title: Large nasopharyngeal inverted papilloma presenting with rustling tinnitus.
abstract: Tinnitus is a common symptom caused by numerous diseases. The etiology is unknown in most cases; however, nasopharyngeal lesions may cause a certain tinnitus. We herein report a case of nasopharyngeal inverted papilloma which presents with rustling tinnitus as the sole initial symptom. The tympanic membrane was intact, and results of hearing test and impedance audiometry were normal. However, sonotubometry showed a complete blockage of the Eustachian tube. A large tumor was found that originated from the choana and occupied the nasopharynx which caused a rustling sound when she swallowed or spoke. Tinnitus totally subsided after removal of this tumor. To our knowledge, the tumor origin and presenting symptom of this case are very rare, and nasopharyngeal examination is required in the diagnosis of unknown hearing symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kishikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: atsunoda@mac.com.
authors.forename: Atsunobu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsunoda
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018308:Papilloma, Inverted / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology*