Objective Tinnitus due to Spontaneous Temporomandibular Joint Herniation Treated by Reconstruction with Titanium Mesh / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

Herniation of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) into the external auditory canal (EAC) is known to be associated with a defect of the anterior wall of the EAC. Spontaneous herniation of TMJ into EAC is very rare and can induce clicking tinnitus, conductive hearing loss, otalgia, otorrhea and even no symptom. Here we report a very interesting case of spontaneous TMJ herniation, which resulted in severe and annoying clicky tinnitus and otalgia. There was no response to the initial conservative management, so surgical correction of TMJ herniation using titanium mesh was performed. After the surgery, the annoying clicky tinnitus completely disappeared. This study suggests that tinnitus caused by TMJ herniation be considered as another type of surgically curable objective tinnitus.