I wanted to share my experience and the timeline of how a suspected acoustic neuroma was discovered.
2009: I began experiencing tinnitus.
2016: I noticed hearing loss after taking antibiotics for bronchitis. This is when I noticed the change, although I don’t know whether the antibiotics were responsible.
2019: A hearing test showed 94% word recognition in my left ear at 80 dB.
2025: I began experiencing phantom smells (phantosmia), which prompted me to see an ENT.
August 2026: My ENT referred me for an MRI with and without contrast.
About five days after the MRI, I experienced headaches, lightheadedness, and nausea. I was told these symptoms could be related to the contrast injection, although the cause wasn’t confirmed.
I contacted the radiology office to request access to my images. While waiting to discuss the results with my doctor, I used AI to review them, and it suggested a possible acoustic neuroma. This was not a medical diagnosis. About an hour later, my ENT’s office called to arrange a review of the MRI results.
At that appointment, my ENT also said the MRI suggested an acoustic neuroma and ordered another hearing test.
October 2026: The hearing test showed 90% word recognition in my left ear at 80 dB, compared with 94% at the same testing level in 2019.
My ENT has ordered a dedicated MRI focused on the left internal auditory canal (IAC), scheduled for November 2026.
For now, I’m still completing the evaluation and gathering information before deciding on next steps. Reading the experiences shared here has helped me understand the different paths people have taken, and I wanted to contribute my own story.
