6 Brain Tumor Symptoms You Should Not Ignore

What a seizure looks like can vary based on where the tumor is located, Black says. If you have a tumor developing in the area of your brain that controls the left side of your body, for example, you may notice twitching only in your left arm or leg.

Seizures usually last just a few minutes, then subside, Black says. “The key thing with a seizure is that it comes and goes.”

2. New or unusual headache

A new type of headache or one that feels localized to a specific part of your head is another early indication of a brain tumor, Peters says. She points out, however, that many other conditions can cause a headache.

Headaches caused by a tumor are often worse in the morning. “When you lay flat, there’s more pressure in your head,” Peters explains. “And then as the day goes on and you’re walking around, the pressure goes down.”

The pain caused by a tumor tends to get worse when you cough, use the bathroom or exercise, she says, because those activities increase intercranial pressure.

3. Numbness, weakness or tingling on one side       

Many people know that numbness, weakness or tingling on one side of the body can be a sign of a stroke, Black says. But they may not realize it can also indicate a brain tumor.

One difference is that tingling caused by a tumor may come and go for months, but stroke symptoms tend to persist. Many brain tumor patients describe “a creeping effect,” Peters says, with numbness or tingling starting in their hands and progressing to their arm, then their shoulder.

Because the tingling is temporary and subtle, some patients don’t report it to their medical provider. “I have [brain tumor] patients all the time who give their history and say they started to have tingling three months ago or six months ago,” Black says. 

4. Confusion or loss of awareness

Sometimes brain tumors trigger a type of seizure that causes the person to zone out or become unaware of their surroundings for a short time, Peters says. Called complex partial seizures or focal impaired awareness seizures, they may not be recognized as seizures because people tend to think of the classic type that causes muscle convulsions.

Peters describes complex partial seizures this way: “You’re talking to a loved one, and all of a sudden, they are staring into space and blanked out and miss what just happened in the conversation.” Afterward, the person may seem confused and have no memory of the past few minutes.

5. Unexplained speech, vision or hearing problems

If a tumor is growing in the area that affects language and speech, you may have moments when you suddenly have trouble expressing words or understanding what is being said. If it’s growing near the visual pathways in your brain, you may experience vision problems, lose your peripheral vision on one side or see flashing lights. 

Similarly, if you lose your hearing on one side or start to develop vertigo or tinnitus, it can be a sign of a tumor pressing on your hearing or balance nerves, Black says.

6. Personality changes

Occasionally, a brain tumor causes changes to someone’s personality or behavior. If a friend or family member is acting strangely — perhaps they are more aggressive than usual or seem to be making bad decisions — that can be an early symptom of a tumor growing in the frontal lobe of the brain, which controls personality.  

Editor's note: This story, first published Feb. 16, 2022, has been updated to include new information.