Couple things.  First welcome to club nobody wants to be in.   To answer a few of your questions, I had vertigo bad, balance was terrible.  I work as an electrician and I actually fell of the ladder a couple times. Do not accept that this how life will be.   Your first step is to determine if it's growing or not.   If it's not growing you would probably benefit quite a bit from Vestibular therapy.   I didn't because growth made it a constantly changing target.  If it is growing or symptoms keep changing then you need to do something, it is only a matter of time until you hurt yourself from a fall.  I also developed swallowing problems, so choking became a real concern.  Now what you do is entirely up to you.  I did the surgery, Dan on here did the radiation.  We both had great results.   Do your research, weigh the side effects and pick which is most comfortable for you and stick with it. Don't let anyone, even the doctors, change the direction you want to go in.   You didn't mention age or activity level.  But I will tell you the best thing I did was stay as active as possible.  I was a runner and I ran as long as I could, and when my balance didn't allow for it outside, I used a treadmill with handrails, and when it got to where that was even a problem, I walked a lot.  I truly believe that staying active helps with the recovery process dramatically.  6 months after my surgery I running a 5k again and I was 56 years old.  You are in the scary part right now.  Right after diagnosis, all the uncertainty and stress.  It does take a toll on your mental health as well.  Focus as much as possible on what you can still do and not on what you can't.

I appreciate this question.  Have things improved for you?  I don't have any hearing aids yet.  But before I launch into getting any, I definitely want to know people's experience.  My AN was discovered in late November, and ten days prior I seemed to have a sudden decrease in my hearing.  I have ringing tinnitus but also the echoing of sounds in that same ear.  Whenever I use earplugs or even earmuffs or anything, the tinnitus is worse after removing them, and even my good ear is getting tinnitus from my attempts to help the tumor ear.  (I think from the physical pressure of the earmuffs and such?  Or because the good ear has to work harder?)

Dear mrgrta,

I was newly diagnosed on November 26, had my neurosurgeon appointment on Dec 17, and Gamma Knife on Jan 8.  I personally decided on quick action and could not travel (because I have an echo of sounds in my affected ear and it makes travel super loud and hard--it will take me time to rehabilitate from that symptom, but I am hopeful).  The best option in my area was Gamma Knife--with a world-renowned oncologist and 5-star neurosurgeon.  The medical care team was superb.  They said I could resume normal activities the day after the treatment, but that wasn't the case for me.  I am petite and even the fasting required for the procedure was a challenge to recover from.  I did experience vertigo and fatigue for nine days afterwards; I also may have more hearing loss, but I am back to normal energy levels and the vertigo is gone.  I will have a follow-up MRI in 3 months. Everyone's story is different, and I trust you will make the best decision for you!

Hello, I have an AN on the right side of my head, had radio surgery 5 years ago, it shrunk, but has now grown, with a cyst. My face has gone numb on the right side, and it itches a lot. Also, I have pain on right side of my forehead and in my ear, however, last night I had the most excruciating, sharp pain on the left side of my forehead, it definitely felt like it was from the AN, anyone else experienced this?

Hi Jen, in checking with the ANA regarding your question, tracking the number of people diagnosed per year is easier than tracking number of surgeries.  Please remember that ChatGPT and other AI forms of information are not reliable.  I think individual surgical institutions (too many to count) would need to supply from their own in-house database.