Introduction

Hi, As many of you know, I have an Acoustic Neuroma. I will abreviate it as "AN". Mine is 1.5cmx1.6cmx1.7cm in size.

In February, I had sudden hearing loss on my left side. My sister Sue is an Audiologist, so I called her and she told me to get to the doctor ASAP. So I went and saw the local ENT and had a hearing test, which indicated that I had lost about half of my hearing in my left ear and the right was still good. He put me on steriods and sent me for an MRI. The steroids actually helped and I have close to normal hearing back in the left ear.

But, the MRI indicated that I have the AN. So, on March 9th about 5 pm, the ENT called me with the news and that is where this journey started.

I guess at first, I was in shock a little bit, especially since I had no clue what an AN was. So of course, with the magic of the internet, I started my research.

Summary of AN:

1. An acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor.
2. It is usually slow growing and expands at its site of origin.
3. The most common first symptom is hearing loss in the tumor ear only.
4. The cause is unknown.
5. A large tumor pushes on the surface of the brain but does not grow into the brain tissue.
6. Continued tumor growth can be life threatening.
7. The treatment options are observation, surgical removal or radiation.
8. Occurance rate is 1 in 100,000 diagnosed per year. (so in Wyoming, that is 5 per year)