Thanks Dan! Actually its gone away at the moment and I feel great! Sleeping deeply on just a hot magnesium bath before bed (was on medical cannabis which kind of helped). Anyway will let you know how MRI goes- at least the audiology report was excellent.

Hey Dan- am abt to get my 7th MRI after CK and will post. Hearing stable no change. But I continue to get geniculate neuralgia and it affects my sleep. I think maybe an artery compressing nervus intermdius in ear. like trigeminal pain. nyway will report back after MRI. Havent had a goodnights sleep for 7 years. No pain in day- only when lying on that side.

Hey Dan,

Glad you had a positive follow-up.  I too had a tough time before treatment partially because of the lack of positive results being posted. I'm glad you stuck around on here.  I knew as soon as I found this website that I was going to stick around after treatment and try to be a  positive influence for all those scared people who were searching for answers like I was.  There are some people on here who have become kind of like an extended family because of our shared experiences.  Although I have never met any of them, and I may never meet any of you in person, I feel like we are all friends, brought together through an unfortunate coincidence.  I value each one of you, and even though there are relatively few posts made on this forum, I stop by almost every day to check in and see if anyone has questions or follow-up reports.   Stay well my friend. 

I had my second follow-up MRI this past Friday—without contrast. The good news: no growth.

The delay between scans was due to other medical issues, so this was only my second MRI since radiation 2.5 years ago.

Choosing no contrast sparked a few lectures. The technician questioned why, saying contrast provides better information. Since I’m at a teaching facility, I got the “two-for-one” experience—a fellow also came in and asked why I declined contrast, mentioning it makes it harder to assess size and changes. I explained that I don’t like how it makes me feel, though I still got a bit of push back.

When I met with the doctor, we discussed the next MRI. He recommended doing it in a year since I’m still under five years out—but confirmed it can be done without contrast. I appreciated that. He did add that some contrast may not fully leave your system, though I’m not entirely sure what he meant. Either way, I’m relieved I can continue without it.

I also want to thank this group. About 34 months ago, I felt lost and alone. Finding this community was a turning point for me. You helped me realize I wasn’t alone, answered so many of my questions, and provided invaluable resources—especially the past videos, which meant a lot during the early stages of understanding everything.

Thank you all.

Remain AN STRONG,

Dan

Hello,

I am a 36 year old male who was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma last November. My current symptoms are tinnitus and mild to severe hearing loss on the left hand side. My AN measures 24x24x23mm.
I was referred on to an ENT surgeon who took a look at my case and decided to take a wait and see approach with another scan to be conducted in September.

From what I've read this size of AN would warrant a more immediate reaction but maybe I'm just being impatient. Has anybody had an AN of that size that they've continued watch and wait on? Would anyone recommend getting a second opinion?

Thanks.
run 3 online

Hey, sorry you’re going through this — that’s a lot to take in.

From what I understand, a 24mm acoustic neuroma is kind of in that grey zone where some doctors may still suggest “watch and wait,” especially if symptoms are manageable and there’s no rapid growth or brainstem compression. But you’re not wrong for questioning it — a lot of people with tumors around that size do end up discussing treatment options like surgery or radiation.

Personally, I think getting a second opinion is always a good idea in cases like this. Different specialists can have pretty different approaches, and it might give you more clarity or peace of mind about whether monitoring is the right call right now.

You’re definitely not being impatient — it’s your health, and it’s totally reasonable to want to feel confident in the plan.

Hope others here can share their experiences too.