Hi all,
Short background -
38M, 1.5cm tumor on the right side near the brain stem, have good hearing in both ears, recommended retrosigmoid by Dr. Friedman at UCSD. Seeking second opinions. I am in good shape and exercise regularly and eat a very clean diet. I work in the audio industry, designing speakers and audio systems and good hearing is an asset, though lately I have been in management roles and can delegate my listening tasks to others (I know I can learn to hear what's important with one ear).
Longer background -
In May I suddenly lost most of my hearing after a hard workout while recovering from a long cold. It felt like it was blocked with fluid in the middle ear, but not quite. Throughout the day it resolved. However, the next day I was listening to music and realized that all of my low frequencies were gone in the right ear. The next morning I went to urgent care, was diagnosed with SSNHL, sent to ENT and audiology and prescribed a course of prednisone. Over the next two days the hearing loss was pretty much total, and the tinnitus overwhelming.
After a week of prednisone I started having sensation in the ear again and almost fully recovered my hearing. Audiology confirmed - about 5-15dB loss compared to left ear. I really only notice the difference in noisy environments where I need to bias towards my left ear to aid in understanding.
I insisted on MRI just to close out the remote possibility of AN.
July 6 MRI w/wo contrast
July 8 - MRI report says findings consistent with AN, 9-15mm in size.
UCSD's opinion was to remove as quickly as possible to give me a chance of hearing preservation. Dr. Friedman said without surgery, I have 100% chance of HL; with surgery 50% chance of HL. He said my risk of facial paralysis is 1% after surgery. He said his team is able to complete the surgery in about 4 hours.
Some questions to which I still seek answers:
- Why do I still have a chance of HL even with surgery? Is this a risk intrinsic to the surgery?
- Why does the surgery require vestibular therapy afterwards?
- If I decide to let my right ear's hearing go, what is my next "must-remove" moment?
- What can I do health-wise before my surgery to make my recovery as easy as possible?
- I have reached out to Mayo in AZ, House Clinic at UCLA, UCSD, am trying with Stanford. Any others?
