Cradling the telephone between the head and shoulder during a lengthy conversation can be hazardous to one's health.
A case report in the November 10 issue of Neurology described the experience of a 43-year-old French psychiatrist who held the telephone receiver between his left ear and shoulder to keep his hands free while talking with a patient for more than an hour. Shortly after the call he experienced temporary blindness in his left eye, pulsed ringing in his left ear, and difficulty speaking.
An angiogram showed a tear in the wall of his left internal carotid artery. Computed tomography (CT) revealed that the tear likely was caused by an unusually long styloid process, a slender, pointed bone that projects from both sides of the skull under the ears and behind the jaw. The CT scan showed that the psychiatrist's styloid process had come in direct contact with the . . . [Full Text of this Article]
