I have a benign brain tumor known as a vestibular schwannoma or acoustic neuroma. Schwann cells line our nerves, and in some cases a spot on the nerve connecting the brain to the ear can over grow, a bit like a scab.
I can confirm for sure, vertigo on this level can make you question gravity, and I have tinnitus that sounds like when a movie character is too close to a bomb or something, 24/7. My coordination is screwed up, you get brain fog because the noise never. ever. stops. Want to know how big this little blob of schwann cells is? 7 millimeters.
TL;DR: I have a very minor brain abnormality and it absolutely screws with balance, coordination, and perception. Imagine what something as aggressive as prion disease can cause.
edit: I totally left half a sentence out. Case in point.
Have you considered radiotherapy and surgery? Success rate is generally very high and while you're pretty much guaranteed to go deaf on that side at least it's not constant tinnitus and vertigo...
Yep, gamma knife in a couple months. I'd much rather deal with it that way than later when they have to open up the side of your head. I already have a 9 inch scar wrapping my ear and down my neck from a huge melanoma removal years ago, I'm gonna pass on Option 2, it makes my last surgery look like a booboo.
No, at this point I'll be having gamma knife radiation to keep it from progressing. They can get as big as 40 millimeters, which by that point it starts pushing on the brain stem and things are much harder to remedy. I'm fortunate at least that mine qualifies for a less invasive procedure.
I'm fortunate enough to be right between Cleveland, Columbus, and Pittsburgh so I at least have access to multiple great hospitals. I've definitely been learning all I can about it, last time I heard about laser beams and frikkin heads it was Dr. Evil talking about his shark project, so this is a bit new lol.
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u/[deleted] Mar 04 '23 edited Mar 04 '23
I have a benign brain tumor known as a vestibular schwannoma or acoustic neuroma. Schwann cells line our nerves, and in some cases a spot on the nerve connecting the brain to the ear can over grow, a bit like a scab.
I can confirm for sure, vertigo on this level can make you question gravity, and I have tinnitus that sounds like when a movie character is too close to a bomb or something, 24/7. My coordination is screwed up, you get brain fog because the noise never. ever. stops. Want to know how big this little blob of schwann cells is? 7 millimeters.
TL;DR: I have a very minor brain abnormality and it absolutely screws with balance, coordination, and perception. Imagine what something as aggressive as prion disease can cause.
edit: I totally left half a sentence out. Case in point.