Any condition that affects your hearing or balance can cause anxiety. When that condition is an acoustic neuroma, you can rely on the specialists at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute.
We use precise imaging to diagnose your condition. Then, experts from many different areas of medicine work together to personalize a treatment plan for you and your needs. We treat acoustic neuroma safely and effectively using the latest techniques and therapies. Our goal is to improve your symptoms while protecting nerve and brain function.
Acoustic neuroma is a condition in which a benign (noncancerous) tumor grows on your vestibulocochlear nerve. This is the nerve that begins in your inner ear as the vestibular and cochlear nerves and ends in your brain stem. It relays sound and balance information from your ear to your brain.
Acoustic neuroma tumors are a type of primary brain tumor. They typically grow slowly and don’t spread to surrounding tissue. Because they begin in Schwann cells, which make a substance called myelin that insulates nerve fibers and helps nerve impulses transmit faster, they are also known as vestibular schwannomas.
Most people with acoustic neuroma have hearing loss in one ear, but it can be subtle. Usually, people experience the most trouble hearing high frequencies.
It’s easy to relate hearing loss to aging. But if you have hearing loss you should bring it to your physician’s attention, especially if you have other acoustic neuroma symptoms, such as:
These symptoms may come and go.
There are no known risk factors for acoustic neuroma. However, rarely, some people with neurofibromatosis type 2 develop acoustic neuromas in both ears. Neurofibromatosis type 2 is a condition that causes noncancerous tumors in your nervous system.
You don’t always need treatment for acoustic neuroma. In some cases, physicians will monitor you for signs that it’s growing or getting worse. With good follow-up and treatment, if necessary, most people with acoustic neuroma have a normal life expectancy. However, complications such as permanent hearing loss are possible.
In some cases, acoustic neuromas can become dangerous if they put pressure on your brain or brain stem or they cause fluid to build up in your brain. These problems are unlikely if you get the proper treatment.
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