A 58-year-old man is admitted to the emergency department with progressive unilateral hearing loss and ringing in the affected ear (tinnitus) of 4 months' duration. Radiographic examination reveals a tumor at the cerebellopontine angle. Which of the following nerves is most likely affected?
A tumor at the cerebellopontine angle, such as an acoustic schwannoma, is most likely to affect first the vestibulocochlear nerve and then the facial nerve. This excludes the vagus, hypoglossal, glossopharyngeal, and trigeminal nerves from being the correct answers.
Vagus
Hypoglossal
Vestibulocochlear
Glossopharyngeal
Head & Neck