High-Pitch Pulsatile Tinnitus

Is there someone who have a high tone pitch pulsatile tinnitus ( synchron heartbeat). I can change my pulsatile tinnitus from right to left ear if i move my neck. Also pushing jaws, pushing top of head can change my tinnitus. If i push the bone behind my ear than it Will increase. So my PT is very strange . But i found if i eat chocolate, coffee it increase the tinnitus. When i going out and i relax and can continue talking it decrease .. Strange? Anyone who have same problem? Regards

 

Mine is similar, I have a high pitched pulsating hiss that goes with my heartbeat. The pulsating has improved and is more intermittent and quieter than two months ago. The hissing gets louder or quieter in the left/right ear depending on where I push on my jaw, face or head. Extended exposure to noise aggravates it, but this is also getting better. It usually goes away when I lay down to sleep, but starts up I after I get up in the morning. Still very annoying and bothersome. A doctor that specializes in pulsating thinks my central nervous system is messing with the signals.

 

hello pilot.i also have PT.mine also changes with jaw movement or head movement.but thankfully quiets down when I sleep.just wondering.was that dr Eisenman that you saw for your pulsatile tinnitus?

 

It was dr. Eisenman, it was a 30' appointment, he looked at my mra and ct scans and said that I didn't have any of the leading causes. He mentioned the angiogram but said it was intrusive and wouldn't recommend it for me. He said I should take a wait and see approach since mine is improving. I think true PT is a lower frequency blood flow sound, it seems that the high freq pulsating hiss can occur along with other T symptoms, which I have, and might improve on its own. I'm no expert but I've noticed other people with T mention a pulsating hiss. I hope it improves for everyone else.

 

Hi Karen, I hope yours continues to improve too. In the past 4 months I have had what I would call two categories of T. The first is the hissing, pulsating in my left ear, steady at times, fluctuating volume in my right ear based on foot steps ( sounds like I'm walking in snow). This first category didn't seem to react to noises or get louder with ear plugs. The second catogory is more basic, static and occasional ringing that did react after >1 hour of noise and would get louder with ear plugs. Having all this going on leads me to believe that mine isn't vascular.

After 4 months, the second (basic T) seems almost gone, except slight ringing in very quiet places that disappears with even a little noise, even after the noise is gone (probably auditory gain adjusting). The first category still persists but is much better and now does react to noise. But my auditory system can now handle much more noise without an increase in the T. Three months ago a one hour drive in a car might make my ears ring, yesterday I took two airline flights with no protection and my T increased only after two hours on the first flight, then settled down after 30'. I intentionally pushed my auditory system to see if it would make my auditory system stronger, today the T has been very quiet.

After a lot of research, the only part of the brain that seems to have all these in common is the Inferior Colliculus (IC). I think all of my hissing sounds are somatosensory and the IC does auditory-somatosensory integration. It is also the first place in the brain where vertical and horizontal orienting data are combined, there is a theory that auditory fatigue in detecting a sound with background noises can cause the perception of T to increase. I work in a place where the HVAC runs all day and it is a more dominant sound now, my ears start ringing after several hours even though it is relatively quiet. Any type of background noise has become more dominant, but getting better.

I think something changed in my IC, and it is slowly re-wiring itself. No doctor has diagnosed me with this, just my best guess.

 

Take a look at Somatosensory pulsatile tinnitus Syndrome by Robert Levine.

 

This is a great read, and can be found at the NIH National Library of Medicine publications here:

• NIH NLM: Somatosensory Pulsatile Tinnitus Syndrome

I'll say a few of things about this type of "pulsatile" Tinnitus.

1. Traditional pulsatile tinnitus, which has a clicking, whooshing, thumping, or rushing sound has its origins in vascular conflicts or circulatory obstructions, such as arterial blood flows that impact the auditory senses. This is not the type of tinnitus that is described through Somatosensory Pulsatile Tinnitus Syndrome, because that tinnitus is generally oscillating in nature and high-pitched.
   
   
2. High-pitched oscillations that have cardiac rhythms are linked with neuromuscular inflammation, a generalized term that can and does include compression of blood vessels against one of the nodes that activate the central auditory pathway. For many people, this is caused by head, neck, upper back, or jaw issues. A lot of us just list this as "TMJ," but it is much better understood as a conflict that has no easily identified cause in imaging.
   
   
3. Addressing the underlying neuromuscular inflammation that is aggravating the syndrome should, in fact, resolve the syndrome altogether. Most treatments (such as wearing night guards at night to alleviate muscular compression near the auditory pathways, sinus anti-inflammatory treatments, and so on) provide substantial incremental relief, as do powerful anti-inflammatory drugs, like steroids.

