Former Sky Sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher has revealed that what she initially thought was a tennis injury turned out to be a benign brain tumour. The 50-year-old was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma in the summer of 2021 after experiencing hearing loss in her right ear.
Gallacher underwent radiotherapy last year in an attempt to shrink the inoperable tumour, which is located in the inner canal of her right ear. She is now awaiting an MRI scan to determine whether the treatment has been successful. 'The success rate's very good, it's not going to get rid of it. It's whether it shrinks it and sort of kills the DNA that keeps making it grow,' she said on the Vanessa show.
The presenter has been open about her ongoing struggles with tinnitus and hearing loss. She has declined a hearing aid, stating she is 'not there yet' and is managing the condition. However, she finds noisy environments challenging and sometimes has to leave social gatherings because she cannot hear conversations.
Gallacher first noticed something was wrong a few years ago when she woke up unable to hear properly from her right ear. After being referred to a consultant, it took some time to diagnose the acoustic neuroma, a benign tumour that affects many people. She has described the situation as 'very dangerous' to undergo surgery to remove the tumour.
In a separate incident last year, Gallacher became emotional while reading a statement after being given a six-month driving ban for speeding. She spoke about the uncertainty of her condition, saying, 'We don't know if the radiotherapy is going to work, if it will shrink [the tumour] or not. It's a bit of a 'suck it and see' situation.'
