CASE REPORT   

Otorinolaringologia 2015 December;65(4):123-7

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Pulsatile tinnitus caused by an anterior inferior cerebellar artery loop in the cerebellopontine angle: case report and review of the literature

Valsamidis K. ¹, Koutsampasopoulou I. ², Titelis K. ¹

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Department “Georgios Gennimatas”, General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; ² Department of Radiology Department, Papageorgiou General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Tinnitus is a common disorder and it can be classified as pulsatile and non-pulsatile. Pulsatile tinnitus (PT) is less common than non-pulsatile and can be due to vascular tumors or vascular abnormality. We present one interesting case of a 23 year-old lady with a one-year history of unilateral PT in her left ear respectively. It was not associated with other audiovestibular symptoms such as vertigo or hearing loss. Clinical examination and Tuning Fork Test were unremarkable. Otoscopic and neurological examinations as well as pure tone audiometry were normal. A magnetic resonance imaging was performed to look for any abnormality in the cerebellopontine angle, and it revealed a single vessel looping around the cisternal segment of the vestibulocochlear nerve of the affected side, likely a branch of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery. Literature review on the pathophysiology, diagnostic work-up and treatment option of this condition is discussed.