Surgeons removed part of a large ear nerve tumor and placed a cochlear implant in the same operation
Original title: Simultaneous cochlear implantation during retrosigmoid resection of a large vestibular schwannoma under continuous electrically evoked auditory brainstem response monitoring.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This was done in one person, so we do not yet know if it works for others.
The short version
One woman had a large tumor partly removed and got a hearing implant during the same surgery, and she could hear better afterward.
What was studied. This is a report on one patient. She was a 70-year-old woman with a 30-mm tumor on the hearing and balance nerve, and she could not hear on either side. Doctors removed part of the tumor and put in a cochlear implant during the same surgery.
What they found. During surgery, the team watched signals from her hearing nerve. They stopped taking out tumor when those signals dropped to about 20% of where they started, so part of the tumor was left in place. Her facial nerve still worked. After surgery the implant was turned on, and with it she could hear sounds at 35-40 dB HL at 3 months. The tumor was stable at 9 months.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: For some people with a large tumor of this kind, it may be possible to keep some hearing by leaving part of the tumor behind and placing a hearing implant at the same time. The doctors here suggest protecting the nerve signal matters more than taking out every bit of tumor when a person needs the implant to hear.
What it doesn't mean: This is a report about one person, not a study of many people. It does not tell us how often this works, how long the hearing lasts, or what happens to the tumor that was left behind. It is not a cure, and it is not standard care. It also does not mean this is the right choice for most people with this kind of tumor. Talk with your own care team about your situation.
Source: PubMed, July 30, 2026 · Read the original
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