Acoustic neuroma 

What is acoustic neuroma(vestibular schwannoma) 

Acoustic neuroma is also called vestibular schwannoma(vs). It is primary intracranial tumor of myelin forming cells of vestibulo-cochlear nerve(8th cranial nerve).

Acoustic neuroma grows slowly from an overproduction of schwan cells. 

Acoustic neuroma is a rare tumor often affects middle aged people. 

    Types of acoustic neuroma

    There are two types of acoustic neuroma these are:-

    1.Unilateral acoustic neuroma:-  It is most common type of acoustic neuroma and affect only one ear. It most often happens between ages of 30 and 60. Acoustic neuroma may be result of nerve damaged caused by environmental factor.
    • Most acoustic neuroma are not hereditary and occur spordically. 

    2.Bilateral acoustic neuroma:-  Bilateral means both so these type of acoustic neuroma affects both ears and inherited. It is usually associated with a genetic problem called neurofibromatosis-2(NF2). 
    • Above 50% of people with neurofibromatosis have a de Nova mutation but 50% of people tend have a more severe mutation,although there are mild mosaic cases in which only some cell carry mutation. 
    • These type of acoustic neuroma most often happens between 40 to 60 year. 

    Synonyms of acoustic neuroma

    • Acoustic neurilemmoma
    • Vestibular schwannoma
    • Neurofibroma of the acoustic nene 
    • Neurinoma of the acoustic nene
    • Fibroblastoma, perineural
    • Schwannoma of acoustic nerve
    • Acoustic neurinoma

    In an acoustic neuroma cancer? 

    No acoustic neuroma is not a cancerous disease because the cancerous cell having a speciality to spread in other parts of body but acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor which not spread to other parts. 

    How common is  an acoustic neuroma? 

    Acoustic neuroma is common because it develops approximately out of every 100,000 individual per year and They account for 8% of all tumor inside the skull and it is diagnosed in 2000 to 3000 people annually. 

    What causes an acoustic neuroma

    Acoustic neuroma caused by.. 
    1. Age:- It develops between 30 to 50 year of age. 
    2. Neurofibromatosis(NF2) :- In which malignant tumor develops in cns. 
    3. High dose ioniozing radiation. 

    Pathophysiology of acoustic neuroma

    Due to etiological factor
    ⇓
    Stimulation of schwan cells
    ⇓
    Over production of myelin sheath
    ⇓
    Tumor of vestibulochoclear nerve
    ⇓
    Acoustic neuroma

    What is the sign and symptom of acoustic neuroma? 

    • Vertigo
    • Tinnitus
    • Headache
    • Facial pain
    • Taste change 
    • Mental confusion
    • Nausea and vomiting
    • Blurry or double vision
    • Hearing loss on one side
    • Numbness in the face

    How is a acoustic neuroma diagnosis? 

    • History collection:- Collect the history about the acoustic neuroma in patient family. 
    • Physical examination:- Do head to toe examination of patient
    • Nerve examination:- examine the benign tumor in vestibulocochlear nerve. 
    • Audiometry test:- Audiometry test, used to examine your ability to hear sound. 
    • CT-scan or MRI of head:- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is used to diagnosis presence of acoustic neuroma. It can measure about 1 to 2 milimeters small tumor. You can also do CT-scan but it is not able to measure small tumor. 
    • Brain auditory evoked responce:- it is used to diagnosis the auditory pathway. Some author said that it is 90% sensitive to measure acoustic neuroma about 3mm.

    What is the treatment of acoustic neuroma? 

    Radiation therapy

    • Radiation therapy is an laboratory procedure in which high energy x-rays penetrate of tumor size and it damaged DNA of tumor cells to stop them to growing. 

    Surgery

    • If the radiation therapy is not possible to treat acoustic neuroma.Than your doctor perform surgery to removal tumor.Such as craniotomy and microsurgery. 

    Post surgical complication

    • Tumor growing back
    • Cerebrospinal fluid leakage
    • Dry eyes
    • Hydrocephalus 
    • Difficulty in closing eyelids
    • Infection of the incision or meningitis

    Can acoustic neuroma be prevented 

    There is no known cure for acoustic neuroma, but some scientists are exploring how to prevent acoustic neuroma by using gene therapy to control Schwann cells and scientists  develop robotic technology to detect acoustic neuroma. 

    Some other query about acoustic neuroma

    Can you die from acoustic neuroma? 

    Some times acoustic neuroma grow large and compress the brain stem. It is rare but can lead to die. 

    Acoustic neuroma life expectancy

    According to Dr. Link only 30% of acoustic neuroma show growth untill the four years In the remaining 70 percent of cases, we can just watch for a while

    I think I have acoustic neuroma

    If you suffer from any symptoms of acoustic neuroma that is given above than is possible that you suffer from acoustic neuroma
    I hope your each and every doubt clear in this article. Please watch above video to better understand about acoustic neuroma. 

    Thank you.