Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader thought hearing loss was from noise of crowds... then came life-changing diagnosis

A Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader who believed she was suffering from proceeding nonaccomplishment was alternatively near warring for her beingness aft doctors made a uncommon discovery. 

After spending a decennary performing for 1 of the biggest NFL teams, which is headed to the Super Bowl this play for the 3rd clip successful a row, Shanna Adamic, 44, reported not being capable to perceive from her close receptor archetypal successful 2011. 

Over the span of six years, the Kansas City mother-of-three visited aggregate doctors complaining of changeless headaches, a partial nonaccomplishment of imaginativeness and slurred speech, but said each clip she was 'misdiagnosed, underdiagnosed oregon adjacent dismissed arsenic a bushed overworked mom.' 

Ms Adamic told DailyMail.com: 'I was told I whitethorn beryllium suffering thing from a communal acold to slumber apnea, sinus infection, even Lemierre's disease, vertigo. 

'I was treated for dehydration many, galore times. [My condition] was blamed connected hormonal changes, breastfeeding my kids, menstrual period. 

'I felt brainsick and I started to judge that determination was thing incorrect with me.'

At 1 point, a doc suggested she whitethorn suffering from receptor harm owed to regularly being surrounded by large noises successful stadiums. 

Out of an abundance of caution, she underwent a CT scan of her caput and was told her encephalon 'looked great.'

So it came arsenic a implicit daze that conscionable a twelvemonth later, a two-inch tumor was recovered successful Ms Adamic's ear, dangerously pushing against her brain.  

Ms Adamic, now-Executive Director of the Oracle Health Foundation, told this website: 'I was fixed a CT caput scan a twelvemonth earlier I was diagnosed wherever I was told my encephalon looked large and that I was astir apt conscionable a tired, overworked mom.' 

However, aft watching a personage interrogation astir akin symptoms connected the TODAY amusement and with immoderate encouragement from her husband, she decided to acquisition much investigating and got an MRI. 

The scan revealed Ms Adamic had a astir two-inch wide tumor increasing successful her close ear.

Known arsenic an acoustic neuroma oregon vestibular schwannoma, the non-cancerous tumor develops connected the vestibular nerve, which connects the interior receptor to the brain. 

The branches of the nervus are known to impact equilibrium and hearing. 

The improvement of the tumor is uncommon and occurs successful astir 1 successful 100,000 people, astir 2,500 radical each year. They are astir apt to beryllium recovered successful radical betwixt the ages of 65 to 74, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 

While the origin of an acoustic neuroma is unknown successful astir cases, sometimes it tin beryllium linked to a occupation with a cistron connected chromosome 22, which is associated with the immune strategy and commencement defects.

Like astir cases, Ms Adamic's tumor was benign, but owed to its determination and the information it was astir the size of a play ball, doctors recovered it to beryllium was life-threatening arsenic it was compressing the brainstem. 

'When I received my diagnosis, the doc referred to it arsenic a ticking clip bomb,' said Ms Adamic. 

'And helium said, "it's pressing connected your connected and disconnected switch" and I volition ne'er hide the feeling of proceeding that and thinking, "okay, what bash I bash next?"'

In bid to prevention her life, doctors told her she needed a translabyrinthine craniotomy to region to the tumor.

However, her existent doc was incapable to execute the country and recommended she find idiosyncratic else. 

In a plea for help, Ms Adamic posted astir her information and asked for suggestions astir what to bash connected Instagram. 

Eventually, the erstwhile cheerleader reconnected with her assemblage person Dr Amy Pittman, an otolaryngologist at Loyola Medicine successful Illinois who had commented connected her post. 

Dr Pittman past went connected to consult with her colleagues, Otologic Surgeon Dr John Leonetti and Neurosurgeon Dr Douglas Anderson. 

Days later, Ms Adamic made the travel to Loyola Medicine Center for the surgery. 

She told the website: 'I retrieve Dr Anderson reassuring me, "You're going to spell to slumber and aftermath up and get your beingness back."

'Both doctors made maine consciousness truly assured successful the attraction I would person and the content successful them arsenic a squad that they could execute this and springiness maine my beingness back.'

Ms Adamic underwent a 13 hr country wherever doctors removed 99 percent of the acoustic neuroma tumor. 

When she woke up, she was left with partial facial weakness connected the close broadside of her look and incapable to perceive retired of her close ear. 

Ms Adamic was incapable to chew oregon adjacent her close oculus but remained determined to person a afloat recovery: 'I deliberation that audacious optimism is thing that's recovered erstwhile there's benignant of that abstraction of gritty hope. It's recovered successful moments that are sometimes immoderate of the darkest moments. 

'In that infinitesimal that I recovered going into that country and waking up with with my life, but past besides a precise antithetic mentation of maine [of having ]one broadside paralysis and not knowing if I was going to get my facial relation backmost connected that side, gaining my mobility functions, each of that.

'I had to truly benignant of excavation heavy successful that infinitesimal to deliberation however was I going to emotion this mentation of maine coming retired of it and going to usage this to beryllium a affirmative force? 

'And I retrieve penning myself a enactment that I taped up successful beforehand of my reflection connected the reflector truthful that I wouldn't look astatine the miss successful the reflector that I didn't recognize.

Her enactment read: 'I volition grin with each my teeth again. I volition beryllium capable to swallow connected some sides, I volition adjacent my eyes completely, I volition beryllium a amended mentation of me.'

Talking astir what convinced her to support looking for answers for six years, she told DailyMail.com: 'I deliberation I had to support listening to this interior dependable that kept telling maine thing was wrong. And it did. 

'It perpetually told maine thing was wrong. I was not ready. And, you know, aft you spell backmost and sound connected the doorway truthful galore times, you commencement to consciousness that, that you're really benignant of brainsick and you're like, "Hey, possibly that happening is wrong."

'But I kept having to perceive to it and I deliberation that conscionable being capable to person the capableness and the assurance successful my ain aforesaid to conscionable accidental 1 much time. I'm going to spell speech to them again I'm going to spell archer them thing is incorrect again.'

After years of carnal therapy and perseverance, Ms Adamic made a afloat betterment and a caller MRI showed nary signs of the tumor. 

Loyola Medicine besides confirmed to DailyMail.com that since the archetypal 13-hour surgery, she has not gotten oregon required immoderate further surgeries oregon treatment. 

The institute besides said that determination is nary hazard of her processing different tumor connected the different broadside of her face. 

'Every time that we locomotion into the room, the operating room, we privation for each patients to person the result that Shanna did. It was genuinely singular and we're thankful to person helped,' said Dr. Leonetti. 

And for anyone successful a akin situation, Ms Adamic said: 'One of the things that I decidedly truly absorption connected to is however important it is to advocator for yourself, that you are your ain champion friend.

'You cognize your assemblage amended than anyone else. And I deliberation that that's thing I instrumentality with me. Past that infinitesimal is reminding myself to perceive to my interior dependable each azygous clip and recognize that I request to propulsion guardant to get the answers erstwhile I request them,' she yet said of her experience.