ACR Appropriateness Criteria ® Tinnitus

Publication date: November 2017 Source:Journal of the American College of Radiology, Volume 14, Issue 11, Supplement Author(s): Marcus M. Kessler, Marwan Moussa, Julie Bykowski, Claudia F.E. Kirsch, Joseph M. Aulino, Kevin L. Berger, Asim F. Choudhri, Terry D. Fife, Isabelle M. Germano, A. Tuba Kendi, Jeffrey H. Kim, Michael D. Luttrull, Diego Nunez, Lubdha M. Shah, Aseem Sharma, Vilaas S. Shetty, Sophia C. Symko, Rebecca S. Cornelius Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of an external source. It is a common symptom that can be related to hearing loss and other benign causes. However, tinnitus may be disabling and can be the only symptom in a patient with a central nervous system process disorder. History and physical examination are crucial first steps to determine the need for imaging. CT and MRI are useful in the setting of pulsatile tinnitus to evaluate for an underlying vascular anomaly or abnormality. If there is concomitant asymmetric hearing loss, neurologic deficit, or head trauma, imaging should be guided by those respective ACR Appropriateness Criteria® documents, rather than the presence of tinnitus. Imaging is not usually appropriate in the evaluation of subjective, nonpulsatile tinnitus that does not localize to one ear. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline developmen...
Source: Journal of the American College of Radiology - Category: Radiology Source Type: research