Brain Tumor Symptoms and Early Warning Signs

The brain is divided into different regions that control various bodily functions. Certain areas of the brain control movement and sensation of our arms, legs and face. Other regions of the brain also affect our thinking, coordination and ability to speak. This is why brain tumors can cause problems with any of these functions.

When these symptoms are caused by a problem in the brain it is usually on one side of the body and not everywhere. For example, one arm or leg may feel weaker, heavier or numb compared to the other side. In some cases, weakness can involve the face causing facial drooping, slurred speech or difficulty swallowing.

When sudden or new weakness is due to a brain problem, these symptoms are more commonly caused by a stroke. However, brain tumors can cause seizures that can mimic a stroke. Therefore, if you or someone you are with experiences a sudden change in any neurologic symptom, these symptoms should be checked out immediately in an ER to determine the cause and start treatment as soon as possible.

New seizures in an adult are one of the most common signs of certain types of brain tumors. Seizures occur when a tumor disrupts normal electrical activity in the brain. They may involve full-body convulsions, sudden muscle jerking, brief lapses in awareness, confusion or unusual sensations, such as tingling or deja vu. in some cases, seizures may appear subtle. For example, a person may seem to be staring off into space or unresponsive while being spoken to.

Additionally, seizures can present in the more commonly recognized form, with uncontrolled shaking of the entire body or spasms affecting one side of the body, such as an arm, leg or the face.

“Seizures are never normal,” says Jeremy Ciporen, MD, a neurosurgeon at Scripps Clinic and Scripps Cancer Center. “Even a single unexplained seizure should prompt medical evaluation.”

Brain tumors can affect how a person speaks and understands language. While most people occasionally struggle to find the right word, a normal experience in healthy individuals, speech difficulties related to brain tumors are typically more frequent and noticeable.

Speech changes caused by brain tumors can take different forms. Some people have trouble producing the correct sounds of words or may use incorrect words more often. Others may begin speaking in sounds that resemble words but are not actual words. This can be mistaken for confusion as the speech may not make sense to listeners.

Brain tumors can also affect the muscles involved in speech, leading to changes in voice quality or slurred speech.

The brain is not just responsible for speaking, but also understanding what other people are saying. Brain tumors can make it difficult to understand what people are saying to us. This can often be described as confusion but may be aphasia due to a tumor in the brain’s language center. If these symptoms start suddenly, over seconds, minutes or days, this can be a medical emergency, such as a stroke, so a visit to the ER is recommended.

The brain’s frontal lobe controls reasoning, judgment, emotions and behavior. A tumor here can lead to noticeable changes in personality or processing information, such as difficulty concentrating or remembering things, increased confusion or poor decision-making.

Personality changes may include mood swings, irritability, risky behaviors or a loss of interest in favorite activities. Again, such changes can have other causes, such as depression or dementia-related illnesses. Regardless of the cause, cognitive or personality changes should be evaluated by a physician.

Headaches are a common and can have dozens of causes — stress, weather, muscle tension, dehydration, migraines and more. Brain tumors can cause headaches when the tumor increases pressure inside the skull (known as intracranial pressure) or presses on blood vessels or the brain covering.

“The experience and pattern of headaches set brain tumor related headaches apart from other, more common, types of headaches like migraine and tension headaches,” says Tresa McGranahan, MD, PhD, a neuro-oncologist at Scripps Clinic and director of the neuro-oncology program at Scripps Cancer Center.

“Brain tumor headaches tend to be worse when lying down, for example when sleeping and less severe when people are up and more active,” Dr. McGranahan says. “Additionally, certain activities like bending over, coughing or having a bowel movement can cause the headache to worsen significantly. Sudden onset of the worst headache of your life should prompt emergency medical care.”

Keep in mind that headaches are common and brain tumors are rare. That means headache symptoms are only rarely a symptom of a brain tumor. In fact headaches are so common that there are many patients with benign brain tumors that the headache is not even related to the brain tumor at all. That said, if you have new or worsening headaches, discuss them with your doctor for evaluation of the type of headache and best treatment options.

Unexplained, frequent and persistent nausea and vomiting can be another sign of increased pressure or a change within the back part of the brain. However, nausea and vomiting are far more commonly caused by gastrointestinal issues, such as stomach viruses or food poisoning.

One feature that may help distinguish nausea and vomiting related to brain tumors, particularly in children, is vomiting that occurs in the morning or upon waking and improves as the day goes on.

Balance and coordination are complicated tasks that involve the brain and nerves. Balance is a skill that can improve with practice and can worsen with age. When brain tumors cause balance or coordination problems it is more commonly on one side of the body or associated with tremors or unusual control of movements.

Brain tumors can cause different auditory symptoms. Hearing is an important way we interact with the world and decrease or loss of hearing in one ear can be caused by a brain tumor putting pressure on the nerve bringing information about sound from the ear to the brain.

“Hearing loss affecting one side, balance problems with our without room spinning sensation (also known as vertigo) can be due to brain tumors and should be evaluated with hearing tests and MRI of the brain,” says Dr. Ciporen.

Other hearing changes, such as gradual hearing loss in both ears or ringing or buzzing sounds known as tinnitus, are only rarely related to brain tumors. Correcting hearing loss early has been shown to help protect the brain and should be evaluated.

The brain plays a key role in processing visual information from the eyes to the experience of sight. Tumors in areas of the brain that control vision can cause double vision, partial vision and/or color visual loss, blind spots or, in rare cases, seeing things that aren’t there.

If vision decline cannot be explained by a primary eye problem like near or far-sightedness, cataracts, macular degeneration and is not corrected with glasses or lenses further evaluation is warranted. These symptoms can also have other, less-serious causes, such as migraines or a problem with the eye itself. Be sure to have new vision changes evaluated by a medical professional. 

“It’s important to remember that most of these symptoms are not caused by a brain tumor. Neurologic symptoms are common and brain tumors are rare, especially brain cancer. You shouldn’t immediately worry about cancer,” says Dr. McGranahan “However, if symptoms are persistent, worsening or appear in combination, you need prompt medical attention. Early detection can significantly improve treatment outcomes and preserve quality of life.”