Please Read Before Surgery

This information is to help you care for your ear before and after surgery and to answer many of the commonly asked questions.

DAY OF SURGERY

- Please do not take any valuables to the hospital. This includes jewelry and handbags.
- Please do not apply makeup prior to surgery.
- Do not eat or drink after midnight before surgery, including water.
- If you put your hair up, please have it come off the top of your head.
- All work or school notes need to be requested prior to surgery (please see document in the portal).
- Please ensure you have access to the portal (azhear.ema.md) and you have selected your pharmacy in the portal.
- Any prescriptions will be sent electronically to the pharmacy you have selected in the portal.

PRECAUTIONS

1. Do not blow your nose until the medical team has indicated that your ear is healed (at least 6 weeks). Any accumulation of secretions in the nose may be drawn back into the throat and expectorated if desired. This is particularly important if you develop a cold. Contact the medical team via the portal (azhear.ema.md) if you should develop ear symptoms.

2. Do not "pop" your ears by holding your nose and blowing air through the eustachian tube. If it is necessary to sneeze, do so with your mouth open.

3. Do not allow water to enter the ear until advised by the medical team your ear is healed. You need to keep liquid water and steam out of your ear. When showering or washing your hair, place a cotton ball with Vaseline in your ear canal. Ensure the entire cotton ball is covered with Vaseline. Place the Vaseline on the cotton and work it into the cotton until there is no dry cotton. Keeping water out of the ear will help to encourage the healing process. This is the most common cause of post-operative problems.

4. Do not take any unnecessary chance of catching a cold. Avoid undue exposure or fatigue. Should you catch a cold, treat the cold in your usual manner. Contact the medical team via the portal (azhear.ema.md) if you should develop ear symptoms.

5. You may anticipate a certain amount of pulsation, popping, clicking, and other sounds in the ear. There may be a feeling of fullness in the ear. Occasional sharp shooting pains are not unusual. Additionally, it may feel as if there is liquid in the ear.

6. Do not plan to drive a car home from the hospital. No public transportation may be used. Please arrange to have someone available to drive you home. When changing altitude you should remain awake and chew gum to help with equalization of your ears.

7. Minor degrees of dizziness or light-headedness may be present with head motion and are normal after ear surgery. If the feeling persists for seven days after surgery or increases, please contact the medical team via the portal (azhear.ema.md).

8. You may resume light aerobic exercise one week after surgery. Please do not start any weight lifting or straining for at least three weeks after surgery. You should not lift greater than 20 pounds for the first weeks after surgery (this includes your own body weight).

9. Taste disturbance and mouth dryness are not uncommon for a few weeks following surgery. In some patients, recovery may be prolonged.

10. Ear numbness is not uncommon for a few months following surgery. In some patients, the numbness is prolonged.

11. If your wear glasses avoid the arm of the glasses pressing on the incision behind your ear. The pressure on the area of the glasses could impede healing, increase pain or cause infection.

12. You should not fly on an airplane until at least 6 weeks after surgery. Any travel earlier should be cleared with the medical team via the portal (azhear.ema.md).

HEARING
Hearing improvement is rarely noted immediately following surgery. Hearing may even be worse temporarily due to swelling of the ear tissue and packing in the canal. Six to eight weeks after surgery an improvement may be noted. Occasionally this may not be noticeable for a few months. Maximum improvement may require up to six months.

DRESSING
If you have a dressing on, please remove it the morning following surgery. Cut the dressing in the region above the eye where the dressing comes together. Remove the cotton ball from your outer ear. The cotton ball may be blood-stained. The cotton ball will come out as one piece. Please do not remove multiple pieces of material from your ear (this is packing deep to the cotton ball). The packing brown/red and gooey. Do not remove the packing.

Sometimes pieces of the packing can stick to the cotton ball and come out when changing the cotton ball. This is fine, there is much more packing deeper in the canal. Do not attempt to remove the packing yourself.

Please do not remove the white strips of tape behind the ear. The white strips can get wet on the third day after surgery. Approximately 7 to 10 days after surgery, the white strips will start to peel up and you may remove them at this time.

Change the cotton ball as often as necessary, as long as fluid continues to drain from the ear. You no longer need to use a cotton ball once the cotton ball no longer becomes soiled when placed in the ear canal. Stop wearing the cotton ball once it is no longer becomes soiled (usually no longer than a week) – otherwise, it becomes an irritant to the ear canal.

DISCHARGE
A bloody or watery discharge may occur during the healing period. The discharge will often last up to a week after surgery. You may change the cotton ball as it becomes soiled. In general, the less done to the ear the better. A yellow or malodorous discharge is an indication of infection. If this occurs, please contact the office via the portal (azhear.ema.md).

EAR DROPS
You will be given a prescription at the time of surgery, start using these drops three weeks after surgery for 21 days, unless otherwise directed on the prescription. The drops will help loosen the packing, which will dissolve in the ear canal. Tip the head to the side for five minutes and then place cotton in the outer ear if there is liquid running from the ear.

Please remove the cotton ball a few minutes later. Do not place a cotton ball in the ear canal continuously.

NOTE: In some circumstances, the drops will be started the day after surgery. Please follow the instructions as provided with the prescription from the pharmacy.

PAIN
Mild, intermittent ear pain is not unusual during the first two weeks. Pain above or in front of the ear is common when chewing. Occasional shooting pain in the ear is not unusual. If an incision has been made above your ear, you can expect the region to remain tender and to have some discomfort for a period of a few weeks. The nerve that innervates the ear has been injected with a long-term anesthetic. Please take ibuprofen as directed every four hours while awake for at least the first 48-72 hours after surgery. Please inform the office via the portal (azhear.ema.md) if you are allergic to any medications.

NUMBNESS
The nerve that supplies sensation to the ear comes from the back of the skull and crosses across the typical location of the incision. The ear and surrounding scalp may be numb. The numb area will decrease in size until it resolves over several months.

DIZZINESS
Minor degrees of dizziness may be present with head motion and is normal after ear surgery. Please contact the office via the portal (azhear.ema.md) if the dizziness increases.

POST-OPERATIVE APPOINTMENT
Post-operative visits are usually scheduled six weeks following surgery. On some occasions, the time interval is shorter. You will find your future appointments on the Patient Portal at azhear.ema.md. You will automatically be notified of your appointments. You can contact the office via text at 602-307-9919.

The Arizona Hearing Center wants all of your questions to be answered. Please send your questions via the portal at azhear.ema.md. You can contact the office via text at 602-307-9919.