A Case in Which Wideband Tympanometry Was Useful for the Diagnosis of Superior Semicircular Canal Fissure Syndrome

Abstract

Superior semicircular canal fissure syndrome (SCDS) was first reported by Minor in 1998. The main complaint in patients with SCDS is chronic vertigo. Many cases remain undiagnosed. Increasing amplitude in the oVEMP test is a useful finding.

Wideband tympanometry (WBT) exhibits absorbance in the frequency range of 226 to 8,000 Hz using a broadband click sound and is said to be useful for the diagnosis of the otitis media with effusion.

In this report, we describe a case in which WBT was useful for the diagnosis of SCD.

The patient was a 39-year-old woman who presented with a history of chronic vertigo. She had been suspected as having Meniere’s disease since she was 20 years old. She reported suffering from dizziness when descending stairs and running, a floating sensation every day, and sometimes rotational dizziness. Both cVEMP and oVEMP showed increasing amplitude on the left, and vHIT showed abnormalities in the left anterior semicircular canal. WBT showed findings of SCD mark. CT showed a superior semicircular canal fissure, confirming the diagnosis of SCD.

CT is necessary for the diagnosis of SCDS. However, presence of a canal fissure has been reported in 12% of normal patients. Therefore, other functional tests would be needed for the diagnosis of SCDS in addition to CT. WBT may be a useful functional test for the diagnosis of SCD.