OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of oligosymptomatic glomus tympanicum and small at diagnosis. CASE REPORT: A woman, 37 years of age, visited the otorhinolaryngology clinic with non-pulsatile tinnitus of the right ear for 1 year with ipsilateral hearing loss, dizziness, and ear fullness. An otoscopy of the right ear verified the presence of a retrotympanic, reddish lesion above the promontory. A hypothesis of tympanic paraganglioma was suggested. Temporal bone CT displayed a rounded lesion on the promontory of the middle ear with a diminutive size that was not described in the radiological report examination. The patient underwent an exploratory tympanotomy for removal of the lesion. The result was a macroscopic specimen that showed 2 small, brownish, and elastic fragments, the largest measuring 0.2 cm × 0.2 cm × 0.2 cm and the smallest 0.1 cm × 0.1 cm × 0.1 cm. Microscopy showed a neoplasm of epithelioid cells and a trabecular pattern with hyaline stroma and capillary ectasia. There was a presence of trabecular bone tissue adjacent to the neoplasm. The histopathological features were compatible with tympanic paraganglioma. CONCLUSION: Because of the mild symptoms in the early stages, the otorhinolaryngologist should be alert to the suspicion of this disease to make an early diagnosis and thus provide a permanent cure for the patient in the least aggressive way possible.
