Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2021;36(2):172-175.
doi: 10.5222/MMJ.2021.52460. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Primary Eustachian Tube Tuberculosis

Mohd Hafiz Hamzah  1 , Irfan Mohamad  2 , Nor Shahida Abd Mutalib  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Primary Eustachian Tube Tuberculosis

Mohd Hafiz Hamzah et al. Medeni Med J. 2021.

Abstract
in English, Turkish

Nasopharyngeal tuberculosis is a rare occurrence, and primarily involves the proximal part of the Eustachian tube. Mechanical obstruction of the Eustachian tube will affect the pressure discrepancy between the middle ear and the external atmosphere, leading to aural fullness, unilateral hearing disturbance, and otitis media. These conditions can be overlooked or mistakenly diagnosed as ear pathology. We report a case of unilateral hearing loss and tinnitus in a 31-year-old healthy woman that was later confirmed to be tuberculosis of the Eustachian tube. In cases with indicators suggesting a high index of suspicion, a thorough examination of the head and neck regions is especially very important. Once it has been diagnosed, Eustachian tuberculosis can be successfully treated with anti-tuberculosis medications.

Nazofarengeal tüberküloz, östaki borusunun proksimal kısmının tutulumu başta olmak üzere nadir bir durumdur. Östaki borusunun mekanik açıdan tıkanması, orta kulak ile dış atmosfer arasındaki basınç uyumsuzluğunu etkileyerek işitsel dolgunluğa, tek taraflı işitme bozukluğuna ve orta kulak iltihabına yol açacaktır. Bu durumlar gözden kaçabilir veya yanlışlıkla kulak patolojisi gibi teşhis edilebilir. Otuz bir yaşında olan sağlıklı bir kadında daha sonra östaki borusu tüberkülozu olduğu doğrulanan tek taraflı işitme kaybı ve kulak çınlaması vakası sunuyoruz. Şüpheli gösterge indeksinin yüksek olduğu durumlarda, baş ve boyun bölgesinin derinlemesine incelenmesi özellikle çok önemlidir. Teşhis konulduğunda östaki tüberkülozu, anti-tüberküloz ilaçları ile başarılı bir şekilde tedavi edilebilir.

Keywords: Eustachian tube; tuberculosis; unilateral hearing loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Nasal endoscopy showed slough covering Eustachian tube orifice.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Complete resolution of slough at Eustachian tube orifice.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Menon K, Bem C, Gouldesbrough D, Strachan DR. A clinical review of 128 cases of head and neck tuberculosis presenting over a 10-year period in Bradford, UK. J Laryngol Otol. 2007;121:362–8. - PubMed
    1. Srirompotong S, Yimtae K, Jintakanon D. Nasopharyngeal tuberculosis: manifestations between 1991 and 2000. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004;131:762–4. - PubMed
    1. Chow TK, Loh ZH, Sinnathamby PA. A case of nasopha-ryngeal tuberculosis. Asian Journal of Research in Surgery. 2019;2:1–4.
    1. Sithinamsuwan P, Sakulsaengprapha A, Chinvarun Y. Nasopharyngeal tuberculosis: a case report presenting with diplopia. J Med Assoc Thai. 2005;88:1442–6. PMID: 16519394. - PubMed
    1. Oh SJ, Yi KI, Lee CH, Cho KS. Primary tuberculosis of the eustachian tube causing otitis media with effusion. Am J Otolaryngol. 2015;36:575–7. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources