Hi MikeRad, and welcome to the ANA Forums! Thanks for posting your excellent post!

Dan is correct. It is your brain and your decision. I could never fault anyone for wanting to pursue treatment, nor would I ever criticize anyone for wanting another six months to see if the growth is continuing or not. I wish you all the best as you make that tough decision.
Don

Hi. Carrie!

Like you, I was very concerned about the Bluetooth signal.  And I expressed my concerns to my audiologist. I told her, "You might think I'm crazy, and I know everyone says Bluetooth is safe, but I don't want to take the risk of any damage to my brain from EMF or Bluetooth sources."  So, she listened to my concerns and told me that she was going to recommend a CROS unit where I can turn off the Bluetooth.

I replied, "If I turn off the Bluetooth, will the device still work?" And she said that it did, but it would not connect to my phone app, TV, etc , but it still would send the audio from the transmitter to my receiver in my good ear. To which I replied, "I don't want any EMF going through my brain."   She said that the model she was recommending did not penetrate the brain, but used bone conduction and traveled on the outside of the skull. I was very skeptical, but when I read the claims of the manufacturer, they said the same thing.

When I charge my CROS system overnight, the charger automatically turns the Bluetooth back on. So, every morning, I turn the Bluetooth off, and it stays off until I put it back on the charger.

So, I was very firm with my audiologist on what I wanted and didn't want, and she listened to my concerns to match my expressed needs. And I have not noticed any worsening of my tinnitus or my hearing. I purposely didn't list my model here because I'm not trying to promote any brand, and there are newer and better units which have come on the market since I purchased mine. But I hope my experience is helpful for you.

Best wishes on your continued journey!
Don

This study (2021) is one of the few I've found that compares GK vs LINAC. I'm having trouble understanding this conclusion: GK decreased odds of trigeminal nerve (TN) impairment ….while LINAC did not impact TN function. Isn't that the same thing? Anyone out there better at understanding the difference here??

Here's the link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8579095/

Hi-
I was diagnosed at Mass Eye and Ear and after 5 years referred to Dr. Fred Barker at MGH who is a national leader in AN surgery. He was very clear that I could have surgery if I opted, but that for me, I could also have radiotherapy with the same outcome. In otherwords, even though he's a surgeon, he wasn't pushing surgery. I had a consult at Brigham & Women's Hospital's Skull base Neurosurgery Program. The neurosurgeon there told me "if you were a member of my family I would recommend waiting and having radiotherapy when it becomes necessary". I'm now working on understanding the different types of radiotherapy (GK, Linac, proton beam, etc.) so that I can decide what I want to do in a year or so....

Hi! I was recently suggested 2 surgeons for Acoustic Neuroma by Boston physicians (I work at a hospital). Dr. Bob Carter and Dr. Fred Barker - both work at MGH. They both have a lot of experience in general, but especially with treating Acoustic Neuromas. We recently went to Dr. Carter for my Mom (who has AN) and he explained to us that different doctors and hospitals have different schools of thought for treating AN - surgery or radiation. MGH belongs to the “Surgery” school of thought. So if you do decide to go with surgery, you’ll be in excellent hands (as they handle a large volume). Alternatively, if you choose to go with radiation, they will refer you to experts that belong to that school of thought (example would be NYU). We had an excellent experience with Dr. Carter who patiently walked us through it all and helped answer ALL our questions. Hope that helps, and good luck!