Hi @moms
I moved your message to this discussion about acoustic neuromas where other Connect members are talking about their experiences. Simply click VIEW & REPLY to go directly to the end of the discussion. I encourage to read the pasts post where you can meet others like
@sepdvm @cynaburst @saucy @lindalb @hoosier2 and read their stories of successful surgical outcomes.

It can be frightening to get this diagnosis. Come talk with others who have been there. I'm sure you have lots of questions. Please ask anything. You're not alone.

You may also be interested in listening to this Mayo Clinic expert Q&A with Dr. Weisskopf https://connect.mayoclinic.org/webinar/mayoclinicneurochat-on-acoustic-neuromas-with-drs-bendok-weisskopf/

Hi @moms - I have a very large acoustic neuroma removed 16 years ago, and I am very much still alive. The treatment (if you have an AN at all) will largely depend on the size of the tumor and your age, and some other factors. A great resource to start with is the Acoustic Neuroma Association - http://www.anausa.org. They also have a message board which may be helpful to you, as well as a bunch of information about the different procedures, etc. Though it is a scary thing now, in years to come you will look back at this as a scary experience that you survived. I can virtually guarantee.

I have a small AN that we have been following for 6 years now. It is a slow growing one and so far some hearing loss and constant tinnitus are the only symptoms. From my reading, the slow growing type is the most common and often monitoring is all that is needed. My balance is off from my cancer surgery on the opposite ear, so I really don't know if the AN is causing vestibular symptoms or not. My Mayo ear surgeon says that radiation will be the best choice if this AN increases to the point where it needs to have something done. I hope yours turns out to be small and slow growing.

I woke up in 2008 and was unable to hear well on left side. Drs at first thought it was a virus. After MRI confirmed AN. It was in the inner ear chamber and very small. We watched it until 2013 and it started to grow a little. I had a month of fractional radiation which left me completely deaf on the left. Because of deafness I had a bone assisted hearing device BAHA on the
Left so can now hear on that side with peocessor. The severity on AN has to do with size and where it is located. I had the radiation as my dr was worried it would eventually affect equilibrium or facial nerve. I have no side affects at this time. Just having a diagnosis is scary but one needs to remember that all tumors are different

Thank you for that. I am newly diagnosed and scaring myself silly

Hey @odnut - when I had my AN surgery, I was also scared silly. I was convinced I would never live a normal life again. Now, it is 16 years later, and I rarely even think about my AN experience (except when I can't hear in a restaurant! 🙂 I thought you might enjoy reading this essay called "Getting Back Up on the Horse Again" I wrote a couple of months ago to give you some hope. This will be an unpleasant chapter in your life, but it will pass by and things will return to a new normal for you.

Wishing you the best.

Cynthia

http://www.cynthiassummeradventure.blogspot.com

Cynthia, That is an inspiring essay and thank you for sharing it. You have incredible strength with all the health challenges you have been through! I am so very happy for you that you could again experience the exhilaration of riding a saddlebred, after your exciting show career. I have also been able to ride again after my ear cancer surgery left me balance-impaired, and I have a saddlebred, but just for trail riding. I also "own" an AN but it has remained small over the past 6 years and has vnot required treatment yet. Good luck to you, and keep on inspiring others with your story.