Hearing rehabilitation in vestibular and inner ear schwannomas - Hearing aids, bone conduction Implants and CI treatment

Patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS) in the internal auditory canal and/or cerebellopontine angle often experience hearing loss in the affected ear, which is attributable to the disease or its treatment. If conventional hearing aids do not provide sufficient speech comprehension, cochlear implantation (CI) can be an effective means of hearing rehabilitation after microsurgical tumour resection, radiotherapy or...

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Audiologists working with schwannoma patients should be familiar with the full rehabilitation spectrum—conventional hearing aids, bone conduction implants, and cochlear implants—to support timely, patient-specific referrals and counselling after tumour management.

As schwannoma treatment options expand (including active surveillance, radiotherapy, and surgery), a clear rehabilitation roadmap is essential for multidisciplinary teams to preserve or restore quality of life for affected patients.

1. 01Review covers hearing rehabilitation options for vestibular and inner ear schwannoma patients.
2. 02Three main device categories reviewed: conventional hearing aids, bone conduction implants, and cochlear implants.
3. 03Choice of device depends on tumour type, treatment approach, and residual hearing.
4. 04Cochlear implantation is increasingly considered post-tumour treatment when serviceable hearing is lost.
5. 05Multidisciplinary collaboration between neurotology, audiology, and surgery is emphasised.

PMID

42685760

DOI

10.1055/a-2623-3075.

Journal

Laryngo-Rhino-Otologie

Publication type

review

Evidence level

5

Population

Patients with vestibular schwannomas or inner ear schwannomas experiencing hearing loss

Intervention

Hearing aids, bone conduction implants, and cochlear implants