A 68-year-old man has many months history of progressive hearing loss, unsteady gait, tinnitus, and facial pain. An MRI scan reveals a tumor at the cerebellopontine angle. Which of the following cranial nerves is this tumor most likely to affect?
An acoustic neuroma is most likely to lead to a palsy of the eighth cranial nerve. Deafness, headache, ataxia, tinnitus, and diplopia are seen, as well as facial paresthesia. Acoustic neuromas represent 5-10% of all intracranial tumors. They develop from Schwann cells and generally grow very slowly. They may be very large before symptoms develop.
fourth cranial nerve
sixth cranial nerve
eighth cranial nerve
tenth cranial nerve
C.N.S.