Acoustic Neuroma (Vestibular Schwannoma)
A slow-growing, noncancerous tumor on the balance nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain. It often causes hearing loss in one ear, tinnitus, or unsteadiness.
Surgical management
Depending on tumor size, growth, and hearing, options include careful monitoring with MRI, stereotactic radiation, or microsurgical removal through the translabyrinthine, middle fossa, or retrosigmoid approach. Surgery is performed with facial nerve monitoring, and hearing preservation is attempted when possible.
Encephaloceles & CSF Leaks
A thin or eroded area of the skull base above the ear can allow brain lining or spinal fluid to push into the ear. Patients may notice clear fluid draining from the ear or nose, a plugged ear, or recurrent meningitis.
Surgical management
Repair is usually done through a middle fossa or transmastoid approach, where the defect is closed with the patient's own tissue, bone, or cartilage to seal the leak and protect against infection.
Superior Canal Dehiscence
An opening in the bone covering one of the inner ear's balance canals. Symptoms can include hearing your own voice or heartbeat loudly, dizziness triggered by loud sounds or pressure, and a sense of fullness.
Surgical management
When symptoms are disruptive, the canal can be plugged or resurfaced through a middle fossa or transmastoid approach, often providing significant relief of sound- and pressure-induced symptoms.
Meningiomas & Other Skull Base Tumors
Other tumors near the ear and skull base include meningiomas, facial nerve schwannomas, glomus (paraganglioma) tumors, and cholesterol granulomas.
Surgical management
Treatment is tailored to each tumor and may include observation, radiation, or surgical removal, often in collaboration with neurosurgery and radiation oncology colleagues.
Cholesteatoma with Skull Base Involvement
An abnormal skin growth in the middle ear that can erode surrounding bone, including the skull base, and may lead to hearing loss, drainage, dizziness, or facial weakness.
Surgical management
Surgical removal (tympanomastoidectomy) clears the disease, protects nearby structures, and restores hearing whenever possible.
