Hi, ColoradoGal and welcome -
I have no experience with these doctors or hospitals, but as someone who had a similar situation, I wanted to offer my two cents worth.
I was 45 1/2 when I was diagnosed with my AN last year. I did have symptoms - fullness in my ear and diminished hearing. My diagnostic MRI showed that my AN was 1.5 cm, but when I had surgery about 6 weeks later, the docs discovered it was really 2.5+ cm.
I chose surgery because I decided that radiation just wasn't for me. I opted for the retrosigmoid approach in the hopes that the hearing I had left in my AN ear could be saved (I had very good word recognition). But ultimately the docs weren't able to save my hearing - through no fault of their own.
Since my surgery I've read a lot of posts on this forum about others who had retrosigmoid and ended up SSD like me. Although there is a chance your hearing can be saved with this surgery, the odds aren't that great and there are no guarantees.
IMO you should seriously consider radiation instead of surgery because it would give you a better chance of saving your "normal" hearing. SSD isn't the end of the world, and there are ways to cope with it like the BAHA or the Transear, but IMO nothing compares to having your hearing.
Jan
