title: Hearing preservation:  microsurgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the recent and significant contributions to the literature that examine hearing preservation outcomes and prognostic factors in vestibular schwannoma microsurgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hearing preservation rates overall range considerably between 2 and 93% in recent studies. There are a number of factors that have been reported to be significant in the prediction of hearing preservation. Characteristics such as approach, results of preoperative neurophysiological testing, tumor size and nerve of origin have long been reported. A more recent contribution to the literature has included the association between MRI T2 signal in the fundus of the internal auditory canal and hearing preservation. This review provides a summary of some of the landmark studies in conjunction with more recent work detailing the prognostic factors for hearing preservation in the surgical management of vestibular schwannoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hearing preservation in vestibular schwannoma surgery has undergone tremendous evolution over the past 50 years. In this review, we outline the prognostic factors that predict hearing preservation and describe recent contributions.
authors.affiliation: The House Clinic, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Elina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kari
authors.forename: Rick A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome