Acoustic neuromas turn out to be neither acoustic nor neuroma -- they're
schwannomas of the vestibular branch of the eighth cranial nerve (the
cells that insulate the nerve fibers carrying information from the
semicircular canals re balance). They're benign tumors but, since
they're in a small space, their growth can pressure other neural
structures (such as the acoustic branch of that nerve, the facial nerve
if they grow more, the brainstem if they grow a lot). That's why they
have to eventually be treated.
These days, they're being picked up when quite small, thanks to MRIs,
long before they've grown to a size associated with some of the older
textbook descriptions. Surgery is very effective, and the treatment of
choice. If a patient is too old or sick or scared of surgery, then some
of the newer radiation treatments can arrest their growth. But the
radiation can also damage the hearing....
I think that there are neurosurgeons at most of the major academic
centers who specialize in this surgery, often collaborating with ear
surgeons.
The NIH did one of its big reviews ("Consensus Statements") on the
treatment of acoustics in 1991. It can be found at:
http://text.nlm.nih.gov/nih/cdc/www/87txt.html
but it's written for specialists, not patients.
--
William H. Calvin WCalvin at U.Washington.eduhttp://weber.u.washington.edu/~wcalvin/