Intro and MRV Results Help

Hey all, it's nice to virtually meet you. I'm 37, female and have had left-sided pulsatile tinnitus since 2012. I saw an ENT years ago and he told me to drink more water. Obviously, that didn't help. I thought it might be related to my iron-deficiency anemia, but I brought my hemoglobin up and the PT persisted. Fast forward....

A few weeks ago I saw a neurologist and he ordered an MRA and MRV. The MRV showed the following: "In the region of the confluence of the left sigmoid sinus and distal left internal jugular vein there is a small vascular outpouching measuring approximately 8 mm. It is asymmetric compared to the right side. Possibly this is a small venous diverticulum."

I don't really know what that means in terms of seriousness, in spite of much Googling. I'm also not sure if it's the same thing as an aneurysm. My neurologist said it looked "benign" and ordered a CT of the temporal bone with and without contrast.

Any idea what to make of this and what the CT is looking for? I'm not really loving the idea of the radiation from the CT which I can't schedule yet anyhow. I'm currently recovering from a procedure that requires me to wear a compression garment around my head and am kind of anxious about the possibility of increasing my intracranial pressure with this "thing" in my head. Sigh.

I emailed my neurologist, but it's Friday and I probably won't hear back til mid next week at best.

Anyhow, that's about it. Thanks for reading this Appreciate your insights!

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23550183

 

Thanks, DebInAustralia! Will check out that paper

 

You might be onto somethere there with your findings from your recent MRV.

The CT is possibly looking for the degree of pneumatisation of your temporal bone, but unsure of the relevance of this to your PT.