Article Text
Summary
Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of a corresponding external acoustic stimulus, resulting in an estimated prevalence of 10% to 15% in adults. Tinnitus may be classified as pulsatile (PT) or continuous (non-PT), and may be subjective (heard only by the patient) or objective (also audible to the examiner). PT is usually related to vascular causes and is pulse synchronous (coinciding with the patient’s heartbeat). PT is much less common affecting approximately 4% of patients with tinnitus, but unlike non-PT, usually has a specific identifiable cause. We present a case of a man without previous otological disease or head trauma, with a left-ear subjective PT. MR angiography detected a left vertebro-vertebral arteriovenous fistula, which was treated by endovascular embolisation with important symptomatic relief.
- ear, nose and throat/otolaryngology
- interventional radiology
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Footnotes
Contributors MSB is the medical doctor of the patient, drafted the initial manuscript, made revisions. JA and JR made the neuroradiological exam, performed the selection of the images, coworked in the images description and revised the manuscript. LD critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Obtained.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.