Absent stapedial reflex: otosclerosis or middle ear tumor?

We present an unusual case in which a patient diagnosed as having otosclerosis on the basis of clinical and audiologic findings actually had a middle ear facial nerve schwannoma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case in English literature in which a facial nerve schwannoma presented with conductive deafness of gradual onset and absent stapedial reflex with a normally functioning facial nerve. We also include a review of the literature.