Jugular foramen masses are uncommon, where the paragangliomas are the most common tumors, followed by schwannomas. Schwannomas are benign, slow growth and its origin is most commonly from the cranial sensory nerves. Most commonly affects patients between the third and sixth decades of life with an increased frequency in women.

When bilateral often has an association with neurofibromatosis type II (NF2). When located in the jugular foramen, present clinically with hearing loss, ataxia, and headache, common with the changes of the cranial nerves IX, X and XI.

The main differential diagnosis should remember:

• jugular paraganglioma

• meningioma

Surgical excision is the treatment option of choice. In this case, the patient underwent surgical resection with improvement in symptoms and no tumor recurrence.

This case was kindly provided by Dr Rodrigo Dias Duarte.