrum.
One good thing to note is that my PCP requested that my insurance pay for me to have a covered visit with Dr. S and they agreed for ONE visit approved through mid March, and then from there they would need to be notified again if I needed to be seen by Dr. S to decide if they'll pay for more visits. I'm crossing my fingers that this will open the door to them paying for the Esteem on my left ear eventually.
I still have several more weeks of healing left to do and potentially my hearing could go one of 3 ways; worse, status quo, or better. I'll be very happy with status quo or better! God has blessed me with a very caring and talented surgeon who has stayed with me every step of the way and much better hearing than I could have dreamed.

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