Sound Measurement in Patient-Specific 3D Printed Bench Models of Venous Pulsatile Tinnitus.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize patient-specific flow models to be an adequate in vitro surrogate to allow for characterization of pulsatile tinnitus (PT) that affects three to five million Americans.

Background: PT, rhythmic sounds without an extracorporeal source that patients appreciate, can be caused by aberrant blood flow in large cerebral veins near the cochlea. To investigate the sound production mechanism, we created 3D printed flow models based on patient-specific cerebral venous anatomies.