It's really refreshing to learn more about the mechanisms of my particular dysfunction. I wonder if diet, exercise, and lifestyle improvements would substantially address this type of tinnitus?

 

Thank you for telling me about that syndrome and article, I have researched countless hours in the past 4 months trying to figure out what I'm experiencing and that article is the first one that pretty much sums it up. Nothing else I've read was even close.

I'm going to try and contact the author(s) and see if I can learn more.

 

I would be interested in the response. I match this as well. You are welcome. I have been researching for 11 months. My noise has not changed in this time.

 

Does your condition match Dr. Levine's reported circumstances? Namely, does it have a somatic component and can you silence it by applying pressure, moving your lower jaw, etc.? And if so, have you tried prednisone (starting with a 50mg. taper) at any time over the past 11 months?

 

I hope something can improve it for you, I have no idea how mine started, no pain or anything, no idea why it is getting better, I haven't taken anything for it.

In addition to the pulsating hiss I also went through 3.5 months of being sensitive to noise and experiencing the winding up and kindling effects. It was pretty bad for a while. This has pretty much cleared up, 95% anyway.

This leads me to believe that something changed in my brain, unless the noise sensitivity was a side effect of external somatosensory input. The report suggests the DCN, I thought maybe the IC. But I guess the IC could have been thrown off balance by a changing DCN.

My auditory gain has also been dynamic and noticeable, I think it was thrown off balance in all of this. I took 2 hearing tests, the first was identical to previous years (normal) the second showed noticeable improvement at the higher frequencies, the ENT wants to do a third since it's strange.

Nothing seems strange to me. If my auditory gain increases but my cochlea output remains the same, then I think I would experience and improvement in hearing.

 

Yes I match to the reported circumstances.

It sounds like a high pitched cymbal/sleigh bells/balloon synchronised to my pulse.

I can lower the volume by clenching my teeth, moving my jaw in various directions, bending my head to my chest, turnjng my head to the left
I can make it louder by bending my head up towards the sky
I can change it from the left to the right ear by moving my jaw trning my head to the right, pressing on my right mastoid bone, pressing on my cheek, bending my head back
i can stop it momentarily by standing upright with my head looking ahead and clenching my muscles together
I can feel the pulses on the back of my neck and throat
I have never used a steroid for this condition and dont believe it would make any difference
How long have you had yours and why do you think it started?
It fluctuates throughout the day in volume and goes very loud when i hear loud noises.
I dont have any pain, dizziness, headaches, facial numbness, ear fullness.
I had my hair washed at the hairdressers which i beleived caused this

 

I don't know what caused it, but I think I am hearing sensory nerves. It was a gradual onset starting early last December, the pulsating started about a week before Xmas. I am around loud noise a lot, but I always wear protection, my hearing test in February showed no worse than 15db loss across all frequencies, and only 10db at 6k, 5db at 8k.

Mine is a hissing sound, both ears are the same sound and freq but the behave completely different. The pulsating is in the left ear, rarely in the right. The left gets louder when I lift my head up, look left, stretch the left SCM, or have a spike in blood pressure (only lasts for 3-5 heartbeats). The right hisses when I walk, or push on certain places on the right side of my head. Yawning causes both sides to start hissing. I can suppress the left by pushing on my lower right jaw.

I can't feel any pulsations. It varies quite a bit during the day, It is usually quiet (gone) at night before bed and when I wake up, then gets going as I'm up and moving around. The hissing didn't really react to sound, for 3.5 months I would get static and ringing when exposed to sound too long, but that has pretty much gone.

I can hear my hissing the same no matter if I'm in a quiet place or in the cockpit of a jet. Some things seem to mask it, but it does go away at times during the day and is quieter than Christmas time. My head movements don't increase it as much as they used to either.

It still bothers me and distracts me.

 

Hello,

I also experience a ringing sound when moving my head from side to side or open my mouth wide. My PT increases if I look up and decreases if I look down. When the AC unit or refrigerator comes on, I experience a ringing sound in my ears until they cycle off. I was wondering if anyone has ever received a medical explanation for this from any professionals. They all just say it is a sinus condition and give me flonase

My PT is in my right ear which feels stuffy constantly and vibrates when I talk sometimes. It also feels like fluid is there and is cold internally .The ENT I see looked at the tube with a scope but said it was fine as was everything else.
Same story as usual.

I do believe there is a direct correlation with PT and stress. The PT will cause anxiety at first and that only compounds the situation. My job was in management and was 24/7 but since I have retired the PT has significantly reduced to where it is almost not noticeable as compared to a loud pulse at the beginning.

