UC Irvine

Objective

To report findings from a cohort of vestibular schwannoma (VS) patients presenting with vertigo from a secondary comorbid vestibular disorder; and to discuss management strategies for this subset of patients presenting with both episodic vertigo and VS.

Patients

All VS patients who presented with vertigo as the primary symptom from 2012 to 2015 and endorsing no other major complaints were examined.

Intervention

Treatment with migraine lifestyle and prophylactic therapy, or Epley maneuver.

Main outcome measure

Resolution of vertigo following medical treatment alone.

Results

Of the nine patients studied, seven (78%) suffered from vestibular migraine, and two (22%) experienced benign positional vertigo. All patients experienced complete resolution of symptoms after treatment. As a result of symptomatic improvement, seven patients (78%) avoided surgery in favor of observation, while two patients (22%) underwent radiosurgery due to continued tumor growth and other nonvertigo symptoms.

Conclusion

VS patients can sometimes present with a history of recurrent episodic vertigo. The etiology of the vertigo could be due to the tumor itself or may be due to an underlying comorbidity such as vestibular migraine or benign positional vertigo. VS patients presenting with vertigo should undergo a standard vertigo history and examination to identify other potential causes of vertigo. Most VS patients in our cohort avoided intervention and had resolution of their vertigo.