Factors of hearing preservation in acoustic neuroma surgery

Abstract

Over the past 50 years, the focus of acoustic neuroma surgery has shifted from low mortality and tumor resection to retention of neurological function. Hearing preservation is another point in addition to facial nerve function preservation. Hearing preservation rates overall ranged from 2% to 93% in recent studies. Characteristics such as approach, pre-operative neurological function, tumor size, nerve of origin and fundal fluid of the internal auditory canal have been reported as possible influencing factors. This review provides a summary of recent studies and describes the prognostic factors that predict hearing preservation.