Reversible Hearing Loss from a Jugular Foramen Neurinoma.

We report the case of a 19-year-old woman with a jugular foramen neurinoma who recovered from severe sensorineural hearing loss after surgical removal of her tumor. She was admitted with a history of progressive hearing loss and tinnitus for ten months.Audiometry indicated left sided deafness, but auditory brainstem response recordings revealed a wave I pattern without any waveforms II through lead V. Otoacoustic emmissions were clearly evoked on the left side. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large tumor in the left cerebellopontine angle. She underwent a left craniectomy with removal of a neurinoma originating from the glossopharyngeal nerve. Postoperatively, she showed a dramatic recovery of her hearing. We believe that the principal cause of her severe hearing loss was a blockade of conduction in the cochlear nerve by the tumor.