Meniere’s and acoustic neuroma

 In a past post I had written about conditions that are similar to Meniere’s disease. One of those conditions is acoustic neuroma. In the past week I received a comment asking about the condition.

According to the Library of Medicine acoustic neuroma is “a slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain. This nerve is called the vestibular cochlear nerve. It is behind the ear right under the brain. An acoustic neuroma is not cancerous (benign), which means it does not spread to other parts of the body. However, it can damage several important nerves as it grows.”

Common symptoms of acoustic neuroma are vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus which are all common with meniere’s too.  Fortunately surgery and radiation can remove the tumor that is causing the problem.

This is the comment from Maureen…

“I just experienced my first episode of vertigo yesterday. It was a drop attack as I've seen others describe it. Walking one minute, the next falling to the floor and hit my face on the wall while trying to stabilize myself. Very disconcerting, I have to say. I have been diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma in my right ear. The problem is that my left ear is giving me the trouble now. Aural fullness, very loud ringing and now vertigo. The neuroma has taken most of my hearing in my right ear, so I'm scared to lose more hearing on the left. Has anyone ever heard of suffering from both meniere's and an acoustic neuroma?”

Although the symptoms are similar I am not really sure if you can have them both at the same time. It is best to check with your ENT.

For more information go to the acoustic neuroma association.

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