Hello Islander,
Welcome! You sound frazzled and I just want to tell you that is very common when you first start testing and/or receive a diagnosis.
I started having ringing in my ears 6 yrs ago and once in a while a little balance problem only when I got out of bed in the morning. I actually couldn't tell if the ringing was in one or both ears. It was probably a good month or so before I mentioned it to my doc during a visit for something else. He gave me an antiobiotic (I think) and when the ringing persisted, we scheduled an appt with an ENT. From there took a hearing test that showed a pattern of minor hearing loss consistent with an AN. I then proceeded to the MRI and rec'd my diagnosis. I, too, freaked - of course reading everything I could online and unfortunately many of the sites I viisted back then were telling the worse-case scenarios which was even scarier. This place is a Godsend for both information and positive support, so I'm glad you landed here!
Once I had my diagnosis - a small right side AN - I went and talked in depth to two different neurotologists. I also knew radiation was an option, but frankly, because of the pros and cons of ANY treatment, I decided (and both surgeons concurred) that I would just wait-and-see. ANs are typically slow growing, so, I thought, why jump into a procedure sooner than necessary? The panic I felt soon subsided and I became very comfortable with yearly MRIs and wait and see.
It was only this year - 6 yrs later - that my MRI showed a bit of growth. Along with that were balance issues that I had been noticing over the past couple of months. The docs now said I should probably consider making a decision - surg or radiation. Surgery is my choice because I was advised I would probably have a better chance at rehabbing my balance with surg than with radiation (and this was based on MY situation and symptoms ... not all folks with a certain size tumor have the same symptoms). I'm also doing traditional surgery. I recall reading about endoscopic 6 yrs back so I really can't comment about its success rate vs traditional. You might want to visit the House Clinic (in Calif) website, as they are definitely the "premier" go-to place for ANs. Many folks travel to be treated there, but many just use their resources as a guide to educating themselves.
I hope your MRI is negative for AN, but while I know how worried one can get during the early stages of diagnosis, I can assure you the anxiety will calm down (oh it comes and goes, of course, but to me the worst was right at the beginning when I first got the news).
Your ear-popping reminds me of one strange "noise" I hear in my ear every so often .... it sounds like a big metal spring has sprung ... like BOING inside my head. I've often wondered if anyone else heard anything similar.
Good luck to you, Islander. Hopefully, your MRI will come up clean as a whistle!
Jeepers
