Acoustic Neuroma
Overview
Vestibular schwannomas are non-cancerous, benign tumors found at the skull base that arise from the nerve of hearing and balance. Vestibular schwannomas are found in about 1 in every 100,000 people in the United States each year. Also known as “acoustic neuromas,” these tumors are usually diagnosed in adults in one ear and are not hereditary. Less commonly, vestibular schwannomas can affect both ears, or be associated with other benign growths in connection with a genetic disease called neurofibromatosis-2.
Cross section of the skull base showing a small vestibular schwannoma on the patient’s right side. The tumor arises from the hearing and balance nerve. It fills the inner bony ear canal, called the internal auditory canal, where the nerve providing motion to the face also resides.
Cross section of the skull base showing a large vestibular schwannoma on the patient’s right side. The tumor has grown into the cerbellopontine angle, the space between the inner ear canal and the brainstem. The tumor has grown large enough to push on the sensation nerve of the face (trigeminal nerve). It has also grown large enough to push on the brainstem and the cerebellum portion of the brain.