Tinnitus Related to Forceful Eyelid Closure: A Case Report

Abstract

Tinnitus is a common complaint in the clinical setting and can be classified into sensorineural and objective tinnitus. The sources of objective tinnitus may either come from para-auditory structures, such as myogenic or vascular structures, or the middle ear muscles. One type of objective tinnitus of muscular origin is known as forceful eyelid closure syndrome (FECS). We present an additional case of a 22-year-old woman with unilateral FECS. The auricles and external auditory canals were normal bilaterally; we examined her tympanic membrane under an endoscope, the left tympanic membrane was retracted simultaneously with the closure of her eyelids. Both tympanograms were of type A. However, small cut trace associated with tympanic membrane movement were obtained during blinking. The patient was managed by behavioral therapy and medication treatment conservatively, and the condition became well-controlled. Here, we present this rare case and review the literature.