ABSTRACT
Unilateral vestibular schwannoma (VS) is a benign tumour arising from abnormally proliferative schwann cells, which envelope the lateral portion of the vestibular nerve in the internal acoustic meatus. At a consensus conference it was determined that the term 'acoustic neuroma', often used in the past to describe this entity, should be replaced by the more accurate term 'vestibular schwannoma'. The increase in the number of diagnosed VS has plausibly been caused by several factors, the most important being continuously improving access to diagnostic equipment. The natural history of VS growth is enigmatic. The tumour may grow continuously or only to a certain size, followed by stagnation or even shrinkage. As more, primarily small and medium-sized VSs are diagnosed and need to be treated, the medical community is in need of a treatment strategy based on hard data on the spontaneous course of hearing and the growth pattern of these tumours.
