John:
I'm glad the AN scare involving your son turned out to be a 'false alarm'.
Unfortunately, the similarity of AN symptoms to ordinary ear infections and related problems are sometimes what keeps doctors from ordering and patients having an MRI and thus finding the acoustic neuroma causing the dizziness, loss of hearing, etc. You present with these symptoms and your primary care physician assumes a hearing-related problem and refers you to an ENT specialist He or she routinely orders hearing tests and often prescribes medications for ear problems. Only when many tests and ear-specific medications have been given with little positive result, does a doctor consider ordering an MRI scan to look further into the possible source of the patient's problems. This is often when the AN is finally discovered.
This is no one's fault, simply doctors making logical assumptions based on their experience and patients operating out of ignorance and trusting doctors to know more than they do. Because acoustic neuroma tumors are relatively rare, they aren't the first (or second or third) thing that usually comes to a doctors mind when hearing and balance issues are the symptom. Most folks posting here as newly diagnosed say they had absolutely no idea that 'acoustic neuroma' tumors even existed and could cause their symptoms. This is why they are often scared and confused, even though AN's are almost always benign (non-cancerous).
I presented with multiple symptoms, including loss of appetite and subsequent notable weight loss, dizziness, unilateral deafness, etc. and even then, my primary care physician was looking for 'a sinus problem' when he ordered the MRI that showed my large, pressing-on-my-brainstem AN. I had surgery three weeks later.
Again, I'm pleased that your boy only suffered from a typical and easily treatable ear infection but as an AN patient, I can understand your immediate reaction to his complaints as being caused by an acoustic neuroma tumor. This time, it was good to be wrong.
Jim
