Disabling vertigo and tinnitus caused by intrameatal compression of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery on the vestibulocochlear nerve: a case report, surgical considerations, and review of the literature.

Microvascular compression of the vestibulocochlear nerve is known as a cause of tinnitus and vertigo in the literature, but our review of the literature shows that the compression is usually located in the cerebellopontine angle and not intrameatal. We present a case of intrameatal compression of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) on the vestibulocochlear nerve of a 40-year-old woman with symptoms of disabling vertigo and intermittent high-frequency tinnitus on the left side without any hearing loss for ∼ 4 years. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain did not show any abnormality, but magnetic resonance angiography showed a left intrameatal AICA loop as a possible cause of the disabling symptoms.