Clinical efficacy of internal jugular vein ligation in treatment of vascular tinnitus

Pulsatile tinnitus of vascular origin is one of the most common forms of this condition. Surgical management of the problematic lesion can be effective in vascular tinnitus. Here, we present three cases of pulsatile tinnitus of venous origin. Despite general tinnitus therapy and tinnitus rehabilitation therapy, tinnitus was persistent in these cases. Therefore, the patients were treated with ligation of the internal jugular vein (IJV). During angiography, the site for venous ligation was confirmed by compression of the internal jugular vein with the probe of a Doppler sonograph. The results in these cases are presented along with a review of the relevant literature. IJV ligation is thought to be an appropriate treatment modality in selected cases of venous tinnitus and Doppler sonography is a very effective and non-invasive method for determining the appropriate ligation level. Copyright 2005