Vestibulocochlear Schwannoma / Acoustic Neuroma

The more "scientific" name of the tumor I have is a "Vestibulocochlear Schwannoma". It is a tumor of healthy schwann cells that grow out of eighth cranial nerve. That particular nerve has a vestibular division, which sends information regarding balance, and a cochlear division, which sends information about hearing. Hence, vestibulocochlear schwannoma.

More commonly, it is called an acoustic neuroma or AN. A neuroma is a tumor made up of nerve tissue, so an acoustic neuroma is such a tumor growing out of the acoustic nerve. The words become less grave sounding when we break it down this way. :-)

As to why there is an over production of these otherwise healthy nerve cells, no one really knows. All the doctors I spoke to said that the cause boils down to a genetic disorder, which is not necessarily the same as saying that it is hereditary; just that one drew a not-so-good number in the genetic sweepstakes of life.

There are theories pointing to either loud noises or cellphone use as being causes, but for the most part these theories are unproven and generally unaccepted by the medical establishment. They are, however, particularly seductive to personality types who always seek to assign blame - "if someone comes down with something, he must have done something to deserve it." :-)

For me proof can be found in the empirical numbers. If cellphones are the culprit for instance, then the explosion of cellphone use in our world today must be accompanied by an explosion of these tumors (similar to the explosion of colon/rectal cancer cases that came a few years after the introduction of instant noodles in styrofoam bowls). But all the doctors I spoke to said there was no significant rise in the frequency of cases they saw in the last few years.

The good news is acoustic neuromas are benign or non-cancerous. That in itself is already excellent news. Another piece of very good news is that ANs are located near the ear and far away from the brain centers that control intelligence, emotions, and memory. Nevertheless, they do pose quite serious medical risks and problems. As these tumors grow (they are generally very slow growing, but growing just the same), they begin to press on the cranial nerves and the brain stem, thereby affecting the body's ability to communicate with the brain. If left unattended, one would end up, as Dr. Libarnes put it, "like Christopher Reeves". (I quickly pointed out that perhaps he meant "like Christopher Reeves before he died." But I guess he was correct either way, since being like Christopher Reeves before he died points one towards the same eventuality.)

Mine is already quite large, about 4 cm in diameter. By some estimates it might have begun more than ten years ago. Five years was the smallest estimate I got. By this time it had presumably already ravaged my auditory nerve (hence my hearing loss) and was visibly pressing against my brain stem, pushing it to one side. My search for treatment would have to begin quickly...