Thanks. I am considering both of those docs.
Itās humming for meā¦I love classical music and have always hummed away happily to myself (probably to the irritation of my familyā¦) but now I canāt hum at all, or whistleā¦in fact quite often just talking makes my head hurt
Hennypenny -
I think humming is good! Itās a sign of a happy heart. Hoping you get back to humming ASAP!!
Mr. Axon at Addenbrooks has done quite a number of styloidectomies. You might want to try to get a consultation with him. There are several members on this forum whoāve had him do their surgeries including our wonderful moderator Jules.
Hi Jules
Was your sound sensitiveness gone after surgery? Thanks
It has improved yes, but I had lost some hearing which didnāt improve afterwards- donāt know if that was down to ES or not.
Ohā¦thanks for replying. I hope you get better!
My sound sensitivity was pretty bad. Improved immensely after first surgery - but was sound sensitive on one side after that so made feel off balance as sound was coming in one ear louder than the other. Not sure where at after second surgery (almost three weeks) as have not been any where with much noise.
Itās okay, itās as good as itās going to get, Iām thankful for the other symptoms which have been resolved!
Hey Jules
Would you mind telling me what were your other symptoms?
I had some nasty vascular symptoms- I felt off balance most of the time, with very dizzy spells too, I had headaches, head & ear pressure, pulsatile tinnitus (where you hear your heartbeat in your ear), feeling I was falling, & a scary feeling of my brain being rolled over, very weird!! I had neck pain, pain in my jaw, teeth, eyebrow & scalp, numbness & tingling in my cheek- but never had the trouble swallowing or lump in the throat, the classic symptoms! I do still take Amitriptyline as I still have some nerve pain, but it is better than it was!
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Thanks Jules
I really appreciate your reply
I am in the middle of a mental storm trying to figure out if eagle surgery is for me.
I have a lot of symptoms here and there but the one that is really painful for me is the ear fulness. It is definetely not just an aural fulness. It is very intense and also palate pressure. Sometimes left ear has more pressure and other times the right one but usually they are both with pressure. When I swallow saliva I hear a clicking sound and then pressure/some kind of ardency gets worse. When lay down at some degree, the pressure feeling subsides, especially for the ear that is on the pillow if I lie on my side. If I chew food it subsides at some degree too. These symptoms started 3 years ago and they are apparently eustachian tube dysfunction, but this is just a hypothesis as doctors cant really see eustachian tube.
I have read a pubmed research that basically states that chorda tympani nerve may play a role in stabilizing middle ear pressure and I am trying to figure out if an elongated styloid can somehow irritates the chorda tympani nerve.
I have other symptoms too that I do think is related to ES but they dont bother me as much as ear pressure/pain.
Constant tinnitus and hyperacusis started just one month ago. The trick thing is that I dont know if I can relate them to eagle syndrome because one month prior their beginning I have injected by a dentist 4 units of botox in my soft palate in an attempt to get better. I totally regret doing it bc I really suspect botox may be the cause for my tinnitus and hyperacusis as I didnt have it before.
Wellā¦ I am just venting I guess. I dont know if you can relate somehow to my case or give me your opinion.
Also, I only have elongated styloid on left side and it is 3.40 mm. So, very difficult to tell if my symptoms are really related to ES. I am really scared to do surgery and it doesnt work at all.
I wish you all the best
Iāve found a research paper which suggests that the Vestibular Cochlear Nerve, Cranial nerve VII , can be affected by styloid processes & can cause ear pain, tinnitis & hearing loss I think, as well as positional vertigo. Ear pressure is quite a common symptom, can be irritated nerves or a vascular symptom; Iāve not seen mention anywhere of the chorda tympani nerve but thatās not to say it isnāt involved. Iāve not had a chance to look that up- the space where the nerves exit the skull is very crowded, so an elongated styloid or an angled one can easily compress nerves. After my second surgery my ear tgat side was really blocked, & I lost some hearing- I thought theyād slopped some of the antiseptic stuff down it or something, thatās what it felt like! I got it checked out & there was no blockage, so it was obviously a nerve been irritated by surgery- it improved within a couple of weeks.
A clicking sound could be down to calcified ligaments.
Thereās research which shows that itās not just styloid length that causes ES but also the angle too, so just because your styloid is not that long it doesnāt mean you canāt have symptoms- & 2.5cms is the āaverageā, so 3.4cms is longer than it should beā¦but unfortunately we canāt say which symptoms are definitely ES, & which ones will be resolved with surgery, it is a difficult decision to make & I feel for youā¦
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Hi tantanac -
I just looked up the chorda tympani nerve. It is a small branch of the Facial nerve (cranial nerve VII). The Facial nerve comes out of the skull right next to where the styloid process is attached & is one of the CNs that can be irritated by an elongated, thick or angled styloid. I would deduce from this that if the facial nerve is being irritated by your styloid, it is possible that there is āreferredā irritation that includes the chorda tympani which is causing your ear fullness. Your hyperacusis could be a function of the possibly irritated chorda tympani as well. Another option to explore would be something like Meniereās Disease which is not caused by ES but which does have as its symptoms a feeling of ear fullness, hyperacusis & loud tinnitus.
I completely agree w/ what Jules says about the length of the styloid is not the only consideration in an ES diagnosis - thickness & how itās angled count too. Clicking when swallowing has been frequently noted in people w/ s-h ligament calcification. The ligament doesnāt need to be fully calcified to cause that problem. It can happen w/ just a small amount depending on which part of the ligament is calcified. Has anyone looked at your CT scan to see if there is ligament calcification?
How did your appointment go w/ Dr. Tiago?
Hoping this info is helpful!
Tatianac, did you say you had face pain & numbness? If so, then the facial nerve could be being compressed, & if as Isaiahās found out the Chorda tympani exits in the same place, then those ear symptoms could potentially be ES symptoms?
That Vestibular Cochlear Nerve sounds EXACTLY what is being affected and causing all my ear symptoms! Thanks for searching for AND finding that research paper!!!
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