Multiple Venous Malformations as a Cause of Pulsatile Tinnitus

Pulsatile tinnitus is a relatively common presentation in otolaryngology clinics, most cases of which have a treatable cause. This presentation warrants a thorough workup to identify treatable, and rule out life-threatening, etiologies. We present a case of a patient with pulsatile tinnitus arising from multiple dilated venous channels in the head and neck. Case Presentation. We present the case of a 65-year-old Caucasian female with a two-year history of progressive, bilateral pulsatile tinnitus, which had become debilitating. Computed-tomographic angiography (CTA) studies ruled out an intracranial vascular cause for her symptoms. However, computed tomography (CT) scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multiple dilated bilateral, low-flow, venous channels throughout the head and neck. The proximity of such dilated venous channels to the temporal bone provides a route for sound to be transmitted to the inner ear.

Arterial, venous, and systemic etiologies can cause pulsatile tinnitus. Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the head and neck represent less than 1% of cases. In our patient, dilated low-flow venous malformations are the likely source of her symptoms, which is the first reported case in the literature.