Hi, Lisa:
Sorry to say so, but yes, you have for all intents and purposes been diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma. The non-committal language in your MRI report is typical. The reason why your (or anyone else's) MRI report doesn't say you definitely have an acoustic neuroma is because it's impossible to confirm with 100% certainty unless they cut you open and take a look at the mass. But when doctors see an "enhancing mass" (in plain English, abnormal tissue that shows up white in an MRI taken with a contrast agent) in the internal auditory canal (IAC), it is virtually always assumed that it is an acoustic neuroma (AN).
It is normal for a very small acoustic neuroma to cause "shocking symptoms," as you put it. Very often, the worst balance issues occur when the tumor is just getting started, so to speak. So, although it is indeed alarming, it is not unusual.
For a tumor your size, doctors usually recommend "watchful waiting" (AKA watch-and-wait). Because the tumor is self-contained in your IAC, it is nowhere near your brain stem and therefore not a threat to your life or the most important functions of the brain (such as telling the lungs to breathe). Therefore, you have time to wait until there is a followup MRI to tell if the darn thing is still growing or not (if so, your next MRI will show it to be larger). Some ANs go for 20 years without growing, although most grow at an annual rate of 2 mm. To put that in perspective, if your AN were to grow at the average annual rate, it would take roughly seven or eight more years until it would begin to press on your brain stem. So you have plenty of time to find out if it is indeed growing and to research your treatment options in case it is. And even if it is growing, you may or may not want to have it treated immediately. That largely depends on whether your hearing loss continues to worsen or you develop any new symptoms.
We here all understand what you're going through because we've gone through it ourselves. So I don't take your diagnosis lightly at all when I say that in one way you are very lucky: Your tumor was discovered at an extremely early stage. Considering that many ANs don't even show up in an MRI until they are at least 2 mm in size, yours was discovered at about the earliest point possible. Many of us here were first diagnosed after our AN was already pressing on our brainstem or causing problems with facial numbness. So while it is horrible that you have an AN, and we all have great empathy for what we know all too well you are going through, please know that your doctors did a fantastic job ordering the proper test to get to the bottom of your symptoms early on.
One other thing: your balance symptoms will eventually abate somewhat as your brain adapts to and learns to ignore the aberrant balance signals coming from the balance nerve on your AN side.
We all welcome you to our forum -- YOUR forum -- with open arms. You will find this place to be a wonderful resource for information about ANs and your treatment options, as well as sympathetic ears. Please ask any questions you wish, and feel free to vent. We're hear to listen and to help.
Best wishes,
TW
