# Post-surgical Hearing Improvement in a Case of Jugular Foramen Schwannoma Despite the Lack of Response in a Preoperative Auditory Brainstem Response Test

## TL;DR

A patient's hearing improved after surgery for a rare brain tumor, even though pre-surgery tests showed no response.

## Contribution

Demonstrates that hearing can improve post-surgery even with a non-responsive preoperative ABR test in certain brain tumor cases.

## Key findings

- Hearing improved after surgery despite no preoperative ABR response.
- ABR test detected V waves after Gamma Knife radiation to the residual tumor.
- Suggests potential for hearing recovery in cerebellopontine angle tumor patients with non-responsive preoperative ABR tests.

## Abstract

We report a rare case involving improved hearing after surgery for a jugular foramen schwannoma despite the lack of response during the preoperative auditory brainstem response (ABR) test. A left jugular foramen tumor was diagnosed in a 79-year-old man with hearing loss. No response was observed during the preoperative ABR test. However, his hearing improved after surgery using the lateral suboccipital approach. Following Gamma Knife radiation to the residual tumor post-surgery, the ABR test detected V waves. The hearing of patients with cerebellopontine angle tumors can improve even when there is no response during the preoperative ABR test.