Hello, Hello! I've Got a Question

Geoffman

Member
Author
Dec 5, 2014
6
Tinnitus Since
Forever?
First, a couple things... I'm 29, and have been experiencing tinnitus for a long time now. My hearing is fine. My tinnitus is more ringing than anything else, although I do have a weird morse code once in a while.

More recently though, the ringing in my left ear (and sometimes even my right) follows my heartbeat.
It is NOT a pounding like sensation in my ear. It sounds like the ringing gets louder as my heart pumps and then more quiet in between. As if I have become sensitive to hearing the blood rushing through my skull.

Sometimes if I stand up quickly - and most likely with bad posture, my head pounds and the noise gets really loud until my body adjusts to the change in gravity.

I am a bit worried, and have an appointment set for February with an ENT. The thing is, I don't think it would bother me that much if I knew it was nothing.

I'm just wondering if anyone else's (ringing) tinnitus has a tendency to follow their heartbeat as I have described.
 
Sounds like you have what's called pulsatile tinnitus. I am thinking this is also the case with @Karen, a long time and very helpful TT member? Also, if you look at the main Tinnitus Talk page, you will see forums specifically for pulsatile. I can't help much here but hope others can. And welcome!
 
Thanks, @LadyDi! Yes, I do have both ringing/hissing tinnitus and pulsatile tinnitus. I've had it for over four years now, and have had various tests to try to determine a cause. Pulsatile tinnitus is different from regular tinnitus, as it is usually vascular in nature.

The symptoms you have described, @Geoffman, are similar to what I've experienced. I'm glad you have an appointment with an ENT soon. However, if the ENT doesn't seem to be helpful to you, you might want to consider seeing a specialist, such as a neurologist. Often, ENT's don't have a lot of knowledge about pulsatile tinnitus. The doctor may refer you to someone else for testing. You could simply be experiencing a venous hum, but since you mentioned that your head pounds for a few minutes when you bend over, etc., that could signal some other cause.

If you haven't already done so, you might want to check out Whooshers.com, a website specifically for those of us with pulsatile tinnitus. There, you'll find lots of information, plus success stories of people whose PT has been healed.

I wish you well, and hope that you'll update us here after your ENT appointment. If I can offer any additional support to you about PT, please let me know.

Best wishes,
Karen
 
@Geoffman,

Are you still experiencing the heartbeat sound along with your tinnitus, or is it just the tinnitus now? I hope your doctor can provide you with some answers, and will look forward to hearing back from you soon.
 
Hey Karen,
I've got both going on right now.. It's manageable - barely though at night. It seems like when I try and sleep my tinnitus just takes over my head. Anxiety disorders run in my family so I think there is a big chunk of what I'm going through that can be blamed on anxiety as well as maybe a bit of physiological changes in my body.
I also think I have some eustachian tube problems.
Anyways, I'll definitely have a big post to share after I am all done with the ENT.
 
Hi @Geoffman,

It's good to hear that your condition is manageable. The symptoms you describe are the same as mine - the ringing (high-pitched frequency, really) that grows louder with each heart beat and softer in between. Sometimes, it's extremely subtle and the pulsatile nature is almost not at all noticeable. @Karen and I have been exchanging notes on this for some time, hypothesizing that an ototoxic drug might be to blame (though this doesn't yet appear to be the situation in my case).

I'd be very curious in learning what your ENT says. I agree with Karen that most ENT's really do not understand tinnitus in general, much less pulsatile tinnitus. I'm considering consulting with a neurologist soon to explore identifying what this condition is and whether or not there is a treatment for it. The good news, generally speaking, is that pulsatile tinnitus is by and large curable -- but it is extremely difficult to identify the cause.
 

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