Summary

In this article, the authors reported a case of objective tinnitus and discuss the importance of its evaluation and diagnosis.

Objective tinnitus is a relatively rare phenomenon in which the sound can actually be heard by others as well as by the person who experiences it.

It may have a vascular or muscular cause. Vascular objective tinnitus may be caused either by venous or arterial sources or by arteriovenous shunting (vascular malformations).

The most important cause of muscular tinnitus includes the palatal myoclonus, like myoclonic contractions of the tensor vili palatini and the levator vili palatini.

Accurate diagnosis in these cases is essential since most of objective tinnitus are amenable to therapy, in despite of subjective tinnitus, in what the failure of treatment is common.

The authors show a muscular tinnitus case, in which the surgical treatment was suscessful.