[Rare differential diagnosis of a degenerative cervical syndrome: an arteriovenous meningeal fistula of the sigmoid sinus].

A 65-year-old patient was referred to our clinic with persisting, severe tinnitus aurium. Due to the facts that prior otolaryngological as well as neurological assessment had been unremarkable and that the patient showed marked degenerative changes in the cervical spine the referring orthopaedic surgeon suggested the cause to be of vertebral origin. Case history showed that the tinnitus had spontaneously occurred and was pulse synchronous. Overall clinical evaluation of the cervical spine was inconspicuous. A brachialgia or other symptoms typically associated with a degenerative cervical syndrome could not be provoked. On the basis of this atypical clinical picture we performed a digital subtraction angiography (DSA) to exclude pathology in the vicinity of the cerebral vessels. This revealed an arteriovenous fistula of the sigmoid sinus which was then, under the auspices of our neurosurgeons, successfully closed by Gugliemo coil embolism. The patient reported that the tinnitus subsided almost immediately. This case demonstrates that despite the manifold pathology that is associated with degenerative cervical syndrome, pulse synchronous tinnitus aurium needs further clarification. Had the case history been taken more accurately and the quality of the tinnitus assessed earlier, the period between onset of symptoms and correct treatment could have been decreased significantly.