Early 2008 to 2009 After Gamma Knife

I returned to normal life and waited.  The radiation would kill the tumor over an eighteen month period that could produce side effects of fatigue, hearing loss, facial paralysis, balance problems and ringing in the ears.  Some of these symptoms would subside and others would last, but compared to invasive surgery it was a piece of cake and was at least sixty-five percent cheaper.

For the first couple of months I had great fatigue and slowly my energy level returned to normal.  About once a week I had facial numbness around my right ear and several times a week my ear canal area felt like it was stuffed with cotton and I couldn’t hear.  These “spells” didn’t last long and life was good.  I continued all usual activities from work to golf. 

Follow up MRIs showed my tumor had stopped growing. The Gamma Knife Surgery looked successful. 

A series of hearing tests showed I had the expected hearing loss.   These tests were us usually conducted in a sound proof room through earphones. Various tones and words were projected while I told the technician what, or if, I heard. 

One test involved giving me a sleeping pill so I would not move.  Instruments were hooked up to my skull while the reception of my brain’s response to sound was measured. My acoustic nerve could hear about a third of a sound, but couldn’t transfer the data to my brain in a form that could be interpreted.

Something like, the ear says, “ Brain, I have incoming data?” “I get some data some of the time and will interpret the part that registers.” says the brain back.

By spring of 2009 I began wearing a spiffy hearing aid that compensates for the permanent hearing loss in my right ear. It is programmed to pick up the exact tones that my nerve doesn’t recognize.  It’s not perfect, but helps.

Annoying imbalance, vertigo, “spinning spells” began in early 2009 and increased from occasional to daily. Sometimes at night I’d pretend I was on a Merry-Go Round.   The ear-ringing was sometimes so loud I asked people standing next to me if they heard it. They didn’t.

Eighteen months had passed since the Gamma Knife Surgery. I’d have yearly MRIs to watch the dormant pest, but I was free and clear! The tumor wasn’t growing. My symptoms were annoying, but did not interfere with living as usual.  Life was great.  Anyone in my 65+ age group can expect some kind of physical changes.  We aren’t 29 anymore.  The body is aging.  We can eat well, exercise and take vitamins, but each of us has something!  I felt very fortunate.