[Functional Anatomy and Related Disorders of the Facial and Auditory Nerves]

The diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the facial and auditory nerves are managed by medical doctors across several departments, including Neurology, Otolaryngology, and Neurosurgery. It is not easy to comprehensively cover the knowledge base of each department. Therefore, this article provides a broad description of the facial and auditory nerves, including nerve conduction pathways, associated disorders and symptoms, examination methods, causative diseases, and recent topics. We also focus on neoplastic lesions of the cerebellopontine angle that can cause palsy of the facial and auditory nerves, including vestibular schwannomas, NF2-related schwannomatosis, meningioma, and epidermoid cyst. Because facial and auditory nerve functions are closely related to quality of life, it is important to efficiently identify the cause of impairment and rapidly develop an appropriate strategy for improvement.