JJ:
As previous posters have stated, acoustic neuromas are 'equal opportunity tumors' crossing all lines of age, gender, race, income levels and, I'm almost certain, occupations. As much as we would all like to know the 'trigger' that prompts our bodies to develop these benign-but-troublesome tumors on the sheathing of the acoustic nerve, I seriously doubt we'll find it anytime soon. We can speculate all day long about sound, radio waves, diet, and so on but that's all it is: speculation. Interesting, but ultimately, fruitless.
However, I see no harm in seeking answers. I've long doubted that acoustic neuromas have much to do with what goes in our ears. The notorious cell phone 'link' is mostly speculation and unfounded guesswork, occasionally coming from people with a medical degree but with little scientific basis. Those who want to feel reassured that their rare skull tumor has a definite cause, sometimes embrace these cell phone theories. Unfortunately, the fact remains that acoustic neuromas were found in cadavers (by students using them for training at medical schools) 100 years ago. I had a large AN but probably used a cell phone 2 or 3 times a year prior to my diagnosis., so, go figure. I wasn't in law enforcement, either, for what that's worth. I think ANs may be genetic, but again, that's simply unfounded speculation.
At my age, I don't expect to see researchers discover a scientifically valid cause for the growth of ANs in my lifetime. Frankly, that doesn't bother me much, except that if the cause is found to be something preventable, I would like to have that known so no one else has to go through the sometimes agonizing process of dealing with this kind of tumor. Meanwhile, we can be grateful for modern medicine (irradiation techniques) and the skill of neurosurgeons that tackle these problematical benign tumors, along with the ANA and the good folks that populate and animate these forums.
Jim
