HELP, Pulsatile Tinnitus for 13 Years

Hi Guys,

I am so glad that I found a forum with people who can understand me. I have been having pulsatile tinnitus for the past thirteen years, yes it started when I was 13. In the beginning though it was just episodes but for the past 4 or 5 years it has been continuous. It has been getting loud too, also the ear feels kind of heavy like some pressure has built up inside. It is so dominant on my left ear or I am not able to decide whether I hear it in my right one. I have trouble hearing in my classes as I rush to the class my heart rate increases and so does this constant sound. It is so frustrating when I lose sleep because of this, I have to sleep with this and wake up to this. I forgot what a moment of silence felt like. In so many social occasions I had to just pretend that I heard what was so funny. I really do not know what the future holds for me.. Currently I cannot afford to see a doctor nor do I have a health insurance. I live in Tempe, Arizona. Any advice regarding anything will help... PLZZZZ

 

Welcome to the forum. There is a support forum on TT specifically for pulsatile tinnitus. So try to post there for support so a much larger membership can help advise you. Also @Karen is a notable member here who has have this condition so perhaps she can give you some advise. Don't worry about the future yet. Your condition may be temporary, or the spike may subside. Too much anxiety and stress can aggravate T. So try to stay calm and positive. Seek advise from others and try to apply some strategies learned. The future may not be what you project based on the most struggling time. At least that is what I have found out myself. I was in a mess initially and erroneously projected the future to be like that, and suffered horribly due to such catastrophic thinking (a cognitive distortion). But now I live a normal and absolutely enjoyable life. The dreaded future never materialize and I suffered needlessly. So try post for more support and check out the resource on TT. Take good care. God bless.

 

Hello @DARUN

Welcome, welcome. Glad you joined the forum. I know what pulsing T is like. I live with it everyday. Although, 13 years is ahead of me. You've coped with this a long time. I understand trying to carry on a conversation when you can't hear it, and smile and agree? to what. Sleeping is important to me too, I take some low dose AD for that.

I like billie's advice, to lead a normal life. I need to get there too. You got to get some medical care, insurance imo,, just in case you need some prescriptions and a doctor(s) care. Are you working full time, if not, I'd hope an employer could help with medical insurance for their employees. I hope you get better.

 

Hi @DARUN,
Welcome to Tinnitus Talk.
Some people find beta blockers help slow the pulsation down and quieten it down a bit or hearing aids can help also but will need be seen by a doctor or audiology....lots of love glynis

 

@billie48 @Karen @James @glynis

Thank you so much guys, You all have been a big help. I just graduated and have been looking for a job for the past few months, and is pretty much the only reason for my stress. Also I have been spending most of my days at a cafe lately. I am gonna cutback on it definitely.

One more question, My dad as a kid had some sort of extra bone growth in his ear which was removed through surgery, could this have any link to my condition?

 

Sounds like he may have had otosclerosis, and it's a disease that is known to have some kind of hereditary component, so it's worth a check (audiogram, tuning fork test, ct scan...).

 

I am at a stage now where I can't sleep without a sleeping aid or working out myself to exhaustion. Luckily my doc diagnosed it to be otoscelrosis in both of my ears. I am getting the surgery done in September this year for one ear and the other later. BTW my hearing capacity had considerably reduced in my left ear and progressively getting worse in my both my ears. I know this is hereditary and I cannot imagine my kid having this

 

It is not very well understood unfortunately. Some people believe that there is a genetic component to it, others link it to availability of fluoride in the environment... but some cases (like mine) are unexplained.

Do you have any sensorineural hearing loss in addition to your conductive losses from O?

The surgery you are going to be doing (I assume a stapedotomy) has great success rates in terms of restoring hearing and reasonable success rates in terms of getting rid of T. There is hope in the offing!

Good luck!

 

Yes, both my audiologist and ENT (otorhinolaryngologist ) deduced that I have both conductive and neural hearing loss. My tinnitus sound is approx 10kHz sound all the time besides the pulsatile whoozing sound. And to top it all I get episodes of explosive tinnitus.

 

Are you on any meds at all? (fluoride)
Have you considered a stapedotomy?

In my case the stapedotomy got rid of most of the hyperacusis, and it also seems to have stabilized my hearing (in conjunction with fluoride - not sure which one or both did the trick since I did both simultaneously).

 

Nope, am not on any medication right now. I am having stapedectomy/middle ear exploration scheduled for sep 21st in Sacramento. Hoping for the best

 

Yup!
Success rates are pretty good! Good luck!