Glomus Jugulare: A Rare Cause of Facial Nerve Palsy

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To report a case of an unusual presentation of a glomus jugulare tumour.

Design: Case report.

Results: Glomus jugulare is a very rare brain tumour that usually presents with tinnitus, hearing loss, dysphagia and hoarseness. We report a case where this extremely rare diagnosis presented quite differently, with ipsilateral proptosis and subsequent facial nerve palsy. Furthermore, the sibling of the presented case had also been diagnosed with the same tumour.

Conclusions: There have only been a few case reports in the literature describing facial nerve palsy in the context of a glomus jugulare tumour. This case highlights that although paragangliomas are exceedingly rare causes of facial palsy, they should be included in the differential diagnosis.

• Facial nerve palsy
• glomus jugulare