Can removing an auditory neuroma bring back the sound of the ear?

  Deafness is often thought of as a sign of aging, and even if it affects communication with others, most people just buy a hearing aid and wear it. However, excluding the aging of the auditory organs, many people overlook “auditory neuroma” as a disease that affects hearing.  Auditory neuroma is a precursor of dizziness and tinnitus. Auditory neuroma mostly occurs in the vestibular nerve with sheath in the inner ear auditory canal or inner ear auditory canal area, accounting for 80% of pontocerebellar horn tumors and 5%-10% of intracranial tumors. The disease mostly occurs in middle-aged people aged 30~50 years old, the youngest patient is 8 years old and the oldest is over 70 years old.  When it comes to brain tumor, people will think that the disease is very serious. In fact, it is not. The onset of auditory neuroma is calm and slow, and the symptoms of tinnitus are very common, but it is slowly threatening the health of patients, and it is very easy to be misdiagnosed.  In addition to the aging of the auditory organs, auditory neuroma is also an important factor in deafness.  The earliest symptom of auditory neuroma is tinnitus on the affected side. As the disease progresses, it may manifest as progressive deafness and dizziness, and finally complete hearing loss; facial numbness, shallow nasolabial fold, hoarseness, difficulty in swallowing, unstable gait, etc.; in the late stage of the disease, headache may worsen, vomiting, vision loss, etc.  Therefore, in order to detect auditory neuroma at an early stage, symptoms such as tinnitus or hearing loss must be taken seriously, and sometimes a simple visit to the ENT department may delay the disease.  ”Multiple parties” attacked to “crack down” on auditory neuroma Ms. Li from Northeast China began to experience tinnitus and hearing loss in her 40s, and was treated for nearly a decade without any improvement. She went to Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital for a checkup and found that it was actually an auditory neuroma in her brain that was causing the problem. Recently, Professor Yu Chunjiang performed a six-hour auditory neuroma surgery on Ms. Li, and she recovered well after the surgery.  There are many treatment methods for auditory neuroma, including surgery, radiotherapy or gamma knife treatment, and radiotherapy or gamma knife treatment is mainly used as an adjunct after surgery. With the development of microsurgery technology, the application of intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring, laser and ultrasonic suction, etc., the total resection rate of the tumor and the preservation rate of the facial nerve have been greatly improved.  Removal of auditory neuroma should not hurt the “face” Ms. Li had been worried that craniotomy to remove the auditory neuroma would hurt her facial nerve and affect the expression of one side of her face. Professor Yu Chunjiang said that this concern is not unreasonable.  At present, regardless of the size of the tumor, the facial nerve can be preserved, but the degree of recovery varies according to the function loss. For example, patients with normal facial nerve function after surgery have mild facial muscle weakness, but they can recover in a few days; patients with normal facial nerve function after surgery, but gradually develop into obvious facial palsy within 24 to 72 hours, which can be recovered in a few weeks to a few months, and complete facial palsy will take 3 to 6 months to recover; patients with partial facial palsy after waking up from anesthesia, but it does not aggravate, and most of them recover in a few weeks to a few months; facial palsy after waking up gradually develops from partial to complete. After waking up, the facial palsy gradually develops from partial to complete, and most of them recover in 3 to 6 months.  If the facial nerve appears to be intact during surgery, it may take a year to recover, while those with a significantly thinner nerve during surgery may recover within a few months, and those with an intraoperative nerve cut and a tension-free end anastomosis may take about a year to recover the facial nerve function.  ”Many patients believe that a successful microsurgical or radiosurgical treatment of an auditory neuroma means a rapid recovery, no complications, and no recurrence.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  Currently, there are four treatment goals for auditory neuroma: first, partial removal of the tumor; second, complete removal of the tumor; third, complete removal of the tumor and preservation of facial and auditory nerve function; and fourth, stopping the growth of the tumor without affecting the patient’s quality of life.  Currently, the second treatment goal is more common. In this case, even if the patient develops facial paralysis or is unable to work after surgery, the treatment can be considered successful as long as the tumor is completely removed. Excellent neurosurgeons often pursue the third treatment goal, however, even patients who achieve the third treatment goal may experience complications such as easy fatigue, memory and concentration impairment, vertigo and persistent headache, which can lead to a reduced quality of life. Only with a good understanding of the treatment options for auditory neuroma and the possible complications and their management can you work well with your doctor to achieve a satisfactory outcome.  Expanded Science Deafness is not only related to aging of the organ, but auditory neuroma is also an important factor. The earliest symptom a patient may experience is tinnitus on the affected side. As the disease progresses, progressive deafness and dizziness will appear, as well as facial numbness, shallow nasolabial folds, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, and unstable walking, etc. If the disease progresses to an advanced stage, symptoms such as worsening headache, vomiting, and loss of vision will appear. For early detection of auditory neuroma, it is important to pay enough attention to symptoms such as tinnitus or hearing loss, and to perform imaging examinations early to make a clear diagnosis.  Auditory neuromas develop slowly but are adjacent to the brainstem and brain nerves and can cause serious symptoms such as intracranial hypertension and be life-threatening.  Treatment for auditory neuroma includes surgery, radiotherapy or gamma knife, which should be chosen according to the patient’s condition.