Another Pulsatile Tinnitus Thread

hey everyone...

i've been suffering from T for the better part of ten years. mine is caused by years of playing drums in loud rock bands without wearing hearing protection. for the most part, i'm able to tune it out. it's only ever really noticeable when my surroundings are extremely quit. occasionally, i get loud ringing, usually out of nowhere and for no apparent reason. this tends to come and go rather quickly but can be pretty distracting. luckily it doesn't happen too often.

for (at least) the last six months, i've noticed a strange sensation in my right ear. the best way to describe it is that it sounds like i have a sea shell up to my ear. it's not constant and only seems to happen when i bend over (but only if i bend over to the right - bending to the left or bending straight down does not cause the sensation) or when my neck is at a very drastic angle - for example, bending at the waist to look at something on a low shelf or holding a phone to your left ear by tilting your head and wedging it between your head and shoulder.

a few other characteristics i've noticed:
some days are worse than others.
the sensation will eventually stop if i stay in one of these positions long enough.
sometimes i feel like pressing on my carotid helps, other times it doesn't do anything.

initially, i thought nothing of it until one dreaded day i decided to google my concerns.

i made an appointment with my general physician who said my ear drum was red and it looked like i had some fluid in my ear. he gave me a nasal spray, told me to take an OTC allergy med and sent me on my way. i followed his instructions but after three weeks, it didn't seem to do much.

at this point i returned to my general physician. this time he said my ears "looked fine." i was given a script for a steroid as well as antibiotics for a lingering cough stemming from a really crappy cold. after a few days on both, it seemed like the problem had disappeared. within a day or two of completing both meds, i started hearing the dreaded noise again.

fed up, i made an appointment with an ENT. he was friendly and knowledgeable and the first question he asked me was whether the noise matched my pulse. i told him i didn't think so but at times it was hard to tell. he looked in my ears, sent me for a hearing test and told me he felt that while my hearing was "good considering what i do for a living" the hairs in my ears were damaged and that was causing it. he didn't feel i "had a tumor or anything" and didn't think further testing was warranted though he told me to return if it got worse.

initially, i was satisfied with his answer and my anxiety diminished, but it soon came back with a vengeance. not wanting to deal with the wait or expense of a specialist i returned to my general practitioner, explained what i thought the issue was and that it was causing me a lot of anxiety and asked if he would be willing to schedule a carotid ultrasound for me which he did. otherwise he didn't ask me any questions about it or investigate it further.

that was done on wednesday and while i'm still waiting for the official results, the tech that completed the ultrasound was nice enough to tell me at the end of it that "at this point, if i saw anything of concern i would go find a doctor... but i'm going to let you go home now..."

my questions are... does this sound like PT? how accurate is an ultrasound? if the results show nothing of concern, is it worth pressing forward or will i just be wasting time in money and annoying my doctor by demanding more testing?

if it matters, i don't think i have a brain tumor. i'm more concerned with blockages in my carotid.

i suppose it would help to say that i'm male, 37, pretty overweight due to back injuries that prevent me from being as active as i use to be and depression that my stupid brain tries to treat by eating. i also suffer from "health anxiety" and generalized anxiety. i'm currently on meds for severe acid reflux as well as high blood pressure (which is under control with meds.) as of my labs last year, i don't have high cholesterol though my "good" cholesterol was a bit low.

i'd love to hear what others had to say... and sorry for the length!

 

thank you for your response. I've been creeping around these boards for awhile now and have read many of your posts about it.

I'll definitely report back with the results.

regarding the weight gain, I've been at my current weight for several years and was actually about 45 pounds heavier at one point.

assuming the ultrasound comes back "normal" is that alone enough to rule out something like a blockage? I guess at this point my goal is to rule out any causes that could be potentially dangerous. financially, I'm not in a position to hunt for a diagnosis for something that's nothing more than a benign annoyance.

sorry again for rambling. I only ask because my GP doesn't seem to know anything about PT and the ENT didn't seem concerned in the slightest so I'm kinda advocating for all of this on my own, which seems silly because I'm the one without the medical degree.

thanks again for your time!

