Tinnitus caused by traumatic posterior auricular artery–internal jugular vein fistula

Abstract

A patient with an arteriovenous fistula that developed after a traffic accident was recently treated. The patient noticed pulsatile tinnitus in the right orbital region two months after the accident. On the first visit, the preliminary clinical impression of this case was a carotid-cavernous fistula, but angiography showed a fistula between the posterior auricular artery and the internal jugular vein. Although rare, this arteriovenous fistula should be included in the differential diagnosis of pusatile tinnitus in the orbit region. The fistula was controlled by embolization with a platinum coil. This is the first report of an arteriovenous fistula between the posterior auricular artery and internal jugular vein.