Vertigo as the sole complaint of tympanomastoid paraganglioma

• Published in: 中华耳科学杂志（英文版） Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 33 - 35
• Main Authors: Xi-Xing Li, Wei-Na Cui, Guo-Dong Gao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China%Department of Medical Radiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China 2020
• Subjects: Tympanomastoid; Paraganglioma; Glomus tympanicum; Vertigo
• ISSN: 1672-2930
• DOI: 10.3760/j.issn.1672-2930.2020.01.005

Background: Tympanomastoid paragangliomas are usually benign, slowly growing, painless tumors. The common presenting symptoms of this tumor are pulsatile tinnitus and conductive hearing loss. Vertigo as the cardinal or initial symptom is extremely rare, especially in the early stages of the disease.Case presentation: A 53-year-old female patient presented only with intermittent recurrent vertigo and was later found to have a tympanomastoid paraganglioma. Her symptoms disappeared completely after resection of the tumor. This is the first report in literature of a case of tympanomastoid paraganglioma with vertigo as the single symptom. Conclusion: The tympanomastoid paraganglioma is rare and its clinical symptoms are nonspecific, so it is easy to be misdiagnosed or missed. It is worth noting that although clinically uncommon, vertigo can also be the first or sole symptom of tympanomastoid paraganglioma. Detailed physical examination and imaging examination of the ear are necessary and should be carried out meticulously.