Good afternoon @megwest512. And thanks for the introduction @colleenyoung. As I understand your situation, you are beginning to be a bit anxious about your upcoming stapedectomy. Personally, I fight battles with tinnitus. However, I think you want to know about my sweet mother. Both my grandfather and my mother were deaf, what we called bone deaf, meaning otosclerosis. They wore hearing aids over their heads with batteries bigger than a cell phone. Their lives were greatly limited by their inability to communicate normally.

Although my grandfather passed before the stapedectomy was available, my mother was selected as one of the first patients to have this surgical procedure. I remember taking her to UCLA on the day. She was nervous too. She was always quiet but that morning she was "scared speechless".

Netting this story out......for my mother this was the most significant improvement to her quality of life. She smiled more, initiated conversations, and even handled the phone much better. I do recall asking her about the surgery. She did not mention discomfort. She did tell me that it seemed like the attending medical folks were stomping loudly around her stretcher in the OR. And she said she almost had a heart attack when an ambulance with full sirens blaring, passed by the window. She thought it was the end of the world.

I do encourage you to try and be calm and think about the "new life" that will be coming your way. I am happy and excited for you.

May you be content and at ease.
Chris