245brez,
HOORAY!! So glad you were able to get surgery fairly close to home! When you feel up to it, would you please let us know whether you had intraoral or external surgery & how much of the styloid Dr. Byorth took out? We will add him to our Doctors’ List pending the outcome of your surgery.
ES surgery is considered to be major surgery even though the incision is small. There are muscles, nerves, & ligaments that get moved out of the way so the styloids & s-h ligament can be removed & all of those get irritated & cause pain post op. It will take 4-6 months for you to have an idea of how successful the surgery was & even up to a year for nerves to heal up.
Taking care of yourself by resting for at least the first couple of weeks & then listening to your body & not overdoing it for the first month or two post op will help you heal more quickly. I hope for you to have great recovery from your symptoms so you’re able to return to your active lifestyle.