Tisha, welcome! Take a few deep breaths and remember that it is NOT malignant! And, yes, the fear and uncertainty is totally normal and I've venture to say that we've all experienced it. Along with the feeling of being totally overwhelmed at first.
First things first - definitely get several other opinions, preferably from doctors who specialize in different ares of AN treatment. It is pretty common that surgeons will favor surgery and radiolgists will favor radiology. The good/bad news is that many AN patiens have multiple options between different surgical approaches (middle-fossa, translab or retro-sigmoid) and different radiologic approaches (Gamma Knife, Cyber Knife and fractional radiation). All have their pros and cons. In cases like mine, the options were narrowed because of the size and location of the tumor.
Like Lori, I had translab which offered the best approach to the tumor and the clearest look at the facial nerve, which the tumor was stuck to. Also like Lori, I woke up with facial paralysis. However, at almost six months post op, I have regained quite a bit of movement and am looking forward to more recovery over the next 12 months. It's an adjustment, but you WILL get through it if it happens. Just based on the folks on this board, I don't think that the majority of people end up with facial issues - heck, we pirate-smile people are really, really elite!
![Grin ;D](https://www.anausa.org/smf/Smileys/classic/grin.gif)
SSD is a bigger possibility - and, with translab, a certainty. As Lori said, you can look into a Bone Achored Hearing Aid, BAHA, which is specifically for people with total one-sided hearing loss. There is also an external option, worn like a traditional hearing aid, called a TransEar. You can find more info on both by doing a Google search. Because you have diminished hearing in your "good" ear, these would be options you'd probalby want to thoroughly investigate.
If you can share your city/state, some of us may be able to offer some other suggestions to you for surgical opinions. I can't stress enough how very important it is to find a surgical team with
significant experience in treating ANs. This is particularly true for surgery since it is a very difficult and complex surgery. I looked for a team that did at least 50 of these surgeries a year, and who had been doing them for at least 5 years. That was my criteria, and everyone will be different - just make sure you are comfortable that you are in the best hands possible if you opt for surgery. Same goes for radiation, too!
You can send your MRI film (a duplicate, not the original) the House Ear Clinic in LA and they will do a free telephone consultation for you. They are probably the leading treatment center for AN's in the world, certainly in the US, so an opinion from one of there doctor's is quite valuable. There are a lot of folks here who have been to HEI for surgery, so I am sure some of them will pitch in with more info.
Tisha, again, try not to stress too much. You have options, and you have time to consider them.
Debbi, sending you good vibes from NJ