A benign brain tumour is a growth in the brain that usually grows slowly over many years and does not spread to other parts of the body. Acoustic neuromas grow on the nerve used for hearing and balance, which can cause problems such as hearing loss and unsteadiness.
Hearing Loss
A tumor can put pressure on the nerves in your inner ear that move sound from your ear to your brain.
Neurofibromatosis type 1 and neurofibromatosis type 2 are characterized by multiple tumors in the brain, most of which are benign (not harmful) and some of which can become cancerous. Symptoms can include ringing in the ears, hearing loss, and facial weakness, as well as many of the usual symptoms of brain cancer.
Every patient's pain experience is unique, but headaches associated with brain tumors tend to be constant and are worse at night or in the early morning. They are often described as dull, "pressure-type" headaches, though some patients also experience sharp or "stabbing" pain.
Nasopharyngeal cancers can grow and press on one of the two Eustachian tubes. These tubes connect the nasopharynx to the middle ear and help regulate pressure in and drain fluid from the middle ear. Nasopharyngeal cancer affecting the Eustachian tube can cause pain, fluid, or hearing loss in that ear.
Tumors in or near other cranial nerves might lead to hearing loss (in one or both ears), balance problems, weakness of some facial muscles, facial numbness or pain, or trouble swallowing.
A tumor also might start inside the ear canal. The patient might notice drainage from the canal or pain inside the ear. An ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist must examine any ear infection that does not go away.
Most meningiomas do not spread.
This means that the tumor cells are not likely to spread to other parts of the body. That said, meningiomas can quietly grow for years without causing any problems — and they can get surprisingly large.
Typically, diagnosis starts with an audiogram. Many patients see an otolaryngologist (ENT) for hearing loss or a ringing sound, and their audiogram shows hearing loss in one ear. The definitive test is an MRI scan with contrast. MRIs can identify tumors as small as 1 mm.
Cochlear hydrops: affects balance of the inner ear. Meniere's disease: disorder of the inner ear. Superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SSCD): thinning or absent temporal bone of the inner ear. Vestibular neuronitis: inflammation of the inner ear.
Ear stroke is also known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss. In as short as three days, the patients will suddenly lose part or all of their hearing ability. Meanwhile, they may experience sudden dizziness, tinnitus and earache.
Other common symptoms, which may initially come and go, include one or more of the following: Continuing nausea, vomiting. Extreme or sudden drowsiness. Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or hearing loss.
For large tumors, it is not possible to preserve hearing. Risk of facial nerve and hearing complications after the treatment increases when the tumor is large. Most of the patients undergoing this procedure survive with a mortality rate of less than 0.5%.
Noncancerous ear tumors can block your ear canal, leading to earwax buildup. Types of benign ear tumors include: Acoustic neuromas (also called vestibular schwannomas) form on the vestibular nerve. This nerve in your inner ear connects to your brain.
The symptoms of benign tumors include: Ear discomfort. Gradual hearing loss in one ear. Repeated outer ear infections.
Severe cases like throat infection and sinusitis can also cause serious head and ear pain on one side or both sides. When dealing with a middle ear infection, face occipital neuralgia, swimmer's ear, or shooting pain in the outer ear canal, it is necessary to address the affected ear as quickly as possible.
Headaches, seizures and weakness throughout the body can all be potential brain tumor symptoms.
The “classic” brain tumour headache has been described as a severe head pain occurring in the early morning, accompanied by nausea and/or vomiting, and improving in intensity over the course of the day.
Brain tumor headaches cause intense pain that people may confuse with migraine or tension-type headaches. However, brain tumors cause other symptoms in addition to headaches, including: fatigue. weakness.