We have known of patients who pre-treatment longed to preserve hearing, but who now would trade any residual hearing for silence and the absence of tinnitus. There is help for persons who are suffering from tinnitus. Often this is minor and people will only recognize it and identify it after being asked. They may describe it as feeling occasionally lightheaded or dizzy. Occasionally the word vertigo is used.
Balance problems can also occur after treatment, particularly after microsurgery.
Usually this is a temporary problem due to the disruption of balance input from the AN ear. The brain learns to reinterpret perception from other sources. Much balance information comes from sight, the unaffected ear, pressure on the feet, etc. The vestibular or balance branch of the VIIIth cranial nerve actually has two sub-branches. It used to be thought that if one of those branches could be preserved, balance post-surgery might be better.