Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleader Thought She Had Noise-Induced Hearing Loss but Received a Life-Changing Diagnosis

In an interesting article published by Daily Mail (Srivastava, 2025), Shanna Adamic shared her health journey. Shanna, a former cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs began experiencing unilateral right-sided hearing loss, headache, vision changes, and slurred speech. Shanna’s symptoms initially started in 2011, and she consulted with several physicians over six years. Her symptoms were initially attributed to excessive noise exposure through her time as a cheerleader (the Kansas City Chiefs are listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the loudest sports venue in the world; Janela[2014]), dehydration, sleep apnea, and hormonal changes. She underwent a CT scan of the head, which was unremarkable. Shanna then received an MRI, which showed a golf ball-sized vestibular schwannoma impinging neighboring structures.

Her neurotologist and neurosurgeon successfully removed this benign tumor during a 13-hour surgery. After the surgery, Shanna experienced significant right-sided facial weakness, which made it difficult for her to close her eye, eat, and smile. Fortunately, her facial symptoms improved, although she continues to have (expected) right-sided hearing loss. Shanna stressed the importance of seeking medical care and an appropriate diagnosis through perseverance and self-advocacy.

References

Janela, M. (2014) Kansas City Chiefs fans reclaim record for loudest crowd roar at sports stadium. Guinness World Records.

Srivastava, I. (2025) Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader thought hearing loss was from noise of crowds… then came life-changing diagnosis. Daily Mail.