AN & vestibular neuritis

[geburton]

I have a likely AN diagnosis (1. It depends on which doctor you ask & 2. It shows as a "spot" approx. 2.5mm on the MRI). However, my more experienced doctor points out that my symptoms (constant dizziness & imbalance, nausea, sensitivity to sudden head movement) do not sound like typical AN symptoms, so if I have an AN it may not be the cause of my symptoms.

After a bit of searching I came upon vestibular neuritis as an illness that more closely matches my symptoms.

- Does anyone know if vestibular neuritis can cause a lesion that would appear on the MRI as a "spot" as does an AN?
- If yes, can it grow over time like an AN?
- Any other ideas?

Any information or references I can share with my Doctor would be very greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much,
Glenn

[jamie]

Here's a link you may want to check out:

http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/disorders/unilat/vneurit.html

According to that info, it's usually caused by a viral infection of the herpes family and it does mention the infection causing a lesion but it does not appear to be a permanent thing that will grow like a tumor. Perhaps your MRI shows the inflammation of the nerve.

[nannettesea]

Glenn,
Please keep us informed as to what your docs say.  I had an AN removed 4 1/2 mths ago but severe dizziness persists.  I'm wondering if I was misdiagnosed.  Any info you gather would be helpful to me.
Thanks,
Nan

[geburton]

Will do -- but be patient, I suspect this may all take a while to play out.

[matti]

One of the first diagnosis that my doctor suspected was vestibular neuritis, which I was told was caused by a viral infection from the Herpes Family. I was a little freaked out, because I said I don't have Herpes and my doctor said it was a different type like that of Shingles. He gave me an anit-viral drug and sent me on my way. After  2 weeks my symptoms were getting worse and then he wanted to calm the nerve down by giving me an injection, something similar to novacaine and I refused. He did mention a lesion might be present due to the neuritis. I pressed for an MRI and was immediately told it was a 3.5 cm AN, not vestibular neuritis. My Doctor said that the symptoms are very similar.

Take care and keep us posted.

matti

[jewel01]

I find this to be very interesting.  I have a Left hypoglossal cystic schwannoma and a left ectactic vertebral artery which is compressing my medula slightly they say, although the scan shows a very scalloped medula.  Anyway I had my tests done in Dec. 2005 for the dizziness, headaches, blurry vision and now they Drs. say I also have bilateral vestibular loss.  My ENT says it is
either from a past virus, Dandy syndrome, or idiopathic. I say how do you know?  It gets to be so confusing and crazy at times.
He said that the inner ear hair cells are dying at an accelerated rate for my age, 40 years old. This usually happens at the age of 70 to 80 years.  Where do they draw the line and how do they come to these conclusions that what I already have is not contributing to these symptoms?? What a Trip!! I start vestibular rehab tomorrow, so this will be interesting. I am not looking forward to the therapist creating a dizzy episode by the therapy. YUCK.

Julie W.

[Pembo]

I presented for my AN with constant dizziness and nausea. I had NO hearing loss.

[wanderer]

sounds like AN symptoms to me

[Kilroy1976]

I saw six doctors before finally the one that performed my radiosurgery told me that the AN was most likely causing my dizziness/vertigo. Doctors just do not seem to be able to comprehend an AN with balance issues (rather than hearing loss) as a first symptom. Which is not to say that vestibular neuritis, or any number of other things, is not the cause of your problems, but I certainly wouldn't rule out the AN...

[geburton]

That's very interesting. Did the radiosurgery improve the symptoms? I lean in that direction, versus surgery, and would like to hear any information about the procedure and the outcome.

Thanks,
Glenn

[Kilroy1976]

Glenn:

It has only been about six weeks, so it's still too early to tell whether the radiosurgery has or will improve my balance issues. They seemed to worsen for about two weeks following the procedure, but I would say that right now they're about back to pre-radiation function.

I'm afraid that if you're looking to radiation (or microsurgery for that matter) as a panacea, you'll be disappointed. If the AN has caused damage, simply killing, shrinking or removing the tumor often will not result in a total disappearance of symptoms. However, there should be a fairly good chance that your brain will figure out a way around the problem.

Equilibrium is a redundant feature. The brain takes cues from both ears, and if one ear stops working to the brain's satisfaction, it will rely more heavily on the other ear, and on visual and other stimuli, for input. Of course, the big question is "how soon?", and nobody will be able to answer that. It could happen if the AN procedure successfully relieves pressure on the nerve and the nerve decides to make a solid new connection. It could happen if the procedure cuts the connection completely and the brain is only getting a signal from the other ("good") ear. Or it could happen that the brain will take its sweet time and slowly adapt.

Like I said, I haven't been out of treatment for very long, so I hope that someone else that has experienced dizziness/vertigo/etc. can answer your question about improvement. I would also be interested to hear from someone that has been in recovery longer.
Best of luck!