2.2mm ana

[bikerguy]

just joined and was wondering if my 2.2mm ana could cause problems i'm having or if its just in my head? no pun intended

[SueLL]

ANs cause all kinds of problems - hearing, balance, dizziness, numbness, etc.  What are your specific issues?

[bikerguy]

terrible tinnitus, cloudy spacy feeling, tired, cant sleep,and wondering if this is going to have an effect on my job? i work in a manufacturing plant with alot of machinery and fork lifts. i am 55y.o. 2nd mri says no change 2.2 mm had eng 6 months ago and said i failed that test, failed hearing tests cant pull all results out now, getting readiny to go to work, thanks for any imfo!

[jaylogs]

Hey Biker Guy! So sorry to hear that you got this, but welcome to the club!  The ANA who hosts this forum has an information packet for everyone.  Just go to the main page and find the new patient links and follow those.  I have heard these are pretty informational and contain a lot of resources.  I am not sure if you've discussed treatment options yet but your AN is considered very small, but as you have no doubt seen these in any sizes can mess with you're equilibrium pretty bad.  Good news is usually the balance system can compensate to a manageable level.  I'm over 5 years post surgery and I still have moments of balance issues so for some it will not go completely away.  That's the other thing about these things in our head, they are unique to each person and each person will have different outcomes, so as you go through the other posts on here keep that in mind.  Let us know if you have any other questions, lots of helpful people are here to help!  Good luck!
Jay

[bikerguy]

hey jaylog, thanks for the reply. i am a bit confused, went for my follow up appt. ent specialist and said there is no change from the first mri (2.2mm) right side. dr asked witch side i had the bad tinnitus? i told him both ears are ringing really bad. he said because i said both ears ring, said he cant be sure its an a.n. that basically there isnt anything he can do for me! i told him i cant stand the ringing, that its so loud. he told me to go to a support group for tinnitus may help. to see him in another year for another mri. i feel like i was left in the cold. anyone on here have any suggestions?

[NYLady]

Hi Bikerguy,

Your AN is considered REALLY small, as mine was at 5.4 mm.  It amazes me how severe the symptoms can be with a tumor that is considered small.  I had severe balance, hearing loss and tinnitus issues.  On my second MRI six months later, it had grown to almost 7mm and I decided to proceed with GK surgery.  Felt really great for about three months, and then symptoms gradually escalated to where they are now, balance not good most of the time, tinnitus which is sometimes loud but most times I can ignore it and almost all hearing now gone in AN ear (profound hearing loss)  I am about 9 months out from treatment and hoping these issues will resolve sometime in the futute.  The tinnitus can be overwhelming at times.  I have heard that cutting back on caffeine can help.  Also, I wonder if you properly protect your ears while working.  It really is important to protect the ears from very loud noise.  Please try to do that as in future, the hearing you have, particularly in your good ear, becomes even more important.  Also cutting back on exposure to loud noise will help the tinnitus to some degree.  There are some masking devices to help tune out the head noise, but I found it just added to the jam session I had going on in my head.....but different things work for all of us and you wont know till you try  Another thing I have read is that certain medications can contribute to tinnitus.  I am not all that knowledgeable as many are on this forum, but I hope some of this can be of help to you.  I am sure you will hear from others who know and have experienced much more than I.  Meanwhile, I wish you relief and peace in your journey.

Best to you,
NYL

[bikerguy]

thanks nylady, thinking about going to hershey medical center here in hershey pa. maybe they can do further testing. yesterday was a bad night at work, dizzy hot and sweaty feeling. not sure if its from this small thing in my ear or maybe just another virus.and yes, i do wear hearing protection. i dont think we realize how valuable our ears are until we start having these problems were having. i just want to feel normal!!!

[Walter-AN]

Hey bikerguy,

I was diagnosed in January of 2014 with a very small AN just like you.  I developed tinnitus in September of 2014 and felt the same way you do.  Sleepless nights, constant worrying, waiting and wondering if it's going to get louder and never go away.  I did join the American tinnitus association and followed some of their advice. I've tried ginkgo biloba, lipo-flavonoid, vitamin D. A lot of advice you will read will tell you to accept it and not fight it and it will get better.  Not easy to do! But in my case it seems, after 7 months,it's better after realizing this isn't going to go away.  I started to journal when it was bad and when it slacked off.
And what might have caused it.  On thing for me is lack of sleep (I know hard to do when your head is ringing!) and job stress. I think I'm just getting us to it.  I now know that after it spikes it's going to get better and tone down a few notches and then it's not so bad. But it is loud! I know how you feel. But try some different things and keep track to see if it helps. Walks, vitamins, less caffeine.  In my case time helped, I'm sure that's not going to apply to all.  Hang tough and try to roll with it.

