Any other explanation other than a brain tumor? Chances of surviving if it is a brain tumor?

[superduper89]

When I was 8, I began noticing clear circles floating in my vision when looking at the sky. Then when I was about 14, I went to bite into my lunch one day & noticed that I couldn't taste anything. I mentioned it to my parents a few times, they thought I was crazy, so I learned to deal w/ it. Around that time, it became difficult to pronounce certain words, but no one else seemed to notice. The taste issue kind of went away; I really can't remember what a "normal" sense of taste is anymore, but I do know that I can taste something when I eat now.

Then in the 11th grade I started having dizzy spells. I went to a doctor once due to an issue w/ my knee, & he pretty much said, "You're fine." so my dad took that as I was making the dizzy spells up.

Other issues began creeping up over the next 4 yrs.My memory is messed up, short-term in particular, but long-term also. I have constant pain in this specific spot on my head above my right  ear. I feel off-balanced all of the time & have coordination issues. Sometimes I type the wrong word when writing. I've had times when I smell something other people don't smell. I have a lot of symptoms that I think make it pretty clear that there's something wrong w/ my brain causing my nervous system to misfire.

I just want to know if there are any explanations other than a brain tumor & if there's any hope that, after 6ish yrs of this going on, that anything could be done about it if it is a tumor.

I'm terrified to go to a doctor now because I figure that my body's got to be trash inside by now. I told my dad I wanted to get checked out a few weeks ago, & he threw a phone number at me & was like, "Here. Make an apptmnt & go yourself." He thinks it's all anxiety. I don't really know how to explain to people that I've mostly been keeping this all to myself for so many yrs if/when I do get a diagnosis of some type of brain tumor, so I keep putting it off. So, I just wanted to ask if there's any chance of it being something else. Thx!

[superduper89]

Okay, one more thing which I think is pretty significant. The off-balanced feeling seems to be at its worst when switching between extremes in stimuli, if that makes any sense. For instance, if I leave a dark theater and step out into the bright sunlight or if I leave a bright room and and walk out into the pitch black night. It's mostly related to changes in lighting, but I also feel really anxious and off-balanced if, say, the air conditioner suddenly cuts off or if I'm in a really quiet room and a beeping sound starts going off somewhere. I've also noticed that fluorescent lights make it near impossible to concentrate on anything and, depending on the day and the type of light, make me feel like I'm going to fall or pass out. For this reason, I've been avoiding grocery stores and especially Walmart. I tried going there yesterday and ran out of the store because it felt like I was in some sort of twilight zone and my whole body was going numb.

[superduper89]

Oh, and I'm a 22 year-old female if that matters.

[superduper89]

Just wanted to say I hope this question makes sense as is. There are a lot of other details I had to cut out to make the 2,000 character limit. I tried to keep what I judge to be the most crucial details. Thank you in advance if anyone shares any insight :)