Golfguy49, I was diagnosed with a 8 x 4 x 5 mm AN in September 2016 at age 55. My initial reaction was to have it excised through microsurgery ASAP and move on. Both of the surgeons I consulted recommended the middle fossa approach and said that undergoing surgery sooner rather than later gave me the best chance of preserving hearing in that ear. I scheduled the surgery for late January 2017 and was all set to go until an MRI I had just before the surgery showed no growth in the tumor. I cancelled the surgery as a result of that. I've had three MRI's since then, the most recent of which was in March 2018, and none of them has shown any growth in the tumor. The three audiograms I've had in the last 18 months do not show any further decline in the hearing loss revealed by the first audiogram. My symptoms seem to have improved lately - the side of my face with the AN used to seize about once a day, but hasn't done so in several months. I still have constant tinnitus, occasional feelings of imbalance, and a buzzing feeling in my head, but those things affect the quality of my life only minimally. I'm able to work full time and run, ski, hike, bike, and lift weights like I always have. My tinnitus will not improve in any way through surgery, and my balance would actually get much worse, at least initially, since the surgeon has to cut the balance nerve in order to remove the tumor.
Studies show that the great majority of these tumors don't grow. One study I read shows that the quality of life of patients after surgery improved for only about 25% of them, stayed the same for about 50% of them, and declined for about 25% of them. Based on all that, my thinking is this: if it's not growing, and if my symptoms are tolerable, why go through a procedure that will put me out of work for probably a month, at a minimum, probably won't result in my feeling any better than I do today, and could result in my feeling substantially worse.
Deciding what to do is tough due to there being so many variables. Good luck with yours.