Good luck!

[bikerguy]

walter, you sound exactly like myself, i am on ginkgo, and all the vitamins you can think of.tried lipo, cut out all sodium,and still no relief. your right about when the tinnitus flares up, its seems to be toned down the next day after a good nights sleep. what i am confused about is, my ent dr. says because i have ringing in both ears, he cant say for sure that, that little 2.2 mm thing in my ear is a a.n. wondering if anyone on here has the same issues? IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A SMALL TUMER (AN) AND HAVE RINGING IN BOTH EARS? THANKS FOR ALL THE RESPONSES!!!

[bikerguy]

anyone here have tinnitus in both ears with an AN in only one ear?

[ANGuy]

anyone here have tinnitus in both ears with an AN in only one ear?

Yes.  I have had very low level, barely noticeable, tinnitus in both ears my whole life, even as a child.  Now, with the AN, I have much louder tinnitus in my AN ear and still the mild tinnitus in the good ear.  I actually ASSumed the mild tinnitus was normal since I always had it and never thought much of it one way or the other.  I think that is part, or all, of why the bad tinnitus I have now doesn't really bother me.  Believe me, I would get rid of it if I could, but since I can't, I have just gotten used to it.

That is not to say that it could be that way for everybody.  It is really troubling for some people and I don't mean to downplay that.  It's just that maybe what works for me could be a useful approach for others.

[bikerguy]

pardon my spelling, but i'll do my best. what kind of dr. would you guys recommend ?neurologist  or Otolaryngologist (ent)

[CHD63]

Hi bikerguy .....

Alas, tinnitus is one of those mysterious brain things and therefore unique to each individual.  My audiologist explained that it is not an ear thing, but the brain trying to fill in the absence of sound (usually starts with the loss of very high frequencies that we do not miss initially).

In my case I never had any tinnitus until after my first AN surgical removal.  Maybe two years afterwards I also began having tinnitus in my remaining "good" ear, although at a much lesser degree (and different noises!).  I now have it 24/7 in both ears, but not equally.  Much of the time I am able to push it out of my conscious thinking, but when I am in a noisy setting (crowds, restaurants, movies, concerts, etc.) it cranks back up to full awareness.

Like Walter-AN, I joined the American Tinnitus Association (see:  http://www.ata.org/ ) and follow their materials.

For me, what helps the most is reducing my stress level, getting adequate sleep, cutting waaaay back on caffeine (I still have a cup of coffee in the mornings) and cutting back on chocolate.  Several years ago I purchased a sound machine with under pillow speakers. I use the babbling brook sound at about the same volume level as my tinnitus is when everything is quiet and it gives me the ability to focus on the pleasant brook sound so I can quickly go to sleep.  Unfortunately for those of us who are completely single side deaf, the only sound therapy that will work is to use the remaining hearing ear.  Therefore, I put my hearing ear down on the pillow to achieve the most benefit.

Early on (after my first surgery), my audiologist made a custom-fit musician's ear plug, which I carry with me at all times and use whenever I am in a noisy situation.  One of the big triggers is road noise so I use it when riding in the car.  A musician's plug lets mid-range frequencies filter through so your hearing is not completely blocked ..... just the harmful frequencies are blocked.

Hope that helps.  I do not think a neurologist or an otolaryngologist will be able to help you very much, other than send you to an audiologist.  I am fortunate to have had wonderful, highly trained audiologists to help me.

Clarice

[Sailsurf]

Hey Bikerguy I'm new here too.
I have the ringing in both ears and a small 4mm AN in right ear. Woke up one day about a year ago and it was there along with a kind of spaced out feeling. Both sensations are still with me. Took about 9 months before finding the AN. Will go for CK in a few months hopefully.

[bikerguy]

thanks chd63 and sailsurf! sailsurf, i'm glad someone is with me here! just seems like my drs. are just blowing me off!saying its just tinnitus, but yet there seeing something that is 2.2mm on my mri. is anybody on here familiar with hershey medical center in pennsylvania? any reccomendations for a dr. there? also, about 7 months ago had a caloric test(vng), results were 34% weakness in right ear! this is when they blow cold and warm air in your ears. i sure dont want to do that one again.learning alot from this site, thanks everybody!