====== Serviceable hearing ====== "Serviceable hearing" typically refers to the ability to hear well enough to perform daily tasks and communicate effectively, even if one's hearing is not perfect. It suggests that while there may be some limitations or challenges related to hearing, they are not severe enough to significantly impair functioning in daily life. This term is often used in discussions about hearing loss and the effectiveness of hearing aids or other assistive devices in improving an individual's ability to hear and communicate. ---- Serviceable [[hearing]] is defined as [[Pure tone audiometry]] (PTA) or= 50%. However, many authors are using PTA or= to 70% more recently. ---- [[Prevalence]] of acute [[sensorineural hearing loss]] (ASHL) in [[vestibular schwannoma]] (VS) patients early after [[radiosurgery]] is 8.6%, likely due to [[radiation injury]] to the [[cochlear nerve]]. Thus, when [[tumor size]] is <1.45 cm, [[serviceable hearing]] is the criteria for determining whether observation policy (with serviceable hearing) or [[radiosurgery]] (lack of serviceable hearing) is given. For those tumor sizes ranged 1.45-3.0 cm, radiosurgery is indicated regardless of hearing level ((Wu CH, Chen CM, Cheng PW, Young YH. Acute [[sensorineural hearing loss]] in patients with [[vestibular schwannoma]] early after [[cyberknife]] radiosurgery. J Neurol Sci. 2019 Apr 15;399:30-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2019.02.008. Epub 2019 Feb 6. PubMed PMID: 30769220. )). In the absence of randomized controlled trials and larger cohorts, drawing strong conclusions on which patients to treat depending on their initial hearing status and tumor size remains a matter of debate, especially for [[intracanalicular vestibular schwannoma]] ((Tuleasca C, Dedeciusova M, Tarabay A, Levivier M. Acute and subacute sensorineural hearing loss after radiosurgery for vestibular schwannomas: Avoiding what is avoidable! J Neurol Sci. 2019 Apr 17;401:72-74. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2019.04.025. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31029884. )).