My AN ear is my left ear, so I can hear the passengers in my car, but I cannot hear the person at the drive-through window unless I wear my bicross hearing aids.  As Bonnie said, they are not perfect, but they have helped me enough that I continue to wear them.  The bicross hearing aids will not be like your regular hearing, but the question is, will they give you enough hearing assistance that they are worth the expense.  For me, that answer is yes -- but then my work involves hearing what others are saying, usually in a fairly quiet setting.  I am not usually in noisy environments which are much more difficult for me, even with the setting on my cross system for noisy environments.

As Bonnie said, you might want to take advantage of the trial period.  And, if you have issues with it, you can speak with your audiologist about adjusting the settings of the hearing aids.  And then, if they still don't work, return them during the free trial period at no cost to you.

Best wishes!
Don

Thanks, Seacat, for the thorough report of your treatment.  I wish everyone would post their experiences, good and bad.  For when we are honest, it is the only way for others in the forum to know what the treatment might be like.

We should never sugarcoat the stories of our treatments, nor should we exaggerate how awful they were.

Thank you for your truthful sharing of your experience!
Don

Hello,

Sorry you are dealing with an acoustic neuroma. Hope this chatboard can help you get used to discussing the problem. We are all patients/former patients, not doctors. We can't advise you, but we can tell our stories for what they might be worth.

I'm coming up on my one-year anniversary of Translab surgery, for my Acoustic Neuroma, which was just under 2cm on its longest side. I, like so many others on the chatboard, was in Watch and Wait about two years.

In that time, I also worried a lot and did a lot of research. I had about six consults with surgeons and/or ENTs who did/or would refer me to radiation oncologists for radiation.

I also had: Hearing loss to the point of deafness in the affected ear, before treatment; balance trouble; facial tics/microspasms;  tinnitus; and some signs of other complications.

I chose surgery, ultimately, and I have had an excellent outcome. You can flip back to my other posts for more detail, but I just want to say that the choice between longer observation, radiation treatment, and surgery is different for each person/patient because the acoustic neuroma can have many different presentations.

For me, in my last period of MRIs, the growth rate was greater than normal, which leading MDs say means surgery is the better option, statistically. I went with surgery for that reason.

After deciding on surgery, I went for the best team of surgeons that I could access.

After making the surgery date, I was calmer than I had been in two years, and it all worked out great.

I don't know what your decision path will look like, but the best surgeons/doctors/specialists out there will help you understand what the best decision for you might be. It depends on so many factors.

It's a tough call sometimes, and other times it not a tough call. Tumor size, your symptoms, growth rate, your wishes, your hearing loss situation, etc. all play a role. Sometimes one factor alone becomes the deciding factor.

I wish there was a simple treatment decision tree, but there just isn't.

And choice of MD is super important. Please look for a medical center that has an excellent reputation for treatment of acoustic neuromas. That is key.

Take care, and remember, there are very many good outcomes overall. It's very frightening, and can be life changing, but it's not insurmountable. Wishing you all the best.

Skier

Become your own advocate and do the research.  After I decided to leave the watch and wait stage I was struggling with what to do with my tumor. I research a lot, my wife said I became obsessed with it.   There are many great videos in the library.  I created a chart of each of the procedures both surgical and radiation. After seeking several (8!) professional opinions I went with radiation slightly over a year ago.  It was best for me. I found that taking with surgeons they wanted surgery and oncologists wanted radiation. I had my procedure a little over a year ago and am happy with the outcome.  If you want my chart please email me at dan4att@gmail.com.  To be frank the AN decision was a lot more taxing then the decision on what to do with my faulty heart. Again there were options but what to do was an easy decision. Good luck on your decision journey.  Dan

Hi there I recall also being terrified.

I had little support at the time in Australia and in fact diagnosed myself after two years of being told ironically, it was "all in my head" by the doctor I was seeing. By that time it had grown to 2cm.  After I insisted on an MRI, a nurse called me at 8am- "Sorry to inform you, you have a brain tumor - no, I cant say what kind but come back at 5 pm." When I arrived crying, the GP said: "Well you were right after all it was an AN- at least its benign." I then found my own specialist by googling!

Well onwards 5 years post CK and I am doing really well as you can see on my posts etc. I would say, lean on this forum. There are excellent videos and so much kindness in this community! My org in Australia was really no help at all at the time and I joined this one. I am still here and sharing info.  We all understand and can relate to your anxiety and we have all come though fine. Feel free to message me anytime.