AboutDina Q Goldin, Ph.D. Expertise Information and advice for Acoustic Neuroma patients who would like honest patient-to-patient interaction about their symptoms or about treatments and related medical procedures. If you are unsure if your experience is "normal", or are wondering whether your information is complete, feel free to ask.
Experience I am an Acoustic Neuroma patient and the founding editor
of the Acoustic Neuroma Patient Archive (http://www.ANarchive.org).
Question Hello Dina,
My name is Kevan and I'm a 17 year old girl that's experiencing some odd symptoms!
I'd first like to say that about 3 years ago, i was repeatedly experiencing dizzy spells every day about twice a day. The only way i can explain them is that my whole world would tilt for a few seconds and i would lose all of my balance. This went away over time, but there will still be the occasional time it comes back. I believe I've experienced 2 in the last month and a half.
Anyways, about a week ago my left ear seemed to have lost its hearing for a few seconds. There was a very loud ringing sound, however. The ringing went away after a couple seconds. The other day i experienced the same, short ringing, but after that, my left side of my face had become numb. I didn't think too much of it.
The next morning, it was still there. Throughout the whole day, the numbness remained but it seemed like it spread to the other side of my face. I started to examine myself, and i found that my whole left side of my body has lost a small amount of feeling in comparison to the right side. I'm feeling a bit woozy time to time and it currently feels like there's pressure at the back of my head.I don't know if this has any affect at all, but i've also been under a lot of stress lately because of school.
I've read about a few things and Acoustic Neuroma seems to be the closest thing so far. If it is this, how do I treat it?
help!
thanks a lot Dina,
-Kevan
Answer Dear Kevan,
You are correct that your symptoms are typical for an Acoustic Neuroma, though of course it is impossible to be sure without a proper diagnosis. Please get an appointment with a neurologist, who can schedule an MRI to see whether or not this is indeed the cause of your problems. Make sure that the MRI is done with 'gadolinium', a contrasting agent that's necessary to be able to identify an Acoustic Neuroma on an MRI. Also, request that your MRI be read by a 'neuroradiologist'. Radiologists are the doctors who read all MRIs and prepare a report for the doctor who requested the MRI; a neuroradiologist is someone who specializes in scans of the brain area. Finally, if an Acousic Neuroma is diagnosed, you must be aware that ANs are not common for people your age. Having one so early may be an indication that you have a special type of an AN, known as Neurofibromatoma 2, often just called NF2. This is something to check for before any decisions are made with respect to treatment.
