My experience with Ctoma

[Guest guest]

I notice posts here by people wanting to know things about this disease. I have

not read them but decided I would tell my story in the hope that patients and

parants can get first hand clues.

I am 63 years old and in my teen agaed years had several bad ear infections in

the right ear. It was not until the late 1970s that aproblem occured. The EMT

placed a " TUBE " through the eardrum in my right ear. Everything went well. I

STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU SEE YOUR ENT ON A " REGULAR " BASIS if you have a tube.

One day at work there was an excructuataing pain that lasted a few minutes and

then went away. I did not go to see the ENT as I had moved from that area where

he lived. Time passed and that ear became more of a problem. I could not hear

and there was pain off and on and stuffiness.

Eventually I was able to see a SPECIALIZE ENT. He anaetized the eardrum and

lanced it......but no fluid came out. He informed me I had a Ctoma and that

SURGERY was needed.

This was 1989 . I went to the college library and looked up everything I could

find on this disease. The pain after the first surgery was intenes for a day or

two and i ENDED UP WITH postoral VERTIGO (IF i TURNED MY HEAD IN A CERTAIN

DIRECTION EVERYTHING STARTED TO SPIN). After a few weeks I felt better and could

hear, but then the prosthesis was rejected and I was back to near deafness

CONDUCTIVE.

I had three more operations the last in 2002. Also a mastoidectomy. I was told

there was STILL CTOMA at the last " second look " surgery.

I have no pain now and have to go every six months to have the ear SUCTIONED out

since there is no eustechian tube connection in that ear.

I have purchased a behind the ear Seimens hearning aid from Ebay it only cost

$400.00 AND WAS A copy of the actual Seimens. It is programable but I do not

need that. My hearing loss is CONDUCTIVE, there are no bones in the middle ear.

This means that I need VERY POWERFUL AMPLICATION across the whole audio

spectrum. There is no need to EQ a portion .

Until JUST RECENTLY there were no hearing aids that would restore decient

hearing for me. This Seimens has two microphones, noise reduction and I have a

silicone ear mold made special.

SOMETIMES I CAN HEAR BETTER OUT OF THE CTOMA EAR then out of my " good " ear. I

consider it UNBELIEVABLE.

Th eonly problem is that the Ctoma ear GETS " WET " while wearing the hearing aid.

The canal gets moist.

I hope this helps answer questions and gives hope,