Anatom3DVestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma)
Schwannoma vestibulare (neurinoma acustici) · Vestibulární schwannom (neurinom akustiku)
What it is
A benign, slow-growing tumour of the sheath round the balance nerve, inside the skull; it steals hearing on one side and, if large, presses on the brainstem. Both sides at once suggest neurofibromatosis type 2.
Symptoms & signs
- Hearing loss in one ear, usually gradual
- ringing in that ear
- unsteadiness
- facial numbness or, rarely, weakness
- headache and clumsiness when large
🚩 Get help if…
- call 112 / 911 now Sudden severe headache, vomiting or drowsiness
- see a doctor soon Hearing loss or ringing in one ear only
- see a doctor soon Numbness or drooping on one side of the face
- see a doctor soon Unsteady walking or new clumsiness
Where it strikes
Medical treatment
- MRI with contrast for one-sided hearing loss or tinnitus
- Watch with yearly MRI — many stop growing trials support
- Stereotactic radiosurgery for small growing tumours — controls 9 in 10; hearing still often lost over years trials support
- microsurgery for large tumours — risks facial weakness and total deafness on that side
- hearing aid or cochlear implant
Natural & lifestyle
- Protect the other ear from noise
- vestibular rehabilitation exercises for imbalance
Emerging & experimental
- Bevacizumab in neurofibromatosis type 2 — shrinks some tumours and saves hearing; blood pressure and kidney effects early / small studies
- Aspirin to slow growth — observational only early / small studies
- hearing-preserving surgery techniques
Alternative, off-label & anecdotal
Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.
- Ginkgo biloba for the tinnitus — no better than placebo not confirmed in trials
- Curcumin to shrink the tumour — laboratory studies only anecdotal / traditional
ICD codes
- ICD-10 D33.3
- ICD-11 2A02.3 Benign neoplasm of cranial nerves