Arachnoid Cyst help

[hannums6]

My husband (46 yrs. old) has been diagnosed with an arachnoid cyst in the posterolateral left posterior fossa, otherwise completely healthy.  This is what he is experiencing:
 Severe headaches over the left eyebrow (the spot always hurts and the severe all over headache is 3-4 times a week)
 Nausea and very limited appetite (eats about half of what he use too)
 Profound hearing loss (audiologist exam 8/2013) now has the hearing of an 87 year old man
 Right side eye blurriness 2 to 3 times a week (ophthalmologist exam 8/13 result: healthy eyes)
 Mental confusion (duration just a few seconds) been going on for about 4 weeks
 Waking in the night startled and sometimes confused
 Occasional left side of face tingling and numb feeling.
He has a current CT and MRI (both 7/13) that show the cyst (2.4 cm X 1.0 cm).
The neurologist said the cyst has nothing to do with his symptoms and wants him to go on Depakote.  He has been treated with migraine medicine (that did nothing for the pain) and a Prednisone burst (that did nothing either).   The neurosurgeon that reviewed his file said he would not do anything about the cyst.
After reading many forums it is obvious that these cysts are widely thought to not cause problems and many neurosurgeons will not treat them.
How can this common denominator be ignored for so many people?  What is this cyst is really what is causing all his problems.  Who do we turn to?

[hannums6]

Thank you for your reply.  The biggest problem right now is the primary Dr., the Neurologist, and the Neurosurgeon do not believe his symptoms are caused because of the arachnoid cyst.  They do not have any explanation for why he is experiencing these problems.  They just want to treat him with ongoing pain medication.  This is very frustrating.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
I agree that most of your husband’s symptoms can be explained by increased intracranial pressure caused by a posterior fossa lump/tumor/cyst. However, posterior fossa cysts have a high surgical morbidity (very risky for life). So, often a decompression surgery is performed wherein a shunt is placed. Alternatively your surgeon may or fenestrate (perforate) the cyst through endoscopic surgery. A neurosurgeon is the best person to discuss this with, but surgery to remove the cyst is unlikely to be carried out. Take care!

The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you. The advice may not be completely correct for you as the doctor cannot examine you and does not know your complete medical history. Hence this reply to your post should only be considered as a guiding line and you must consult your doctor at the earliest for your medical problem.