Acoustic Neuroma Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
Acoustic neuroma is a type of benign tumor in the area of the brain that presses on the nerves in the inner ear, causing balance and hearing problems. Medically, acoustic neuroma is often known as vestibular schwannoma.
This type of tumor is rare. If it occurs, it generally affects middle-aged and elderly people more.
There are two types of acoustic neuroma, namely:
- Unilateral acoustic neuroma, which is an acoustic neuroma that only affects one ear. This type is the most common.
- Bilateral acoustic neuroma, which is an acoustic neuroma that attacks the nerves in both ears. This type is usually caused due to genetic problems
Symptom
The most common signs and symptoms of an acoustic neuroma are:
- Hearing loss can be on one side of the ear or on both ears
- Ears feel full
- Ringing or buzzing ears
- Dizzy spinning or feeling lightheaded
- Balance disorders
- Numbness or numbness in the facial area
- Slanted mouth
- One side of the eye or both eyes is difficult to close
- Headache
- stagger
Reason
Until now, the exact cause of acoustic neuroma is not clearly known. However, the following things increase the risk of developing an acoustic neuroma:
- Age 30–60 years. People aged 30–60 years are more at risk of developing acoustic neuroma than those aged less than 30 years or more than 60 years.
- There is a family history of type-2 neurofibromatosis. About 5 percent of people with acoustic neuroma have a family member with type-2 neurofibromatosis (a type of tumor in the skin and connective tissue that occurs as a result of a genetic disorder).
- Exposure to X-ray radiation. Someone who has had radiation to the head and/or neck area as a child is more susceptible to this disease. Several studies have also revealed that long-term use of cell phones can also increase the risk of acoustic neuroma, but this still needs further research.
Diagnosis
If the doctor suspects an acoustic neuroma, at an early stage, the doctor will conduct a thorough interview, complete physical examination, and nerve examination. Furthermore, to determine whether there is an acoustic neuroma, a computed tomography scan (CT- scan ) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of the head is performed. To clarify the shape and size of the tumor, sometimes before a CT- scan or MRI is performed, the doctor will inject a contrast substance into the blood vessels to color the tumor.
In addition, there are several checks that generally need to be done, namely:
- Audiometric examination, which is an examination to assess hearing function. At the time of audiometry, the patient will wear earphones to hear the sound and talk from the machine. From there the auditory function will be assessed.
- Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER), which is an examination to assess brain activity after hearing certain sounds.
Treatment
Acoustic neuroma is a type of tumor that can be completely removed by surgery. The operation is generally performed by a neurosurgeon. The type of operation is called a craniotomy, which is an operation by making a hole in the skull so that it can enter the brain.
In addition to surgery, radiation treatment is generally also performed to complement the surgery performed. The goal is to kill tumor cells that are small or spread in healthy tissue.
After surgery, the hearing of some patients does not return to normal. If this happens, then after surgery, the patient needs to be given a hearing aid to optimize his hearing function. If hearing is impaired on both sides of the ear, a cochlear implant can be placed to help the patient better understand the words he hears.
However, not all cases of acoustic neuroma require surgery or radiation. If the size of the tumor is small and does not cause symptoms that interfere with activities, surgery is not necessary.
Prevention
Until now there is no action that can be done to prevent the occurrence of acoustic neuroma.