Do Drs always know what's best?!

[sally]

I was diagnosed in Oct. '05 with a small AN that is located in the internal auditory canal and into the cochlea.  I have lost approx. 50% of the hearing from my right ear, have tinnitis, occasional vertigo and the ENT I saw says to watch and wait and he'll see me in 12 or 15 months for a followup MRI!!  Even my PCP says that at the very least, a hearing test in a few months should be done to see if there are any changes or progression, but strongly urged me to go for a 2nd opinion.  My insurance company won't let me go to MEEI because they are "out-of-network", but I was given the name of a doctor at Albany Medical Center in NY.  The ENT says surgery is not an option due to the internal location, that the hearing I have lost cannot be restored, and that surgery would cause me to loose all hearing in that ear-is he right?  I've been trying to work and live my life like nothing's wrong, but realize that I need to get some definitive answers.  There are worse things then going deaf in one ear, but do I wait for other symptoms like facial numbness or bad vertigo before I decide on treatment?  Does anyone know if they do both surgery and microsurgery at Albany?  Having an AN is a double edged sword...not only for its physical symptoms and impact, but because WE have to be the ones to decide when, where and what kind of treatment to get.  It ain't easy.
sally

[Larry]

Sally,

Experience has told me to do as much research as possible and to get multiple opinions. Be careful on the research site that it is not a promo type site that ends up trying to sell you something because the advice will be tainted. As regards treatement, I'm not a medica but you should investigate radiation treatment - there are plenty of posts on this site re this. I obliged my ENT with surgery without question (I was ignorant of the options). I wouldn't bother about a hearing test. I found it a waste of space - you knmow yourself how your hearing is going. percentage degradation in a test environment isn't the same as real life - in my opinion.

I'm not sure that i would wait 12 or 15mths for amother MRI. You may want to have another one in 6 months (peace of mind more than anything else).


Larry

[Rc Moser]

The only thing I can add is the waiting period for an MRI if nothing gets worse is to determine the growth rate. If you older and the growth rate is small there is a change you need nothing but monitoring that what I was told, I didn't have that option. Anyway I think the doctor wants to see how fast it is growing. I read a story on a site some where where a man in Russia had a 6.0 MM tumor removed and didn't have no hearing loss or other side effects. I would say that was as rare as winning the lottery IMO, anybody else read that story? I can't remember where I read it.

[debora]

Larry,

You are so right, research, and do lots of it.  I also was ignorant and listened to one doctor instead of getting a second opinion, although my Dr. did both surgery and radiation he pushed for radiation.  Would I do it over again? I don't know, I do know that I will never believe that there aren't any side effects when it comes to radiation or any meds or herbal remedies.  I will NEVER be that stupid again. 
Sally if nothing else try to learn from other peoples experiences, ask many questions.   Best of luck to you.  Deb