Carbamazepine의 조기 투여로 완치된 타자기 이명 1예

Early Carbamazepine Treatment May Lead to Successful Cure of Typewriter Tinnitus: A Case Report

Typewriter tinnitus, whose cause is thought to be neurovascular compression of the cochlear nerve, is characterized by unilateral staccato tinnitus and known to be highly responsive to carbamazepine; however, complete remission has rarely been reported. A 67-yearold male visited the clinic with a complaint of tinnitus in his right ear lasting for 2 weeks; he reported it as sounding like “roasting beans.” We diagnosed him with typewriter tinnitus and started carbamazepine administration on the same day. Pure tone audiometry, auditory brainstem response (ABR) test, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed as well. The audiogram showed symmetric hearing loss at the high-frequency region. In the ABR test, the amplitudes of waves I-V of the right ear were decreased compared to the left ear. The MRI showed the anterior-inferior cerebellar artery loop abutting the auditory nerve, which is close to the entry of the internal auditory canal. The patient’s tinnitus completely disappeared after 3 weeks of carbamazepine administration. We propose that initiation of carbamazepine administration shortly after symptom onset may effectively treat typewriter tinnitus. Further study is needed to consolidate the effect of early initiation of carbamazepine administration.