%0 Journal Article
%T Nasopharyngeal cancer mimicking otitic barotrauma in a resource-challenged center: a case report
%A Adekunle Daniel
%A Ayotunde Fasunla
%J Journal of Medical Case Reports
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1752-1947-5-532
%X We present the case of a 29-year-old Nigerian woman with bilateral conductive hearing loss and tinnitus after air travel. There were no other symptoms. The persistence of the symptoms after adequate treatment for otitic barotrauma necessitated re-evaluation, which led to a diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer.Isolated otologic manifestations of nasopharyngeal cancer are rare in regions with low incidence of the disease. There is a need for it to be considered as a possible differential in patients presenting with bilateral serous otitis media.The clinical presentations of nasopharyngeal cancer may sometimes be insidious and nonspecific. They are usually related to the local, regional and distant spread or metastasis of the lesion. They may include cervical lymphadenopathy, nasal blockage, epistaxis, hyponasal speech and otologic and neuro-ophthalmic manifestations [1]. The clinical morphology of the lesion may be infiltrative, ulcerative or exophytic.The otological manifestations of this disease entity are commonly unilateral Eustachian tube dysfunction, fluid accumulation within the middle ear, conductive hearing loss, otalgia and tinnitus [2]. However, these presentations are not pathognomonic of nasopharyngeal cancer. It is quite uncommon for nasopharyngeal cancer patients to present with only isolated otologic symptoms, especially in regions where the incidence of this disease is low. When they do occur, other more common benign ear diseases that present with similar symptoms are usually considered. A high index of suspicion is required to evaluate the patient for nasopharyngeal cancer as a differential diagnosis. Hence, we report an unexpected presentation of nasopharyngeal cancer, with isolated otologic symptoms, which was initially managed as otitic barotrauma.A 29-year-old Nigerian woman, who frequently travels by air, presented with a six-month history of persistent bilateral hearing impairment following a flight. She erstwhile had experienced repeated episod
%U http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/5/1/532