One of the challenges in seeking treatment is that the experts have different opinions.
Check out this link, it may help you put into perspective some of the different opinions that exist.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/456117_2Small part of the article is below..
Survey of Neurosurgeons on Acoustic Neuroma Management. A survey was mailed to members of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in July 2002. Six hundred sixty-three surgeons (30%) responded to the survey. There were four questions written on one page. Forty one percent of responders were between the age of 40 and 50 years ( Table 2 ). Eighty percent of neurosurgeons (530) surveyed had either performed radiosurgery in a patient with an acoustic neuroma or had referred a patient for neurosurgery.
Survey Case One. Question: You are a 37-year-old neurosurgeon who presents with mild decreased hearing on one side. You have no tinnitus and no balance problems. Facial function is normal. An MR image reveals an intracanalicular acoustic neuroma and serial images have demonstrated a small amount of growth. Which management strategy would you choose for yourself? Observation; resection; SRS; or fractionated radiotherapy? (Fig. 2).
Response: The majority of surgeons (283 [43%]) stated that they would choose SRS for management of their small acoustic tumor. Only 122 surgeons (18%) stated that they would choose resection. Fractionated radiotherapy was chosen by 2% of responders. Interestingly, 240 surgeons (36%) stated that they would continue to observe their tumor rather than undergo any specific treatment at the time. It had been stated in the case presentation that serial images had already demonstrated a small amount of growth. This tumor had been observed and was increasing in volume. Nevertheless, approximately one third of responders continued to choose observation for a 37-year-old patient with a small but growing tumor.
We evaluated the age of the responding surgeon and compared this to the treatment chosen by that surgeon ( Table 2 ). Across the age groups between 30 and 70 years, at least twice as many neurosurgeons chose SRS for their tumor rather than resection. This is most pronounced in the younger surgeon age group (30–40 years), in which the number of surgeons choosing SRS over resection was fourfold higher. Observation, however, continued to be chosen by many. Although one might think that an older person might choose radiosurgery over resection, simply to avoid the risks of general anesthesia or the surgical exposure, this did not necessarily appear to be true. This case reflected the care of an actual neurosurgeon who had undergone GKS. He remains well 18 months following his procedure, maintaining a full practice. He has experienced no facial weakness or change in hearing.
