WOW there seems to be more and more newbies

[MAlegant]

Folks I have to say that without your support and information I would not be making this journey in quite the same way.  I am so grateful that you are here.  By the way, what is the fish hatchery theory?
Marci

[sgerrard]

By the way, what is the fish hatchery theory?

It's not a theory, it is cold hard fact, courtesy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

Well, not exactly cold hard fact, they did mention "the small number of cases" and say that "further study is warranted." Here is the report:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BUM/is_1_79/ai_59519791

I found this quite by accident - I was not looking for a fish hatchery connection - and now I like to mention it whenever the cell phone theory gets brought up.

Steve

[MAlegant]

Interesting little article.  Bad news for the fish hatchery folks.  Wonder if the fish are eating cell phones.....

[wendysig]

Hi Newbies -
I've been out of touch for pretty much  the past week, but I wanted to welcome all the newbies for our forum.  Although all of us are always sorry to see more people find out they have ANs, this is a wonderful place to come for information, support and sometimes just to cut loose and vent  or be a little zany.  I hope you will all find our group to be a great source of comfort and help.

Best wishes,
Wendy

[Rivergirl]

The information and experiences that are shared here have been so helpful, I have read just about all the entries. You guys are so nice to us Newbies.

[LADavid]

Hey Rivergirl
Some day you'll be an oldbie helping out newbies.  It's that karma thing.
Best wishes to you in that holding pattern.
David

[robynabc]

Hi,

I did read that they did research and are saying that cell phones after 10 years is causing AN's.  I just find that hard to believe.  Did they see the incidence of AN's higher?  It just seems to me that if these existed before cell phones how does a cell phone cause them?   I don't know why but it doens't make sense to me.


http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/470148

Two studies have shown an apparent association between cellphone use and acoustic neuroma – a benign tumour, not a "cancer." But be careful. These studies were "case-control" – a design methodology popular with researchers because it is relatively easy and inexpensive but notorious for producing spurious results by chance or unrecognized confounders. Case-control studies are useful for generating hypotheses that can then be tested by more reliable methods. Case-control studies should never be taken at face value and should only be applied to public policy with great caution. Any epidemiologist knows this.

[Jim Scott]

Robyn: 

Your logic is impeccable and of course, I agree.  I don't know why people are so eager to blame cell phone usage for Acoustic Neuromas but I suppose these scientists have to have something to 'investigate' in order to keep the federal grant money flowing.

Acoustic Neuromas were discovered over 100 years ago (in cadavers used in medical schools) and were first operated on (unsuccessfully) shortly after the turn of the 20th century.  This unassailable fact would seem to negate the hypotheses that environmental factors, mainly those that travel through the ear, are the source of the abnormality that we call 'Acoustic Neuromas'. 

But no, I see this cell phone-AN 'link' all over the place, especially on the internet where facts are elusive and conjecture based on false assumptions is rampant in many areas.  I'll bet that 100 years ago, the (then-new) telephone was being blamed for deafness. 

I'm afraid that the 'cell phone causes ANs' theory will slouch on until the actual cause of Acoustic Neuromas is finally discovered....which, at my age, probably won't be in my lifetime.  FWIW, I suspect genetics are the culprit, but of course, that is pure speculation.  I'm certainly not a scientist or physician and, as always, I could be wrong.

Thanks for your sensible post.  I trust your son is doing well. 

Jim

[LADavid]

Jim

I agree with the genetics theory.   That was the reason I took a wild shot at the ethnic idea.  Trying to find some commonality in a collective group that researchers don't have access to -- or haven't approached.  They are sitting on a statistical goldmine here but it seems as though they are focused on environmental causes.  I could obviously be wrong too, but I think if it were proven to be genetic, the research could be more focused on isolating the gene rather than investigating fish hatcheries and cell-phones.  Actually, I don't really know what research has been done.  Do you know if anyone has taken the genetics approach?

David

[Jim Scott]

David:

To the best of my knowledge, only NF2 has been researched based on genetics.  Because ANs are both benign and relatively rare, I doubt there is a lot of interest in researching their cause.  However, there seems to be a lot of scientists claiming or at least 'warning' about cell phone use being a factor in Acoustic Neuroma development.  I think it's just hype without any real scientific merit.  The genetic factor seems a lot more logical but doesn't seem to get much attention.  Too bad.

Jim

[MAlegant]

Hey all,
While I was at UH I was asked to enroll in a study of genetics on primary brain tumors (benign and malignant) so I know there is at least one study going on.  If you want the name of the person I "gave" my tumor to, let me know. I think I sort of maybe know exactly where it might be.  Maybe. 
Marci
(at home resting and clearly not cleaning the house in any way.)

[Maverell]

When I was diagnosed with AN I had only just got a cell phone, or brick as it was called then so I do not think it was that Although I must admit that I was exposed to high levels of RF (at the upper end of the RF spectrum) for 6 years before diagnosis.

But of course, that could just be a coincidence. Yes, I am a newbie on this forum - I did not have the will power to join until now. It is nearly 20 years from when my AN was removed.

[Jim Scott]

Maverell:

Welcome to the site & forums.  I don't quite understand why will power was necessary to post a comment (perhaps you meant 'courage') but whatever it was I'm glad you found it.  I'm equally pleased that your statement is pretty much in accord with my stand on this issue.  I know that I've made my position on the alleged cell phone-Acoustic Neuroma connection quite clear (almost ad infinitum) so I won't repeat it. 

Please feel free to post again and don't be concerned about courage or will power.  We're all friends with a common bond here. 

Jim

[mindyandy]

More and more...I was hoping to not see more....Not that I dont welcome newbies just I was hoping that there would be no more AN's....

[music guy]

Hi all - I was pretty sure I was going to be a newbie, and I can't tell you how wonderful it was to lurk and read so many positive, well-informed and entertaining posts on this site while I was waiting for my MRI results. FINALLY I got the practice manager at my ENT's office to tell me, even though the doc was on vaca, that my MRI report was "normal study."  Good news indeed, yet I'm no wiser about the cause of my relatively sudden, one-sided high-frequency hearing loss and tinnitus that I noticed about six weeks ago.  Co-incidentally, there is a review article on sudden sensineural hearing loss in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

So now I may have to sign up with one of the hearing loss/tinnitus boards, but I can't imagine they will be as sterling a group as this one. My very best wishes to you all!

Richard Saltus
Newton, MA