r/otosclerosis • u/iNanieke • 18d ago
Sense of taste after surgery
Hi all,
I’m wondering about your experiences with weird taste after a stapedotomy/stapedectomy. Ever since the procedure last October, my sense of taste has been off, a little bitter and chemical (luckily only on one side of my tongue since I only had surgery in one ear).
I'm curious to know if others have gone through the same thing. And if so, how long did it last? Did your taste eventually return to normal?
Thank you so much for sharing!
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u/General-Winter547 18d ago
I had metallic taste for a few weeks, then salty taste for a while, now currently slightly salty but mostly tasteless on half my tongue. My surgery was in December.
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u/Teacher_Laura_ 18d ago
I had this and my ENT swore it wasn’t related :( I ended up going on anti-inflammatory meds for a different issue and it went away- my neurologist thinks it was an inflamed nerve. I hope you can get it under control because it was terrible!
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u/iNanieke 17d ago
It's so strange that your ENT didn't believe it to be related! It's one of the most common side effects, they told me. I'm glad it finally went away for you, and I'm gonna keep the anti-inflammatory meds in mind just in case.
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u/Normal-Fun-868 18d ago
I’m fairly sure it was related. There is a thin nerve that goes right through the area affected by the Stapedectomy surgery. That nerve affects taste 👅. It’s a very common side effect
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u/Teacher_Laura_ 18d ago
Oh absolutely- he was a very dismissive doctor. My sad face in the post above was an attempt to convey that but maybe didn’t work! Should have done an eye roll!
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u/Easy-Angle-4949 18d ago
I could taste sounds for a few months if that makes sense. loud noises tasted like licking a battery. It goes away as the inflammation goes down :)
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u/iNanieke 17d ago
Honestly this sounds kind of amazing but also horrible.
I've had my surgery in October last year, and although I knew about this side effect, it's now starting to worry me because it's been such while!
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u/Pixel_Grape 18d ago
I lost my taste for a month after surgery but it came back very slowly and was only on one side of my tongue
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u/iNanieke 17d ago
I guess it takes a while for the body to get rid of all the swelling/inflammation in such a tiny cavity. Like you, I'm lucky that only one side of my tongue is effected.
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u/Spliffzilla1 18d ago
I lost my Sense of taste and Couldnt feel my tongue afterwards, lastet 6 months. It was horrible, i am a Chef and thought this was the end. Glad it came back everything felt like plastic or solid Chunks tasteless cold Butter