Brief Answer:
Symptoms like these are vauge, concrete testing is important..

Detailed Answer:
Hi there! Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic.

My name is Vinay. I'm going to try and address your concern by first, giving you some basic information about the brain and tumors. After that we can move to some immediately actionable suggestions.

In situations like this.. There's always a lack of information. So here and there I might ask a question that I'd like you to try and answer for me. Maybe , something about your history or previous therapy. I'll summarize all those queries again at the end of the message.

So as I understand it. You recently had a hearing test. Its the results of this test that have you concerned. Now, my first question is Why? Why'd you have the test done in the first place? Have you noticed any changes in your hearing? Or your balance (the inner ear has alot to do with your sense of up and down and balance)? Have you had any visual symptoms in the recent past? Headaches?

Now, lets talk tumors and the Brain. The most common cause of a tumor in the brain is metastatic spread... in other words.. a tumor spreading TO the brain from another part of the body. The symptoms of something like this are pretty random. All depends on size, speed of replication of the cells in the tumor (cell type) and the PLACE where the tumor grabs hold in the brain. Hearing loss could be one such initial symptom... but before that.. you'd probably know about the initial tumor at the original site..

That begs the question.. Do you have a history of Cancer? Have you ever had treatment for anything like that? Any family history? Do you have a history of any lifestyle behavior or medication that is linked to higher chances of cancer (Smoking? Hormonal Replacement Therapy?)


The second most common kind of tumor is actually one that starts inside the brain itself.. It's called an "Acoustic Neuroma". The 'ONLY' redeeming quality of this tumor is that it almost never becomes cancerous. When found, surgical removal is a cure. No chemo, no radiation. Otherwise it can get pretty nasty. It affects hearing first since the tumor actually starts in the cells that line the Auditory nerve (the nerve that sends hearing signals and balance signals from the inner ear to the brain). Deafness is a symptoms, especially deafness in ONE ear. Balance issues are possible, dizziness, the room spinning around, nausea and vomiting and headaches are all possible symptoms as well. Do any of these ring a bell?

Speaking of ringing bells... Another common symptom of a Neuroma is called 'Tinnitus'.. it's a constant ringing in the ear... a buzzing... even a crackling.. Something that never goes away and drives people kinda batty. Do you suffer from tinnitus or anything like it?

All of the above mentioned symptoms are things we have to answer. When we do that, a pattern will emerge that can get us to the truth. There's faster and more concrete ways of diagnosing a tumor though. The gold standard is a CT scan. Computerized Tomography is nothing but a series of X-rays taken in a special sequence so we can look through flesh and bone slice by slice. The slices are as small as 2.5mm sometimes and are very accurate.

A CT scan of the Brain would be the fastest and easiest way to rule out any concerns raised by the hearing test and I think that should be your starting point.

If it was my brother or sister who had a report like this.. I'd put them in the scanner myself. So I'd suggest you head to your primary care giver and show them this report.. the next step would be a referral to an imaging center.

So Questions:
Why'd you have the hearing test done in the first place?
Have you noticed any changes in your hearing?
Any balance issues?
Have you had any visual symptoms in the recent past?
Any headaches that are out of the ordinary?
Do you have a history of Cancer?
Have you ever had treatment for anything like that?
Any family history of cancer?
Do you smoke?
What medications have you been on over the long term?
Any buzzing or humming in your ear?
Hows your vision? Any Blind Spots?

And, Recommendations:
1) GET A CT SCAN! ASAP!

I'm sorry if I sound cheeky.. it's just that I think this really is the best and safest way to proceed and if I were your surgeon, I'd be walking you to Radiology.

But try and address those queries I gave you.. they will paint a picture and while you await your scan and the inevitable insurance wrangling, we can explore whats going on with that report.

Sound like a plan? Please set me straight if I've forgotten to address anything.
I look forward to your reply.

Vinay

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Brief Answer:
Certain things stand out here...

Detailed Answer:
Hey! Thanks for getting back to me.

The temporary hearing interference is telling.. seems like you have issues with higher frequency sounds (wind blowing, radio, background noise etc) while low frequencies are spared. I'd love to see that Hearing report if you don't mind. You could always upload it.

The history of balance problems a couple of years ago is something we should delve into. What happened there? Why'd they start? Did you do something to end them? What treatment did you seek?

The hearing loss may be age related.. but balance issues are less linked to age.

Does the hearing loss affect both ear?

At this point.. tumor seems less likely to me.. but that scan is still a must.

Vin

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Brief Answer:
Less and Less likely any kind of tumour is involved here

Detailed Answer:
Hi Terry! Thanks for the upload.

Looks like the hearing loss is bilateral (affects both ears) pretty symmetrically. That's a point against there being a tumor. It's incredibly unlikely that a tumor would cause that kind of loss.

The balance issues you suffered from when you were doing your stretches are actually a pretty common side effect of the Physical Therapy itself. Just like you said, as you improve with the postures.. the balance improves. I'm not going to really characterize that as a disease symptom really. I'll try and explain it away as a temporary side effect of Therapy.

So all in all. The more information I have, the picture seems to be leaning against the idea of any tumor being present at all. The CT scan is still a must in my opinion.

Plus, I really think your insurance company may scream bloody murder if the official report mentions a tumor and no follow-up is done.. that's how million dollar lawsuits get started. So your insurance company may actually be champing at the bit to get you in a scanner. It all depends on what the Audiologist put in their written interpretation.

Anything else that you want to talk about? Have I covered everything? Do let me know when you go for your scan. you can upload those pictures too and we can discuss them.

V

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Brief Answer:
Always Happy to help.

Detailed Answer:
Always happy to help chief, catch you soon.
V

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