I just had a great conversation with Dr. Osborne for 1 hr. He was extremely patient, communicative, and answered every question that I had.
He mentioned that he now has a surgical approach where he goes in just in front of the ear. This gives him access to remove more of the styloid process than the transcervical approach. Has anyone here had this version of the surgery? I have not even heard of it before because apparently only he does it!
I’m glad your conversation w/ Dr. Osborne went well & that he gave you so much time & thoroughly answered your questions.
Dr. Hackman in NC has used the approach for some years which Dr. Osborne is starting to use. In Dr. Hackman’s case, he starts w/ an incision in front of the ear but will also make a transcervical incision if the styloid is extremely long or there is a section of calcified stylohyoid ligament lower down that he can’t access from the smaller incision by the ear.
Hello. I had surgery with Dr Osborne 7 months ago. My incision starts about mid ear going down to the bottom and beyond my ear lobe about an inch. For the first 5 months, I had no feeling in my outer ear. My nerves were completely dead but currently I have some feeling in the outer ear but not like before surgery. Probably around the 4th month I would get nerve twitches as they started to relearn their path. I do still have first bite syndrome but it has decreased to about every 5 time I eat. The drain that he put in my neck just below my incision really hurt. I still have a lot of healing to do but as far as a scar, you would be hard pressed to see my incision.
Thank you for your update, @skihorseranch. I’ve been wondering how you’re doing. I got long-term First Bite Syndrome from my first surgery. It was pretty miserable for the first year, but has continued to decrease over the last 11 years & is barely a problem anymore. Most people do recover from it completely so there is yet hope for you in that arena. I had nerve pain that persisted for a year+ after my surgeries, but it did gradually disappear even after that long. It sounds like you’re willing to be patient which bodes well for you to feel better & better as time passes.
I have been meaning to touch base but have been waiting to see how i do for the update. I need to contact Dr Osborne as I occasionally do have the feeling of a stick in my throat. Which is one is the main symptoms that made me want surgery. It definitely isn’t as bad but still a nuisance.
I am still pretty sore to sleep on my left surgery side. I keep thinking that the nerves will settle down.
I keep thinking I will need surgery on my right side but so far the symptoms haven’t gotten so bad. Not sure if it is better to get it done before that happens? Again, I need to contact Dr Osborne.
I read living with eagles routinely and appreciate all the feedback and comments. It has helped me through this whole process! Thanks for all of your help!
I recommend waiting to get the other side done until your symptoms are more significant if you can function ok w/ them as they are now. The caveat to that is that symptoms can “cross over” ie the right styloid can cause symptoms on the left side of the neck/face/head & vice versa (I had that happen) so there’s a small possibility the sensation in your throat has more to do w/ your remaining styloid than w/ the one you’ve already had resected. Just sharing a thought, not trying to diagnose you. 
Thank you for all the insight and information that you have provided. I really appreciate it!! I had a fleeting thought about a cross over from my right side but then talked myself out of it. So thank you for your thoughts!
For the first couple of months after surgery, for the first time ever, I would have dead silence in my head for about a minute or two. No tinnitus, just a scary silence that I have never had! But the last 2 months, I have had full on loud tinnitus which has caused me to think about a cross over. I also had a pain in the back of the left side of my head which completely disappeared after surgery. Again, over the last month, I have had some pain, not as bad, but made me wonder, cross over.
As with any surgery, I wish there was a test you could take that said, yes you need surgery! Instead, you go by how much pain can you endure before saying yes to surgery. The styloidectomy wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t a cake walk either. As you know!
Thank you for taking time and sharing your information, it is greatly appreciated!!
Is first bite syndrome also a potential symptom of eagle syndrome, or does it just occur as a complication of surgery? This is my first time reading about it, but I already feel like I have these symptoms. Pain on the right side of my throught and in front of my ear while eating is very common for me.
@dwg176 - We have some members who had FBS as an ES symptom but for most of us it is a post op condition that is caused by the glossopharyngeal nerve being irritated during surgery. In my case, my GPN was wrapped around my styloid & had to be unwrapped so it was very angry when I awoke from surgery. Initially, half my tongue was paralyzed but 5 days post op, the FBS started. Tongue paralysis is not normal after surgery but does occasionally occur. Mine was gone by 9 mos post op but the FBS remained, but thankfully at a much lower level than when it started.
FBS, as I noted, is caused by the glossopharyngeal nerve which innervates the parotid gland in the cheek near the ear. The parotid is our largest salivary gland. FBS is caused by overstimulation of the parotid by the glossopharyngeal nerve when the nerve is irritated or damaged (w/ ES due to the styloids rubbing or bumping it). Pain usually starts immediately when food or drink is introduced to the mouth & lasts for a few seconds before subsiding. Subsequent bites don’t usually cause it to start up again.
Your ear pain when eating could definitely be FBS. We’ve had members that even had scalp pain from it.