Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T06:44:46.341Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An unusual cause of chronic otitis media with effusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2014

L Cooper ,
K Ford ,
R Talwar  and
M Wareing
L Cooper*
Affiliation:
Otorhinolaryngology Department, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK
K Ford
Affiliation:
Cardiothoracic Department, King's College Hospital, London, UK
R Talwar
Affiliation:
Otorhinolaryngology Department, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK
M Wareing
Affiliation:
Otorhinolaryngology Department, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Ms Lilli Cooper, Otorhinolaryngology Department, The Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel Rd, London E1 1BB, UK Fax: +44 (0)20 3594 1206 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

To describe an unusual cause for hearing loss in an adult.

Case report:

A 37-year-old man presented with a year's history of right-sided hearing loss. He had no history of trauma, or local or systemic infection. He was otherwise well, took no medication and had no allergies. He had a two-year history of low back pain. On examination, he had a retracted right tympanic membrane with no perforation, and a middle-ear effusion. Nasendoscopy was normal. Examination of other systems was unremarkable. Computed tomography of the temporal bones with contrast demonstrated a large, right, intra-cerebral internal carotid artery aneurysm compressing the eustachian tube. After a balloon occlusion test, he underwent endovascular occlusion of the parent vessel. He made a good post-operative recovery. A subsequent abdominal ultrasound excluded an abdominal aneurysm as a cause of his low back pain. His hearing had not improved three days post-operatively, and was to be formally assessed and monitored in the clinic.

Discussion:

A carotid aneurysm is a rare cause of eustachian tube compression but must be considered in the differential diagnosis of conductive hearing loss. Aneurysms may have systemic causes, and their presence in other systems should be excluded as they may be multiple.

Keywords

Carotid ArteriesTinnitusEustachian TubeConductive Hearing LossAneurysm
Type
Clinical Records
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 128 , Issue 2 , February 2014 , pp. 179 - 181
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Finkelstein, Y, Ophir, D, Talmi, YP, Shabtai, A, Strauss, M, Zohar, Y. Adult-onset otitis media with effusion. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1994;120:517–27CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Mair, IWS, Schroder, KE, Kearney, MS. Chronic serous otitis media in the adult. J Laryngol Otol 1979;93:135–42CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Moonis, G, Hwang, CJ, Ahmed, T, Weigele, JB, Hurst, RW. Otologic manifestations of petrous carotid aneurysms. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2005;26:1324–7Google Scholar
4Davies, A, Dale, O, Renowden, S. Spontaneous rupture of an intra-cavernous internal carotid artery aneurysm presenting with massive epistaxis. J Laryngol Otol 2011;125:1070–2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Lau, WY, Chow, CK. Radiation-induced petrous internal carotid artery aneurysm. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 2005;114:939–40Google Scholar
6Mori, R, Murayama, Y, Irie, K, Takao, H, Ebara, M, Ishibashi, T et al. Endovascular treatment of large petrous internal carotid artery aneurysm associated with chronic otitis media: case report [in Japanese]. No Shinkei Geka 2006;34:415–19Google Scholar
7Finney, LH, Roberts, TS, Anderson, RE. Giant intracranial aneurysm associated with Marfan's syndrome: a case report. J Neurosurg 1976;45:342–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8Johnsen, SH, Forsdahl, SH, Solberg, S, Singh, K, Jacobsen, BK. Carotid atherosclerosis and relation to growth of infrarenal aortic diameter and follow-up diameter: the Tromso Study. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg 2013;45:135–40CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Abe, H, Takemoto, K, Higashi, T, Inoue, T. Surgical treatment for aneurysms in the cavernous-petrous portion of the internal carotid artery. Acta Neurochir Suppl (Wien) 2011;112:77–83CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Singh, H, Thomas, J, Hoe, WL, Sethi, DS. Giant petrous carotid aneurysm: persistent epistaxis despite internal carotid artery ligation. J Laryngol Otol 2008;122:e18Google Scholar
11Sadé, J. Treatment of cholesteatoma and retraction pockets. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 1998;250:193–9Google Scholar