 

thanks again for taking the time to respond. I've definitely considered BP as a factor if this indeed PT but it did go away while I was on the steroid despite my BP issues. I've wondered if this is more a problem with my eustachian tube since I don't get a clear pulse sound and it goes away if I remain in the position that causes it long enough. seems like if the cause was turbulent blood flow, it would continue as long as I was doing wherever caused it.

 

@Karen - my carotid ultrasound results were "normal" with "nothing of concern noted."

 

my doctor sent me for the ultrasound, basically, to appease me so I doubt it.

 

I'm not sure what direction to turn to from here... if i should just deal with it or push on. it sounds like the two major concerns with PT are carotid blockages and tumors. I'm assuming (?) that the ultrasound is sufficient enough to rule out the blockages and I'm not suspicious of a tumor. Most other causes seem to be benign.

I've been reading about Stapedial Myoclonus and that sounds like a possibility. something that has been happening as of late that I simply forgot to mention before is that I've been getting a very bizarre thumping / knocking feeling in my right ear when I'm listening to a phone call with my left ear. I think I forgot to mention it because I rarely talk on the phone so it doesn't happen often. When it does, it's much more of a physical feeling than the other stuff I experience when, say, bending over. It's almost as if you could see the cause of the problem if you were able to see the inner-workings of the ear. Sorry if that sounds crazy.

 

Hi there, I feel your pain, I'm constantly anxious about the possible underlying problem that is causing my PT.

I too have been suffering with PT for nine years. I'm 36 and I have always been in great health with no issues. I had an intense on on set nice years ago, along with common tinnitus, vertigo, and headache. Back then I had a CT scan and MRI without contrast, and the MRI showed I evidently had minor stenosis in anterior cerebral artery, but with good distal filling, so apparently it is not the cause as they believe that is from birth. I went to ear specialists, neurologists and everything has been negative. My symptoms improved so that I could cope in daily life, but a few days ago it came back with avenges, so I went to a urgent clinic yesterday and they did a MRI of the brain and IAC and everything was completely normal. They also looked at me like I am crazy when I told them my symptoms and on my chart it says I cam in with right war pain!!
I just found a doctor recommendation on whooshers, a few weeks ago. Anyway, I'm just so glad that there is support out there, sometimes I feel like I'm the only one suffering as no one around me understands how annoying it is and the nerves of not knowing what causes it and the potential scary things that can.
My case is also not always, usually just when I move my head a certain way, or when I get up from sitting squatting etc. But sometimes it happens on it's own when I'm laying down and it comes in waves.
I have finally decided I'm going to go to the PT Clinic in San Francisco, I have not insurance so it is going to cost me a small fortune, but I need to know why I'm having PT.
Good to you, hopefully your will go away on it's own, if not be persistent, and try to find out the cause, or you will be anxious.

Good luck!

 

@Karen, thank you so much for your reply! This is the first time I'v connected with someone who has PT.

It is amazing that most doctors do not even know what PT is, and don't even understand what you are trying to tell them. Next week I am going for an ultrasound of my carotids, and then in August I will go to the PT clinic to meet the two doctors that founded it, and apparently I am going to have an MRA without contrast that has a special frequency, that is programed to find almost anything, so I will keep you posted on how that goes!

Feel free to message me whenever, good luck.

 

@Karen, hi how are you doing? I just wanted to give you an update, that I had a carotid doppler ultrasound this week, and everything was normal. I'm very happy but I also know that there is still a long road ahead to find the cause. I'll keep you posted.

 

@Karen I will be going in towards the end of August for the special MRA. Can't remember what it is called, but I don't remember hearing anything by that name. I will keep you posted! Thanks for being supportive!

How are things on your end?

 

Hi Karen @Karen,

I wanted to ask you, does this web-site have a private message area? I would love to communicate with you, and ask a couple questions. Let me know if there is, or if you feel comfortable sharing your email. Thank you..