Vestibular schwannoma

Treatmentsfor acoustic neuromas

There are several different treatment options for an acoustic neuroma, depending on the size and position of your tumour, how fast it's growing and your general health.

The main options are:

monitoring the tumour small tumours often just need to be monitored with regular MRI scans, and the treatments below are generally onlyrecommended if scans show it's getting bigger
brain surgery surgeryto removethe tumourthrough a cut inthe skullmay be carried out undergeneral anaestheticif it's large or getting bigger
stereotactic radiosurgerysmall tumours, or any pieces of a larger tumour that remain after surgery, may be treated with a precise beam of radiation tostopthem getting any bigger

All these options carry some risks. For example, surgery and radiosurgery can sometimes cause facial numbness orparalysis (an inability to move part of your face).

Speak to your specialist about the best option for you and what the benefits and risks are.

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018

Articles for vestibular schwannoma

Introduction

An acoustic neuroma is a type of non-cancerous (benign) brain tumour. Find out about the symptoms, treatments and outlook for this condition.

Symptomsof an acoustic neuroma

An acoustic neuroma may not cause any obvious symptoms at first.Any symptoms tend to develop gradually and often include: hearing loss, which usually only affects one ear tinnitus(hearing sounds that

See your GP if you have persistent or troublesome symptoms that you're worriedcould be caused by an acoustic neuroma.Acoustic neuromas can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can be caused b

Treatmentsfor acoustic neuromas

There are several different treatment options for an acoustic neuroma, depending on the size and position of your tumour, how fast it's growing and your general health.The main options are: monitoring

Outlookfor acoustic neuromas

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