My husband was diagnosed with an acoustic schwannoma, but another doctor used another name. What is it and what does it mean if they use different names?

Acoustic schwannomas actually have four names. They can also be called vestibular schwannomas, acoustic neuromas, or just neuromas. They all meant the same thing: a benign, non-cancerous, tumor on the cranial nerve. This nerve is divided into two: the cochlear division (for hearing) and the vestibular division (for balance).

Acoustic schwannomas grow very slowly. The vast majority (over 90 percent) of patients with an acoustic schwannoma experience tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, and deafness in the affected ear. Problems with balance may start and get worse. Because the mass is growing so slowly, it may not be diagnosed until the hearing loss is quite profound.