possible causes

[It is what it is]

Hi,

I am not a physician or researcher, but articles I've read suggest the following as things possibly associated  with the development of AN:

1. NF2
2. Exposure to loud noise, either in the workplace or from loud music.
3. Childhood exposure to low-dose radiation for benign conditions of the head and neck.
4. Patients with a history of parathyroid adenoma.
5. Some studies (not all) have shown an increased incidence of various brain tumors, including vestibular schwannomas, associated with the use of cellular telephones.

[Kaybo]

Sorry...didn't have any of those things and had a "HUGE" tumor when I was 25...

K   

[It is what it is]

I am very sorry to hear about all you experienced at an early age!  I also have not had any of the suggested risk factors and would be interested in how many people on this list have one or more of them?

Karen F

[arizonajack]

Hi,

I am not a physician or researcher, but articles I've read suggest the following as things possibly associated  with the development of AN:

1. NF2
2. Exposure to loud noise, either in the workplace or from loud music.
3. Childhood exposure to low-dose radiation for benign conditions of the head and neck.
4. Patients with a history of parathyroid adenoma.
5. Some studies (not all) have shown an increased incidence of various brain tumors, including vestibular schwannomas, associated with the use of cellular telephones.

Would you mind providing citations of your sources of that information.

It would be helpful to know whether it's coming from reliable sources or not.

[It is what it is]

That is a fair question and I wish I had been including sources as I have been making notes of all I am learning as I read studies and articles.  If I find time to look up all of this again, I will add the sites.  I feel like I am on a fast track to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can.  In the meantime,you could probably do a search with those words included with AN or vestibular schwannoma.. 

Warmly,

Karen F

[Bonnie B.]

I did have an adenoma on my parathyroid gland about ten years ago.    It will be interesting to see what other people post in relation to the probable causes of AN.

[JW123]

Those do seem to be what one sees when looking up possible causes of AN. Thinking about mine, which was about 2.7cm at age 24, I don't think I really know if i fit into any of those categories.  Its hard to say though, because I don't truly know when the AN started growing. My surgeon said it had been growing for a good chunk of years. I started using a cell phone around age 16, so in theory that time frame works. I have serious doubt between that correlation. From what I have read at least, that seems like more of a 'blame game' reason.

When I was younger my mom always said "dont stare at your food in the microwave, it'll give you a brain tumor." She may have been right....

[It is what it is]

  Thanks for your replies.

1st reply-How did they treat your adenoma?
2nd reply-I'm in my 50's and I'm so sorry you had to experience this stuff at such a young age.  What are the aftereffects for you now? 

Karen F.

[pjb]

None of those would have affected mine....I do have numerous lipomas but the doctors say it is not the same but yet they are still considered benign fatty tissues. I did have a benign breast tumor thank goodness for that as well and also have numerous adenomas (colon) but my whole family has them and thank goodness removed before they can become fatal.

So I am not sure even the doctors have figured out the connection as to why some of us get them and others do not but we are all fortunate they are benign.

Best Wishes,

[jenichol]

I have been exposed to loud music at concerts and have used a cell phone traveling out on the road for my work.  I started with the early bag phones in the 90's.  I have often wondered about the extensive use of my cell phone. 

For whatever reason, throughout my life, I have been interested in studies related to brain tumors.  I stopped drinking diet soda in my college days, then stopped drinking all soda with sodium benzoate because I had read that they cause brain tumors in laboratory rats.  As I worked using a cell phone, I would often put it on speaker and hold it away from my head, because I didn't want to get a brain tumor. 

As it turned out, I got a brain tumor, anyway, despite my conscious efforts to avoid it.  It seems ironic.  I really think that there is so much more to it.  These tumors have been around a long time -- way before there were cell phones or soda.  I suspect that it likely has to do with your genetic predisposition to growing tumors more than any specific environmental cause.   I am not a scientist or a doctor, just a person with an AN that has made every effort to lead a healthy life.

Jan

[arizonajack]

That is a fair question and I wish I had been including sources as I have been making notes of all I am learning as I read studies and articles.  If I find time to look up all of this again, I will add the sites.  I feel like I am on a fast track to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can.  In the meantime,you could probably do a search with those words included with AN or vestibular schwannoma.. 

