New Mayo clinic study

[cont1592]

My doctor pointed out to me that there is a new study from the Mayo Clinic that will be published within the next year.  It concludes that radiation therapy has a high chance of hearing loss over time.  He's indicated in the past and has reiterated that there is a 25 to 50% chance of total hearing loss resulting from surgery.  And this new study shows a much higher chance of total hearing loss from radiation.  He has always considered surgery as a better option. 

Due to the location of my AN, which is in the Internal Auditory Canal (AIC), my doctor, along with another doctor that I have consulted, has indicated my chances of total hearing loss from surgery increases from 25 to 50%.  Since my AN shares blood vessels with my hearing nerve, the chances of damaging the hearing nerve are greater (for both surgery and radiation).

I know this all may be too technical (and even a little depressing), but does anyone have any knowledge of my statements above?  As I spend my time in W&W, it's hard to do nothing while I wait for my next MRI.  Thanks.  Rick

[Mickey]

Hi cont1592... If your W+W please don`t do nothing...  There is so much you can do untill your next MRI that you may keep on repeating your next MRI indefinately. Please go over the posts here for the W+W brigade which should help you with this viable treatment. I`m a product of this with some pretty good results... Wishing you the best, Mickey P.S. Stay proactive!

[cpchri1]

Hi Rick! There was a clinical medical article (clinical study) published in 2013 by doctors at Mayo along this line but it didn't conclude ‘high chance of hearing loss over time’.  But it did conclude there was a hearing deterioration in a majority of the patients included in their study, along with various important factors.  Authors were Carlson, Jacob, Pollock, Neff, Tombers, Driscoll and Link.  Some of these MD’s are ENT surgeons, some neurosurgeons, and some a radiation oncologists.  The goals of the study was: 1) to describe the long-term prevalence and timing of hearing deterioration following low-dose (12- to 13-Gy marginal dose) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for vestibular schwannoma (VS); and 2) to identify clinical variables associated with long-term preservation of useful hearing following treatment.  Between 1997 and 2002, 44 patients were followed.   The study concluded that "durable hearing preservation a decade after low-dose SRS for VS occurs in less than one-fourth of patients. Variables including preoperative hearing capacity and tumor size may be used to predict hearing outcomes following SRS treatment".  They state that this could assist in pretreatment risk disclosure (by MD’s) and the importance of long-term follow-up when reporting audiometric outcomes following SRS for VS.  Direct message (click on the little envelop on the left under my 'Posts') me with your e-mail and I can send you a copy of the paper if you want.  Craig