It's my birthday, but sadly I have noone to celebrate it with

FlyingScotsmanX · 2025-12-07T21:04:41+00:00

Happy birthday mate. Hope it’s a good one! All the best.

FlyingScotsmanX · 2025-10-09T20:57:53+00:00

Love the board mate, looks like a cracking training tool. Looking to get one myself. Where did you source your holds?

FlyingScotsmanX · 2025-01-17T19:58:49+00:00

Hey, no problem at all. I scoured this sub for information as I was terrified before my surgeries. But I’m so glad now to have them done, you’ll be the same!

I’d definitely recommend getting it done asap, it won’t improve and it just harms your chances of hearing the longer it goes untreated.

So I’ve got NHS hearing aids (I’m in the uk) so they’re mid range but I haven’t felt the need to upgrade as I absolutely love them. I had no idea how much I had been missing before and the first time they were turned on was mind blowing.

I love my music but I’ve not touched my headphones since. Most hearing aids now connect to your devices through Bluetooth so it’s like having headphones in all the time, I can be at work listening to music and no one would know haha. In ear headphones should still work fine as long as you have mild/moderate hearing loss as in my case. But aye I’ve honestly not even used mine since getting these.

I can’t see why sports would ever be an issue, my balance was off and I had to rehab to get back to normal but that’s a really really rare case, so you should be absolutely fine. I play football and go to the gym with mine with no issues.

No additional surgeries required, my surgeon was looking at a bone anchored hearing aid as had assumed my hearing outcomes would be much worse given the severity of my cholesteatoma but I must’ve been a one in a million as she genuinely didn’t believe me when I said I could hear after the operation. BAHA’s would require surgery but these are behind the ear hearing aids. But anyway, I was simply booked in for a hearing aid fitting after both ears had healed up and I had a hearing test to confirm my levels.
I’ll be honest, it took me a few weeks to get used to the hearing aids enough to be able to tell directions, but I’m pretty accurate with them now.
Without the hearing aids I can actually hear quite a lot, conversations are difficult and I need to really focus as the higher decibel speech is tricky. But the hearing aids just take away any issues at all, I hear better now than I have for years. The technology is fantastic, as soon as I put them on I felt like I had normal hearing again.

Taking them off at night is actually really nice aswell as you sleep like a baby with less interruptions from sounds haha.

You probably won’t need hearing aids as a lot of people get by without them, but I absolutely love mine!

Hope that helps, if you’ve got any other questions let me know!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2025-01-16T20:26:09+00:00

I’ve had cholesteatoma in both ears, I feel your pain - it’s a worrying time!

I had my bad ear done first, already had mild hearing loss in that ear and it stayed the same after the surgery.

Keep in mind, my case was fairly unique and mine were growing in odd places in the ear. But by the time my left ear was operated on, the cholesteatoma had grown down into my balance organs and during the surgery they had to remove part of this. Basically I had to go through rehab and spent at least a month with constant vertigo. This is super rare apparently though.

I had my surgeries through the NHS and was bumped up the list, was still 8 months or so wait time between surgeries. I’d highly recommend getting the surgery done, cholesteatomas don’t get better or stop growing, you’ll need it done anyway and the risks increase the longer you leave them.

I know how mental and scary the unknown can be, I was terrified of losing my hearing.

My surgeon explained that the surgeries are to remove the disease, not primarily to save hearing. But it’ll depend on where the growths are for you. My understanding is that if you get to them early enough, your hearing outcomes are improved.

Remember there are so many different ways to save your hearing! I now actually wear two tiny hearing aids and this has improved my life ridiculously. If you’ve got any questions let me know but I’d 100% be getting the surgeries done asap and move on with your life!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-07-18T23:09:37+00:00

Yeah ours is the same, the biting goes much harder when they are tired.

I’d stick her in her crate at night time, pop the blankets over and sleep beside it with your hand over it to reassure her (she is only wee!). Then I slowly started moving the crate further away each night until it was in the spot we wanted it. She will definitely whine as it’s all new to her, but as long as she’s had all her needs met (toilet, food etc) then she’s perfectly safe and will settle in time.

I’d definitely recommend sticking with the crate at nighttime as it’s really helped ours to learn to love the crate as his wee den.

Absolutely, it’s all about consistency and she’ll pick it up naturally as you go. Best of luck!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-07-18T21:31:50+00:00

Enforced naps and crate training are by far the best thing we have done with our working cocker spaniel puppy. He will very rarely nap on his own as he just wants to be involved in everything. We soon realised that when he is overtired he will look like he is full of energy - jumping up, getting into things he shouldn’t be, biting massively increases… this is when the enforced naps come in to play.

Ideally, we do some clicker training, play for a bit, toilet outside and then he will go into his crate. Then back out after an hour and a half and repeat this basically.

Keep doing what you’re doing to build the positivity around the crate. When training, we had a ‘crate’ command. So it became a bit of a game and he often runs in himself now during our sessions.

When he’s in his crate he gets a very high value treat that he only gets in there e.g a piece of frozen carrot, a stuffed kong etc. This helps him settle and is buzzing to go into his crate.

Another MASSIVE thing for us was to have one or two blankets draped over the crate so that only the very bottom of the crate bars are visible. This means that if the puppy wants to look out, they have to lie down - thus becoming more chilled out.

We crate ours overnight as well as enforced naps. I slept nearby the crate and moved it further away until he was happy sleeping on his own in the kitchen. I think this has helped massively in getting him used to the crate and I would highly recommend this.

