Eh? Sonny

I feel it's time to publish my hearing issues. Especially when my boss on Thursday told me that he has really noticed a difference when he walks by my office, says something and I don't even respond to him. He just thought I was ignoring him, didn't want to chat and started to take it personal. This really made me wonder how many other people I was offending without even knowing!

When I was 16 I went to the Ear Nose Throat Specialist (ENT) to have my hearing tested. I noticed in school that I couldn't hear the teacher. My hearing tests showed that my right ear was severely below normal and the doctor thought he could fix it with surgery. He told me that I would need to wait until I was 18 for surgery. So I returned to see him when I was 18 for surgery, and there was too much bleeding in my ear for success. He sent me to the University of Utah Hospital to a specialist, the otologist there. Dr. Parkin was able to do the surgery, however, I still couldn't hear at normal levels, so I had to be fitted for a hearing aid. I wore it regularly until I was on my mission. Wearing a hearing aid outside is just awful, when the wind blows, because it is like a microphone in your ear.

In January of this year I noticed that there was something wrong with my left ear, currently my hearing in that ear feels like it is blocked by something. Not an actual object, but it feels like I am trying to hear through a cotton ball. So I went to the doctor again to have him look, and clean my ears out. He did a hearing test and both of my ears are severely under normal hearing levels. My left ear is now worse than my right ear. Not something I wanted him to tell me. I was hoping there was just a lot of wax built up and that would be the end of it. However, when he bypassed the bones in my ear and tested the nerve, my hearing was normal. So there is hope.

I have been officially diagnosed with Otosclerosis.

What is otosclerosis?
Otosclerosis is the abnormal growth of bone of the middle ear. This bone prevents structures within the ear from working properly and causes hearing loss. For some people with otosclerosis, the hearing loss may become severe.

How is otosclerosis treated?
In many cases surgery is an option for treatment of otosclerosis. In an operation called a stapedectomy, a surgeon (otolaryngologist or otologist) bypasses the diseased bone with a prosthetic device that allows sound waves to be passed to the inner ear. It is important to discuss the risks and possible complications of this procedure, as well as the benefits, with the surgeon. In rare cases, surgery can worsen the hearing loss.

One good thing that I must say out of all this, I can sleep through Dave snoring. LOL! I asked the doctor if he would write a note to my husband and tell him that my hearing really is poor...I am not ignoring him. He did write a note to Dave, and we both laughed. The doctor thinks he can improve my hearing with surgery again. He did tell me that there is a possibility of the surgery making me totally deaf so we need to do one ear at a time. First we will have to do a CAT Scan on each ear because the nerves for your face are connected very closely. If he feels it is possible to do surgery without issues then we will proceed from there. I would hate to lose my smile or something similar. So hopefully with surgery, a stapedectomy done to both ears I will be able to hear again.

So far I don't have plans on when I will have surgery, so until then please don't think I am ignoring you if you talk to me. I REALLY CAN'T HEAR, especially if there is background noise.

How does otosclerosis cause hearing impairment?
Otosclerosis can cause different types of hearing loss, depending on which structure within the ear is affected. Otosclerosis usually affects the last bone in the chain, the stapes, which rests in the entrance to the inner ear (the oval window). The abnormal bone fixates the stapes in the oval window and interferes with sound passing waves to the inner ear.
Otosclerosis usually causes a conductive hearing loss, a hearing loss caused by a problem in the outer or middle ear. Less frequently, otosclerosis may cause a sensorineural hearing loss (damaged sensory cells and/or nerve fibers of the inner ear), as well as a conductive hearing loss.

How do we hear?
Hearing is a series of events in which the ear converts sound waves into electrical signals and causes nerve impulses to be sent to the brain where they are interpreted as sound. The ear has three main parts: the outer, middle, and inner ear. Sound waves enter through the outer ear and reach the middle ear, where they cause the ear drum to vibrate. The vibrations are transmitted through three tiny bones in the middle ear called the ossicles. These three bones are named the malleus, incus, and stapes (and are also known as the hammer, anvil, and stirrup). The ear drum and ossicles carry the vibrations to the inner ear. The stirrup transmits the vibrations through the oval window and into the fluid that fills the inner ear. The vibrations move through fluid in the snail-shaped hearing part of the inner ear (cochlea) that contains the hair cells. The fluid in the cochlea moves the top of the hair cells, which initiates the changes that lead to the production of the nerve impulses. These nerve impulses are carried to the brain, where they are interpreted as sound. Different sounds stimulate different parts of the inner ear, allowing the brain to distinguish among various sounds, for example, different vowel and consonant sounds.