Amazement

I put my device on level C2 for bedtime because I'm a really light sleeper and my hair makes too much noise against the pillow when I sleep on the Esteem side and our furnace kicks on every 6-7 minutes (it's COLD in Michigan). These noises keep waking me up, so taking my Esteem from C4 to C2 makes it more tolerable and I sleep better. I can still hear, just not so acutely :)
What I'm amazed by is that C2 used to be what I was on all the time, and at the time I thought I was hearing fairly well. Now that I've had the adhesions removed and can enjoy C4 and 5, C2 sounds so quiet! As in, I strain to hear, quiet. It is and was actually "work" to hear. With C4 I'm very relaxed and don't work to hear. It isn't as exhausting in social situations to stay in the conversation, and for that I am so thankful and blessed.
At work eating in the cafeteria was always confusing and frustrating due to the noise level. Now it is enjoyable again and I can follow and understand conversation much easier since the noise is not so distracting and roaring in my ear. And the volume is down to nearly the quietest level on my phone in my office, and all voices so far are easy to understand.

It's been an amazing 11 days since I turned the Esteem back on. Merry Christmas everyone :)

Finally, 5!

I have conquered level 5! I decided to bump up to the final level today and so glad I did. I can't believe how much the scar tissue impeded my hearing before. I finally understand the true miracle this device is! Although 5 is loud (!) I think I'll be using it and 4 the most. 4 is comfortable but 5 has umph ;)
For instance:
I heard my husband's feet hitting the treadmill in the basement while I was on the main level with the TV on! Tell me that isn't cool?! I started paying attention to TV conversation today, and I am catching probably 95% of what's being said. Wow! There is still room for improvement too, so I'm going to work at really training myself to recognize words.

My ear at this point feels pretty good. I still have a slight fullness in it, which I guess is probably due to healing. I'm also finding myself swallowing a lot to pop my ear, which helps relieve the pressure but only lasts a very short time. I don't think the hole is affecting the sound, but then how could I know, as I was not benefiting from the Esteem in full anyway? I have no way to know either about the 35 dB gain I got back but maybe it's hearing things like what I mentioned above about my hubby running?

Anyway, so pleased at the outcome for now. I am so happy I was allowed to turn it back on before going back to work which will be in 3 days.

4 For 4!

Bumped up to level 4 today after church and again, going well :) I am confident level 5 will be just fine too. I'm using my eveyday setting which is C. For church I had to go back down to level 2, but when I got home I went for my forth program bump and 4 is great. I heard my phone text sound, a quiet swooshing, from 4 rooms away! I kinda feel like I have a secret agent ear, haha :) I haven't been paying attention to how well I'm understanding speech though. I don't think I've been saying "what?" or "huh?" very much. Once I get settled into level 5 I'll start paying more attention to that detail.
I'm cautiously optimistic that this will last and be able to maintain the clearer less screechy sound. However, I say cautious because the growth of scar tissue happens over time and if I grow a lot again then I'm worried I'll notice a decrease in quality of sound. But, I'm determined to enjoy how amazing it sounds now! And as Dr. Seidman stresses, think positive thoughts to promote good healing. I can do that!

Good Progress

I'm enjoying and tolerating level C3! Yeah! This is going very, very well considering. I shot an email off to Dr. Seidman that I turned on the device earlier than instructed and although he "scolded" me, he was pretty excited things are looking up.
I plan to try level C4 either tomorrow night or Sunday. I will be elated if I can tolerate C4!
TBD...

2 Weeks Post Op

Two weeks, and I've hit the mark where I can turn on my device. I actually turned it on Monday evening, just out of curiosity since the packing was out...at first everything sounded really bad, kinda like a wind rushing noise. But I forgot to query, so I did, and that made it better. But I was on C2, and it was too loud, so I switched it down to C0 and that was really tolerable! I've been "on" since! And now at 2 weeks post today, I'm comfortably at C2. I tried C3 but it is too loud and actually seemed to make my eardrum ache, so back to C2. Everything sounds normal so far, a little fluid and ear congestion but nothing too bad as yet. And my tinnitus isn't so distracting now, whew! Hoping in the next couple days to get used to C3 as I've never had success getting past it or staying on it. I know that I have to keep in mind that the ear is still healing from surgery AND I have a hole, so those will affect my hearing quality but so far, it's not too bad. Anything is better than lopsided hearing :)

Hole-y Eardrum!

Today the packing came out of my ear. Not an uncomfortable procedure at all! I saw my hometown ENT so I didn't have to drive to Detroit to see Dr. Seidman for a short time only to turn around and drive another 3.5 hrs home. I'm 11 days post op now.
Dr. K removed my packing and cleaned my ear for me. He also noted a 2-3 mm hole in my eardrum. To be sure he knew what needed to be done, he called and spoke with Dr. Seidman and between the two of them, decided that a paper patch would be best. He performed the procedure right then, also not uncomfortable. I'm to follow up with him in 4 weeks to make sure the patch healed the hole. If the hole is still there, Dr. K felt I'd need to go back to Dr. Seidman unless they feel he can do whatever needs to be done. I really don't know at this point what will happen if the hole doesn't heal.
I have been in communication with Dr. Seidman since and I'm to follow restrictions for 2 more weeks (no lifting anything over 10 lbs, sneeze with mouth open, etc) and need to shower with cotton ball covered in vaseline for 4 more weeks until Dr. K can confirm the eardrum has healed. Dr. Seidman did say this likely will affect how the Esteem sounds once I turn it back on. I guess I'll see on Friday.

**Just spoke with Dr. Seidman shortly after writing this. If the eardrum does not heal in four weeks, the next step would be surgery to repair the hole. POSITIVE thoughts only!! Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that the hole heals!

1 Week Post Transcanal

Sore throat. Check. Ear congestion. Check. However, I one upped the congestion and got some Mucinex-D and that has really helped! Much better than Zyrtec-D ever did. I guess by thinning the secretions it helps to get it out of the sinus cavaties easier vs just drying it up.
The intensity of my throat pain is going down finally and I haven't gotten any fevers. Highest temp over the course of the week was 99.3.
Hearing only out of my left ear is tiring. I feel even more so now since I have had the advantage of the level of the Esteem for a year. I don't feel like being social and I panic when the phone rings! Thankfully I should be able to use my Esteem ear again soon, within the next 2 weeks.
The most annoying thing now is the cotton ball in my ear and slathering it in vaseline everytime I want to shower. Yuck. And itchy! But I have to be careful not to scratch at my ear...ugh! Ear pain is nothing so that's great! Most concerning thought now is, will it feel uncomfortable when the doctor pulls the packing out of my ear??? Details to follow on Monday!