Surgical Treatments
I recently discovered a new treatment called the Silverstein MicroWickTM treatment (named after its inventor Dr. Herbert Silverstein). It is essentially an improvement on the Transtympanic Gentamicin Injection treatment. It has an 80% success rate in eliminating dizziness and a 60% success rate in reducing ear pressure and tinnitus. Although apparently 5% of people who have the treatment loose their hearing in the treated ear.
The treatment is performed by making a hole in the ear drum with a CO2 laser. A tiny plastic tube is inserted in the hole. A wick is then inserted in the hole until it rests on the duct to the middle ear. The patient places a dilute Gentamicin solution in their ear three times a day for two to three weeks. The solution travels directly into the inner ear. Like the injection treatment, the Gentamicin destroys the tiny hair like fibers that transmit balance information to the brain. Also like the Gentamicin injection, if the balance problem later develops in the other ear, it is possible to be left "floating".
I sent an email to Dr. Silverstein's office with a few questions that I would like answered if I were going to have the procedure. The questions and answers I received from Seth Rosenberg MD FACS, Ear Research Foundation Sarasota, Florida are below:
- Does the medication delivered by MicroWickTM eventually destroy the balance center in the ear like a direct Gentamicin injection? Yes.
- When you medicate yourself, do you feel dizzy for a time?
You may feel imbalance temporarily. - Is it painful? No!
- Does the device eventually get removed? Yes.
- Does the hole always repair itself? Usually.
- How do you shower with the device in your ear?
The ear is blocked with cotton.
- Can't any liquid that enters cause serious infection? Rarely.
- Does the wick get dirty and need to be replaced? No.
- How often does the wick fall out or in? Rarely.