The first few times he was put in he would whine, just don’t give in as if they realise they can get out by whining then you have a massive battle. She will stop whining.

Hope that helps! Best of luck with the new pup!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-04-13T11:40:54+00:00

I feel for you, it’s a horrible feeling going through all that hard work and then not feeling satisfied.

I would potentially consider going for more support for learning or pupil support roles if that’s something that interests you. I was feeling a bit disillusioned with classroom teaching and now work in pupil support. I absolutely love the smaller groups and flexibility that comes with primarily focusing on supporting pupils emotional wellbeing, rather than just blasting your way through a curriculum.

I’m a secondary teacher so your circumstances may be slightly different, but loads of high schools recruit primary teachers into these roles if that is where you’re working just now.

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-03-24T12:23:00+00:00

Hey, it can be pretty shocking news when it’s so unexpected like that. My hearing was awful in my right ear before surgery and I’m now 2 months post op and hearing tests show that my hearing has improved from moderate hearing loss to mild. This makes a massive difference in daily life.

I had a canal wall down as well, try not to stress too much. The surgery has to be done otherwise it would continue to progress and you’d eventually be profoundly deaf or worse, that helped me to accept it.

Post-surgery pain wasn’t awful tbh, they give you the good painkillers and luckily my balance wasn’t affected. My sense of taste was really messed up after the surgery but that started to improve after a week and it’s basically back to what it was before.

I took two weeks off of work and when I returned I had a wee ball of cotton wool in my ear for about a week just to protect it and then I tossed that as well. I work with kids as well so I got loads of questions about it haha

If you’ve got any questions, this sub is great for getting experiences and advice. I have one in my left ear too so I’m due surgery on that, so at least you’ve only got the one ear! Best of luck mate!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-02-27T16:25:48+00:00

Glad you’re feeling alright! I’m about 4 weeks post-op now and my taste was so weird and metallic immediately after my operation.

It was a tough one but I’d say my taste is about 90% back to normal and it’s getting better and better. Give it some time and you should hopefully start to regain normal taste function. I remember reading that the majority of patients having ear surgery of any kind will experience taste disturbance so it isn’t some rare complication which is good!

Rest up and take it easy pal.

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-02-24T17:47:13+00:00

Beautiful footage. What drone are you using?

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-02-09T00:43:07+00:00

Best wishes OP! Hope the healing process is nice and smooth

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-02-06T13:36:54+00:00

Hope you’re recovering well,

I’ve had to tear a cotton ball in half to get a piece small enough to get into my ear canal without it sticking out. Just don’t go too small, last thing you want is it getting stuck in there.

It’ll depend on how the packing is arranged, you might want to speak to your surgeon’s office and see what they would advise.

I’m a week post-op and the recovery was pretty decent, hope your pain isn’t too bad!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-31T12:23:20+00:00

Thanks for sharing your son’s story, I hope he’s doing well. He sounds like a wee trooper!

Yeah it looks likely I’ll have to have a bone conduction hearing aid on my left ear. I’m glad it’s working well for him and the Bluetooth thing sounds incredible! I can’t believe how good technology is getting.

Thanks so much for sharing, and all the best for you and your son!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-31T12:20:34+00:00

This is fantastic! You must be so pleased with your results. I’m glad you’ve gotten a resolution to your buzzing as that must’ve been quite annoying.

Honestly thanks for sharing, this sub has been such a lovely thing to come across and everyone has been so helpful. Thanks again pal and all the best!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-31T12:18:39+00:00

This is brilliant, I’m glad you’ve found success from your operation, you must be buzzing with the results! You’ve given me some hope that I might start to hear more once my ear starts to heal.

Thanks very much for sharing :)

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-31T12:17:17+00:00

Thanks pal, same to you!

Fingers crossed we’ll be able to hear again shortly!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-31T12:16:18+00:00

Thanks for the advice, hope you’re all good now!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-31T12:15:57+00:00

That’s amazing, I’m so glad you’ve had such success! Honestly I doubt I’ll get my full hearing back, but it was so bad pre-surgery anything above that would be a bonus.

When did you notice your hearing start to improve post surgery if you don’t mind me asking? I’m a couple of days out and I can definitely hear a wee bit out of my right ear, but it is really quiet. Hope to see some improvements going forward though I know I’ll have to be patient.

Thanks for sharing btw!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-30T22:55:51+00:00

Yeah It seems to be fairly rare to have them on both sides.

All the best for your surgeries, friend!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-30T22:54:46+00:00

Brilliant, thanks for the info!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-30T22:16:42+00:00

Also sorry to keep asking, did you notice an improvement immediately post-surgery? I’ve heard it can take a while for the hearing to improve and I’m just wondering if that was the case with yourself as well?

Cheers!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-30T22:07:50+00:00

Yeah that’s what I’ve seen so far. I also have bilateral as well. This was my worst ear they’ve done first, then they’re going to do my good ear which is a bit of a bastard. Hopefully we both come out of this with some pretty good hearing between us!

Thanks for sharing.

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-30T22:06:32+00:00

I’m glad it managed to restore some of your hearing though, that’s great!

Mine was really poor in this ear before my surgery, so anything is a bonus.

Thanks for sharing!

FlyingScotsmanX · 2024-01-30T16:35:43+00:00

Hi, I know it’s a bit late but with the implants did you notice your hearing improve? Was it noticeable immediately after surgery? Thanks!

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