Help! Can Anyone Confirm the Thought of Me Having Pulsatile Tinnitus?

[Dylan17373772]

Hi I'm Dylan, I'm 15 and I'll be turning 16 in November.

Recently this July I began hearing this whoosh sound in my ear, mostly my left but a little in my right.

I went to see a doctor at the ER, and he said I had fluid in my left ear and to give it 6-8 weeks to clear up. It didn't and I recently had an appointment with an ent. He looked in my ears and said they were completely clear (no fluid was present). He then did a hearing test and the results came back, I had perfect hearing. He asked if I listen to music a lot and I said yes. I usually listen to it on the way to school but not max volume. He told me to take a brake from it for about a week.

I forgot to tell him that the noise does seem to be in succession with my heartbeat and it's a whooshing noise like the sound of blood. This was probably a huge detail to leave out, and I didn't realize the significance of that detail until I did research in my own.

That being said can anyone confirm the thought of me having pulsatile tinnitus?

The noise is especially prevalent when I bend over which I assume is the blood rushing to my head. Also I don't believe my family has any sort of blood disease or artery complications in our history.

I just want answers, I'm a naturally inquisitive and curious person. I also read it can be a result of an overactive thyroid. I believe an overactive thyroid can have something to do with puberty but I'm not sure.

I'm a really late bloomer, I'm only 5 feet 2 inches and I'm 15 (I'll be 16 in November). If anyone has any answers please let me know! Thanks for your time.

 

[Aaron44126]

If it is in time with your pulse, that does sound like pulsate tinnitus, which means it is probably a real sound and not a subjective one like with most forms of tinnitus. In cases like this, sometimes a doctor can insert a stethoscope instrument into your ear and actually hear the sound.

As you have probably realized, like continuous/subjective tinnitus, there are many possible causes (here's an article with some examples) and you can't treat it until you identify the cause. You'll probably need to make another ENT appointment to explore this further. The good news is that if it is pulsate/objective tinnitus, it is probably not related to hearing loss, and it probably has nothing to do with your use of headphones (though do be careful to keep the volume reasonable).