question about craniotomy

[npendell]

My 9-year-old daughter had a craniotomy in Jan. '09 to evacuate an epideral hematoma. She had several titanium plates and screws inserted to repair the bone fractures. (maybe even some types of clips to control bleeding - she was in DIC for a while). She now complains of hearing a ticking sound in her head at night when she tries to sleep. She has not had any complaints since her accident. Do you know what this could be? Thank you.

[npendell]

Thank you for your help. Sounds more like a arterio-venous fistulas than Tinnitus. Not a ringing she's hearing but a sound with some pattern to it. She hears it in her head. I know her neurosurgeon worked a long time (1 1/2 hours) to get her bleeding under control which makes me think it must be vascular. I am just happy that you gave me some response of something it might actually be. I was worried I would not get any help!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Tinnitus or sound in the era could be unrelated to craniotomy and could be due to sinus and respiratory infections, ear infections, wax build-up, food allergies, and certain types of tumors. Other possible causes of tinnitus have their origin in either your ear (Ménière's disease, otosclerosis, middle ear infections,   wax in your ear canal and TMJ), or auditory nerve (which carries signals from your inner ear to your brain like acoustic neuroma), and side-effects of medicines (aspirin, quinine, some antibiotics etc). However, it could also be due to after effects of head injury or craniotomy with development of arterio-venous fistulas. Please consult her surgeon once. Also consult her pediatrician.
Hope this helps. Take care!