Question: Hi my 11 yr old son who had sporadic headaches had an MRI - findings were predominantly normal with increased T2 signal suggestive of fluid in the right petrous apex region. Mastoid air cells normally aerated and the finding is of unclear significance. Recommendation is CT of the temporal bones . He has seen an ENT who upon physical exam - found him to be completely normal . Dr said i could wait on ct.
I am still so anxious and nervous. Could it be just trapped fluid?

Thank you for responding so quickly . I hope to have the HRCT scheduled in 10 days from now . In the meantime we are supposed to fly on an airplane out-of-state In a few days for vacation is this safe for him or should i press the dr for antibiotics now while i wait for test?

One last question - is there an increased risk for headache and or vomiting in flight due to the pressure from the fluid ? And if so should Tylenol and Sudafed before help ?

Good evening Dr. XXXXXXX

I am following up just for guidance on the specialty of doctor I should be seeing. The HRCT came back with the same findings and impressions as the MRI which is patchy fluid in the petrous region of the temporal bone. But no bony erosion, no expansion. All else appears to be normal findings in the report - except a high riding right jugular bulb is noted. He appears fine except that his headache frequency in the last two weeks has increased to every 3 days (From every 10-14 days). Still mild, not much pain but in forehead. My concern is his neuro is unsure of next steps and his ENT is away on vacation until May 2. to be honest, I'm not even sure his ENT has ever seen this before. My guess is he is used to seeing fluid in the mastoid and/or granulomas but my son has neither.
My preference is to get him seen sooner rather than later. Should my neuro be consulting with a neurosurgeon or the radiologists? Should I proceed with all new doctors? the covering doctor for his ENT looked only at the HRCT report and was not concerned about infection. Not sure who is "expert" per se of the 3 specialties. But I definitely want to speak to someone who has actually seen and diagnosed this before.
Any guidance you could give would be appreciated.

Thanks