Question
Hello and first thank you for answering my question.  
Years ago I was diagnosed with elongated styloid process on a cat scan.  This said it could cause upper phalangeal discomfort.
Back to the present day, I've been having dizziness and balance problems for around 9 weeks.  Friends suggested this could be Eagles Syndrome, so I had a cat scan results:
History: Dizziness and ear pain
Technique: Non-contrast scans
Findings: The ventricles and extra-parenchymal fluid spaces appear normal.  There is no midline shift.  There are no areas of abnormal parenchymal attenuation or swelling.  There is no mass lesion, haemorrhage or surface fluid collection.

No petrous temporal abnormality seen on either side, with normal pneumatisations of the middle ear cavities and mastoid air cells.  Internal auditory canals and remaining inner ear structures appear normal.  No petrous temporal soft tissue mass or bony destruction.  

Mind - moderate polypoid inflammatory mucosal thickenings in both maxillary sinuses, significantly worse on the left.  Minor mucosal thickening in the left spenoid sinus.  Remaining paranasal sinuses are clear.

Comment: No intracranial or petrous temporal abnormality demonstrated.

Does this mean that my elongated styloid process has been picked up or not been shown ?  If it has been shown does that mean it's doing no damage.  I have tight muscles in my neck and scared that it might be affecting my carotid artery.  Would the styloid bone be picked up at all and mentioned if this was a problem.

Kind Regards

Karen

Answer
Karen,

Thank you for your question. Just because the radiologist did not make a note of it does not mean it is not still there. Eagles syndrome occurs due to calcification of the stylohyoid muscle. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylohyoid_muscle). Then it is just a matter of how bad is it.  These things happen via an old injury you likely had years ago and over time the muscle became caclified.

These question would be better directed to your medical provider and the radiologist that did the CT. It is difficult for me to comment on your case history and imaging as I am unable to exam you.

Here is a link I found for some Australian Upper Cervical Chiropractors. DISCLAIMER:  I do not personally know these Doctors or if they do what they say they do. You can give one of them a call and schedule a consult to see if they can help you.  http://www.upcspine.com/prac3.asp?rid=1&r=Australia&sid=2&s=QLD&cid=1&c=AUSTRALI

Here is a link to a general explanation of vertigo. It is important to differentiate the cause of your dizziness as there can be multiple things that contribute, and there is a difference between vertigo and dizziness. Vertigo is very commonly due to an old neck injury, but there are other common things like long term presrciption drug use, and dietary factors that can cause dizziness as well.   http://www.uppercervicalhealthcentersboise.com/vertigo-hearing-loss-tinnitus.htm


Kind regards,

Dr. Blom