Every year, several thousands of individuals are diagnosed with acoustic neuroma. The effects can be devastating if left untreated due to the variety of harsh symptoms. There is hope for early detection, however, which is why people need to be more aware of the stages as well as the methods that help prevent the condition. Here's more about the dreaded tumor.

Acoustic neuroma also goes by the names vestibular schwannoma, acoustic neurilemoma and acoustic neurinoma. The condition begins through a benign intracranial tumor in the cells that form the myelin of the vestibulocochlear nerve or the nerve that links the ear to the brain.

Initial speculations indicate that the tumor may have originated in the acoustic region. However, when experts later on found it on the 8th cranial nerve, they then created the term vestibular schwannoma. The tumor is initially small and progresses at a slow pace. In the United States, around 3,000 patients are diagnosed of having the condition every year. 1 out of every 100,000 individuals all over the world has acoustic neuroma affecting both sexes and most usually older adults.

There is one known risk factor for the condition that is being genetically passed on the disorder called neurofibromatosis 2. This rare condition predisposes individuals to developing benign tumors on different cranial nerves most particularly the vestibulocochlear nerve. Since the tumor affects the ear-brain connection, hearing loss is almost impeccable. The tumor presses on the region responsible for hearing as well as the brainstem. If the tumor gets too large compressing the brainstem, the situation can end fatally.

Several cases of acoustic neuroma are described as having a slow growth pattern lasting decades. The disadvantage is that people may not notice signs and symptoms until the problem is already rather large. Those aging from 30 to 60 years old should start undergoing diagnostics even without any obvious symptoms. It is also possible for the tumor to remain small and free of symptoms.