"Despite no previous signs, he went to see a doctor due to the vividness of his dream.

The doctor booked him in for a CAT scan & discovered that Ruffalo did indeed have a brain tumor behind his ear, which was subsequently removed.

Ruffalo addressed the issue in 2011 with W magazine stating: “You just deal with it. You go on. I’m fine now, I only lost my hearing in one ear. I see it as kind of a gift in a weird way. Your priorities become very clear. My relationship to acting became very clear.”"