Warmly,

Karen F

As a newly diagnosed AN owner I've also been doing lots of research. I don't make notes though. When I find a useful resource I read it and then save it to my computer and catalog the entries for future reference.

Your list bears a resemblance to two paragraphs (Causes and NF2) that I found on the ANA website that gives a brief overview of AN and, unfortunately doesn't give any sources either.

http://anausa.org/index.php/overview

You're right, though, that readers should research each item careful as there is plenty online from reliable and expert sources.

[CHD63]

According to the presenters at the last ANA Symposium in June, 2011, the only known cause for an AN is excessive exposure to ionizing radiation or, of course, being a NF2 (genetically transmitted) patient.

I happened to be an unlucky one with massive ionizing radiation to my nasopharynx area when I was a teenager.

Clarice

[alabamajane]

Karen F. /Arizonajack,,
your list is essentially the same as one on the Mayoclinic.com website under AN,,  "possible" related risk factors,, maybe where you were researching.. we have had a similar discussion on here at other places about thyroid/parathyroid/endocrine relationships.

I had thyroid cancer in 2004 and had thryroidectomy which also discovered a parathyroid adenoma which was removed also. I have done fine in recovering from it.. my AN was discovered in 2008 and was about 2.8cm when removed last Oct. So I am quite sure it was "there" during the thyroid issue.. I had had thyroid nodules in my neck for about 30 yrs when cancer developed.. Drs. don't really know much about these tumors,, or MOST don't anyway,, so any correlation would seem to be speculation at this point in time.. just as ANA will dispute cell phone usage,, no one really knows IMO...

I have also used a cell phone for many years,, but use it in other ear and always have as I am left handed and AN was in right ear and interestingly enough thyroid cancer nodule was on right side as was parathyroid adenoma.. so.........also have listened to "a few" loud concerts in my time and also target practiced in my time,, so ,,,,,,, who knows.. just my thoughts,, as I am not a Dr and don't know much except my experiences,, so take it for what it is worth,,, maybe 2 cents... Jane  Good luck in your research and decisions,, and keep on asking the questions!

[ppearl214]

KarenF,

Can you please provide links to your readings so we can read and provide our thoughts as well?

As Clarice noted, as noted at last year's ANA Symposium in Cinci (I was also in attendance), NF2 and ionized radiation are the only causes with ongoing much speculation.  We were thrilled to hear of an upcoming study dedicated solely to the epidemiology of AN's that will be performed within the next 5 years out of Brigham/Woman's Hospital, lead by renowned NS Dr. Elizabeth Claus, a Medical Advisory Board member of the ANA, as the study will also have ties to the NIH.

Thanks.
Phyl

Hi,

I am not a physician or researcher, but articles I've read suggest the following as things possibly associated  with the development of AN:

1. NF2
2. Exposure to loud noise, either in the workplace or from loud music.
3. Childhood exposure to low-dose radiation for benign conditions of the head and neck.
4. Patients with a history of parathyroid adenoma.
5. Some studies (not all) have shown an increased incidence of various brain tumors, including vestibular schwannomas, associated with the use of cellular telephones.

Would you mind providing citations of your sources of that information.

It would be helpful to know whether it's coming from reliable sources or not.

[Jim Scott]

I tend to differ with the speculation of cell phone and/or loud music exposure being a possible cause of the development of an acoustic neuroma. I'm skeptical because I don't believe the condition is generated by anything that enters the ear (e.g. noise) or by the very weak radio waves that a cell phone produces.  ANs were discovered (usually by medical students working with cadavers) late in the 19th century, almost a hundred years prior to the widespread use of cell phones.

 Factory, railroad and other 19th century workers were certainly exposed to high noise levels but I haven't seen a scientific correlation made between ANs and noise.  I just don't see how noise, which would affect the inner ear, would also trigger the sheathing on the 8th cranial nerve to grow exponentially over time.

Because 'low-dose' radiation is used to destroy acoustic neuroma DNA, I'm also skeptical that such exposure at an early age would be a cause of AN development.   

Parathyroid adenoma is a medical condition that would seem to have little relation to the development of the sheathing of the acoustic nerve and I haven't seen scientific studies making such a correlation with any degree of certainty.

I hasten to add that I'm not a doctor or scientist and these are simply the opinions of an AN patient, no more or less.  As in many instances, I could be wrong.

Jim