1 week ago
Kolkata Girl’s Ringing Ear Reveals Narrowed Brain Vein
An 11-year-old girl heard a constant ringing or pulsing sound in one ear.
The sound was strongest when she was alone or working quietly.
At first, doctors thought stress might be causing it.
The sound returned after medicines helped only for a short time.
Doctors at the Calcutta Medical Research Institute used a special scan to examine her blood vessels.
The scan showed that a vein carrying blood from her brain had become narrow.
The ringing stopped briefly when doctors pressed on a nearby neck vein, giving them an important clue.
They treated the narrowing with a small device called a stent, and her symptoms went away.
An 11-year-old Kolkata girl reported continuous, pulsating noise in her right ear from July 2024.
Her symptoms were initially attributed to stress or mental-health issues, and treatment provided only temporary relief.
An MRI venogram showed narrowing of the transverse venous sinus, indicating a possible vascular cause.
The sound disappeared when doctors compressed her jugular vein, supporting a vascular explanation for the tinnitus.
Doctors performed venous sinus stenting, after which the girl’s distressing symptoms were successfully resolved.
- Who
- An 11-year-old girl from Kolkata, treated by doctors at the Calcutta Medical Research Institute.
- What
- She underwent venous sinus stenting after doctors linked her one-sided pulsatile tinnitus to narrowing of the transverse venous sinus.
- Where
- The evaluation and treatment took place at the Calcutta Medical Research Institute in Kolkata.
- When
- The symptoms began in July 2024; the article does not specify the date of surgery.
- Why
- Doctors identified narrowing in a brain vein that was causing the pulsating ear noise.
Initial Stress-Based Explanation
Later Vascular Diagnosis
Cause of the ringing
Initial Stress-Based Explanation
Earlier consultations attributed the girl’s symptoms to stress or a mental-health problem, and medication helped only temporarily.
Later Vascular Diagnosis
Further evaluation found transverse venous sinus narrowing, and doctors linked it to unilateral pulsatile tinnitus.
Key facts
- Patient
- 11-year-old girl from Kolkata
- Main symptom
- Continuous pulsating or ringing noise in the right ear
- Symptom onset
- July 2024
- Scan finding
- Narrowing of the transverse venous sinus on MRI venogram
- Diagnostic clue
- The tinnitus disappeared when the jugular vein was compressed
- Treatment
- Venous sinus stenting
- Reported outcome
- The distressing symptoms were successfully resolved
Quotes
The 11-year-old patient
The Kolkata girl treated for persistent right-ear pulsatile tinnitus
“Pulsatile tinnitus can sometimes be the first indication of an underlying vascular problem. This case highlights the importance of timely neurological and vascular evaluation, as identifying the cause allowed us to treat the venous sinus narrowing through stenting and successfully resolve the patient’s distressing symptoms.”
livemint.com
“Since July 2024, I have been experiencing a sound in my right ear, something like a ringing noise, and it happens continuously, 24x7. It is very disturbing. When I am in a noisy place or when someone is with me, I don’t really feel it much. But when I am alone or working, it becomes very problematic.”
livemint.com
Dr NVK Mohan
Otologist, ENT and cochlear implant surgeon who treated the patient
“The presence of one-sided pulsatile tinnitus, particularly when it synchronises with the heartbeat and disappears on jugular compression, should prompt clinicians to look beyond common causes. In this case, detailed evaluation helped identify an underlying venous sinus narrowing and guided the patient towards appropriate treatment.”
livemint.com
Sources
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