Treatment Outcomes of Patients with Glomus Tympanicum Tumors Presenting with Pulsatile Tinnitus

• Main Authors: Seung-Jae Lee, Sang-Yeon Lee, Gwang-Seok An, Kyogu Lee, Byung-Yoon Choi, Ja-Won Koo, Jae-Jin Song
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Subjects: tinnitus; pulsatile tinnitus; glomus tympanicum; paraganglioma
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/11/2348

We reviewed the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients with glomus tympanicum tumors (GTTs) presenting with pulsatile tinnitus (PT). We explored whether transcanal sound recording-spectro-temporal analysis (TSR-STA) usefully evaluated changes in PT. The medical records of 13 patients who underwent surgical removal of GTTs were reviewed retrospectively. Two patients underwent preoperative endovascular embolization. Changes in PT, pre- and postoperative audiometry data, TSR-STA results, and clinical outcomes were evaluated. PT was the chief complaint in eight patients (61.5%) and resolved immediately after surgical intervention in all. Two patients exhibited ipsilateral, pseudo-low-frequency hearing loss (PLFHL); surgical GTT removal elicited postoperative improvements in the ipsilesional low-frequency hearing thresholds. Five patients underwent TSR-STA using previously described methods. TSR-STA revealed definite rise-and-fall patterns; surgical tumor removal abated this pattern in one patient, but, for the other four, the patterns did not change greatly post-intervention. Thus, GTT-related PT can be treated successfully (via surgical GTT removal) without complications. In selected cases, preoperative embolization reduces intraoperative hemorrhage. In PT patients with PLFHL, a detailed otoendoscopic examination of the middle ear is required to rule out a GTT. TSR-STA may usefully (and objectively) assess postoperative improvements in GTT-related PT.