Inner Ear Schwannoma Treated With Intratympanic Gentamicin for Recurrent Ménière's Disease-Like Vertigo: A Case Report

Inner ear schwannoma (IES), also known as intralabyrinthine schwannoma, is a rare benign tumor typically presenting with hearing loss, tinnitus, and vestibular symptoms. In some cases, vestibular manifestations mimic Ménière's disease, characterized by recurrent vertigo attacks in which endolymphatic hydrops has been implicated in the underlying pathophysiology....

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Clinicians should be alert that inner ear schwannoma can mimic Ménière's disease; this single case suggests intratympanic gentamicin may palliate vertigo in such patients, but no change to standard practice is warranted based on one case report alone.

Inner ear schwannoma mimicking Ménière's disease is a rare but diagnostically important pitfall; documenting treatment responses helps build the sparse evidence base for managing this uncommon presentation.

1. 01Inner ear schwannoma (a benign nerve tumor) presented with recurrent vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus mimicking Ménière's disease.
2. 02Intratympanic gentamicin injection was used to ablate vestibular function and control vertigo symptoms.
3. 03Published as a case report in Cureus (DOI: 10.7759/cureus.116464).
4. 04Single-case evidence only; findings cannot be generalized to broader patient populations.
5. 05Highlights the diagnostic challenge of distinguishing schwannoma from Ménière's disease on clinical grounds alone.

PMID

42894823

DOI

10.7759/cureus.116464.

Journal

Cureus

Publication type

case_report

Evidence level

4

Sample size

1

Population

Single patient with inner ear schwannoma presenting with recurrent Ménière's disease-like vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus

Intervention

Intratympanic gentamicin injection