[A case of ischemic disturbance of inner ear]

We reported a 51-year-old male with ischemic disturbance of right inner ear resembling Meniere's disease. The patient had a sudden-onset episode of vertigo, right severe hearing disturbance, nausea, vomiting and gait disturbance. Two days after, he had hypersomnia, vertical gaze palsy, double vision, left Horner's sign, and sensory disturbance of pain and temperature of right half body involving face. Brain MRI disclosed high intensity area in T2-weighted image and proton density in bilateral paramedian thalamo-mesencephalic region and right cerebellum (area of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery). Cerebral angiography showed 90% or more stenosis of the right vertebral artery, 50% stenosis of the left vertebral artery before the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA), and 60% stenosis of distal portion of the basilar artery. Furthermore, stem portion of the posterior cerebral artery, and the right anterior cerebellar artery and the left vertebral artery after the PICA were absent or occluded. Right deafness was evaluated to be Jerger type II, namely disturbance of inner ear. Caloric tests showed no response, and right auditory brainstem response showed no waves. Main cause of this vertigo and right deafness was considered to be disturbance of inner ear due to ischemia of right labyrinthine artery, though this patient was not a typical case of the anterior cerebellar artery syndrome. Ischemic disturbances of inner ear have been reported only in patients with the anterior cerebellar artery syndrome, therefore this patient who had only acute ischemic disturbance of inner ear and did not have disturbance of caudo-lateral portion of the pons was considered to be very rare.