I followed up with Dr. K today to check on the status of the hole in my eardrum and great news to report! The hole has completely healed, the paper patch has been removed and he said the eardrum is so clear he can see into my middle ear and identify the prothesis and stapes, etc. He said there is very minimal scarring and things couldn't look better. There is no fluid and no swelling either. I asked about the lingering achy, slightly sharp pains that I'm getting and he said based on how the eardrum looks (which is great) it's likely still healing. It has only been 5.5 weeks so that makes sense, and the pain really isn't pain, it's very manageable and I don't need to take anything for it.
I'm still hearing very well but have been slacking on really listening and being aware of my surroundings when people are talking, because a few times I've been caught "daydreaming" and asking "what?" a lot again. Old habits are hard to break...
The only negatives, if I can call them that, are that I'm getting significant feedback when I blow my nose everytime and some of my own internal noises are slightly shrill sometimes. But, being that these were noticed a couple weeks ago and nothing else has come up, I'm feeling pretty confident that this is the worst of it!
My next plan of action now is to set up an adjustment in West Bloomfield and get adjusted properly for what my ear is able to hear now, without the scar tissue impeding it. I think insurance would cover the audiologist visit at HFWB hospital, so I'm hoping that all I'd have to pay is the $40 copay and use my "one" visit they granted me to follow up with Dr. S as well.
As of now, this is what I use for settings since the removal of adhesions:
Daytime/everyday settings - C4
Sleeping/showering - C2
I am still in a learning curve and don't recognize a lot of sounds I hear now, but the important thing is, I'm hearing them! It's up to me to learn what I'm hearing and to learn to pay attention to my surroundings now. I've "tuned out" for 30 years and now I need to retrain my brain to tune in. Luckily, it won't take a lot of effort since the Esteem has taken the work out of hearing. It feels good to be w-hole :)
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