title: Vestibular schwannoma mimicking Ménière's disease.
abstract: We retrieved information on 128 patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS) and 243 patients with Ménière's disease (MD) from the database of the otoneurologic expert system (ONE). The patients filled in a questionnaire concerning their symptoms, earlier diseases, accidents and tobacco and alcohol use. This information was then integrated with results of audiometric, otoneurologic and imaging studies. Forty-nine (38%) of the VS patients had the full triad of vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus. The vertigo mimicked that in MD in 18 (14%) patients. The mean age of these patients was 48 years. There were 7 men and 11 women. The tumour was small (< 2 cm) in eight patients and medium-sized (2-4 cm) in seven patients. The mean attack duration in these 18 patients ranged from 5 min to 4 h. The attacks most commonly (69%) occurred only once or twice a year. Their intensity was moderate. Half of the patients had spontaneous nystagmus. Caloric asymmetry > 25% was detected in 61% of the patients. Tinnitus in these patients was mostly (49%) mild. Intense tinnitus was present only in 12% of patients. Headache was present in 25% of these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Helsinki University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kentala
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pyykkö
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002150:Caloric Tests; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009760:Nystagmus, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis; D014717:Vertigo / Q000175:diagnosis