Archive · 21 Aug 2026
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.
- When
- The symptoms began in July 2024; the article does not specify the date of surgery.
- Where
- The evaluation and treatment took place at the Calcutta Medical Research Institute in Kolkata.
- 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.
- 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