The eighth cranial nerve (VIII), responsible for carrying sensory impulses from the inner ear to the brain. It has two branches, the vestibular nerve and the cochlear nerve. The cochlear nerve carries impulses from the spiral cochlea and is therefore the nerve of hearing, while the vestibular nerve serves equilibrium, carrying impulses from the semicircular canals, utricles, and saccules with information about posture, movement, and balance.
The eighth cranial nerve, also known as the auditory or acoustic nerve. It consists of two sets of fibres, which constitute two separate nerves. One is known as the vestibular nerve, which connects the semicircular canals and inner ear to the brain and conveys information on posture and movement of the body; it is the nerve of equilibration or balance. The other is known as the cochlear nerve, which links the cochlea (organ that responds to sounds) with the brain and is the nerve of hearing. Disturbance of the former causes giddiness (vertigo), whilst disturbance of the latter causes deafness.
A nerve that carries auditory and equilibrium-related information from the ear to the brain.
The eighth cranial nerve, known as the vestibulocochlear nerve, is composed of two branches: the vestibular nerve, responsible for balance, and the cochlear nerve, responsible for hearing. Each side of the head has a vestibulocochlear nerve, which transmits sensory signals from the inner ear to the brain. These signals enter the brainstem between the pons and medulla oblongata.
The presence of a tumor affecting the cells around the vestibulocochlear nerve can lead to symptoms like balance problems, tinnitus (a ringing sensation in the ear), and hearing loss. Additionally, damage to the nerve itself can also cause deafness. This damage could stem from various sources such as infections like meningitis or encephalitis, or it might result from a response to a medication like streptomycin.