Stay strong everyone. There is always hope.

 

Holy crap I have the same thing when the refrigerator is on it gives me an extra sound in my right ear. I do have the flew at the moment and I sneeze a lot so perhaps when that is gone this will also be better

 

I wonder if some sounds, like the cycling mentioned here of fridges or AC's creates additional tinnitus sounds because that is the type/quality of message the brain is getting from certain damaged/marginal hair cells that would normally provide reception of parts of those specific frequencies?

 

Pilot - thank god your bothered to post. I now know I am not the only one with this maddening noise in my head. Reading your posts is like reading an exact description of my PT.
Mine seemed to start a few days after some dental work. That was Six months ago and apart from the odd quiet day it lives with me all day from the moment I get going to the moment I fall asleep. Some odd things like jaw positions, sucking in with lips shut and massaging back of my head will quiet it for a few seconds - which is a blessed relief.
Quieter days are like a blessing from somewhere divine.
Not been to GP yet as they seem to put all things down to stress and rarely seem to have any useful answers.
Any advice greatly received.

 

Kelvin - Sorry to hear that you have this.

I've had it for 18 months and it has improved very slowly and inconsistently. The hardest part for me has been the constantly changing volume when I do hear it, it is very hard for me to ignore. Mine is much more intermittent and quieter in general than the beginning. The last 2 weeks have been the quietest 2 weeks so far, today was the worst day this month, but I was actually a little surprised at how my mood stayed good and it was easier to ignore it, indicating that maybe I've habituated a little more. I had anxiety and depression in the first couple of months, then it was more of a distraction for many months, like hundreds of times a day. I am still distracted by it numerous times per day, but usually just for a couple of seconds each time I hear it.

My best guess is that resuming exposure to all the noise that I heard before getting T may have helped my brain re-learn how to filter sounds. I also think mine is somehow connected to auditory gain because the T usually gets quieter after hearing a short duration loud sound like a vacuum cleaner. I have always protected my hearing long before T, and I still do today. I am around loud noise frequently and always wear protection.

I noticed that video games were a good distraction from T, because they take a lot of attention.

 

Pilot and Karen,
Thanks so much for the information.
To be honest its a great comfort just to know I am not the only one.
Mine is most definitely a hiss and is pulsatile (in perfect sync with my pulse). The best description I can give is its like Mosquitos at night. High pitched !
I have noticed that the busier I am the less I notice it and so I guess distraction is the skill to acquire.
I tried some noise Apps and any they all made it worse, especially the high pitched sounds. Bass sounds are much less annoying and quite soothing.
I have noticed that linking my hands behind my head and gently squeezing my hands together does make it quiet down a lot. I can almost make it disappear. It is however impractical and a bit odd to wall around with your hands behind you head. Certain jaw positions also quieten it down.
Twenty years at a drawing board and then Ten years of computer based drafting have sure made my neck and shoulders tight. My non-medical theory is the dental treatment triggered a reaction and my jaw, neck or face muscles tightened, misaligned or went into spasm. Something changed !
Going to try more head massage and some Chiro to see if that helps or hinders.
Reluctant to go to GP and start a raft of tests. Although I do appreciate these things can in very rare cases have a more sinister background.

Thanks again guys.

Wishing you a peaceful day X

 

I know this is an older thread but I have to say THANK YOU to @Kaelon for posting that link. I literally burst into tears when I read it. I have printed it to bring to my neurotologist. I had read something about this elsewhere but the technical/medical language was lacking. I tried to describe it to my neurologist and he looked at me like I was crazy.

Thanks again. I am now feeling a bit hopeful that there might be some help for my PT.

 

Yes, thanks for this thread. While mine is mainly PT in nature, my symptoms are pretty much in line with what others have said here with some slight differences here and there - if I wake from an intense dream or something it's whoosing away in my head really loud until I calm down - whereas if I awake really calm there are points I can't even here it until I get moving. It's definitely tied to stress and blood pressure for me. Even when it's a "steady" pitch - which is higher end it's not like a pure tone but more like a slight gurgle of babbling brook type sound which would make sense with restricted blood flow in places. I'm off to the neurologist today for the first time so I'll be sure to bring a copy of this paper along.

 

Did somebody knows what happened to Pilot? He had something really similar to my pulsatile tinnitus. It would have been interesting to know if he get rid of this torment with dr. Levine help or disclosures...

 

I also have this high frequency pulsatile T. Sounds like a Christmas bell in sync to heart beat. Gets loud morning until afternoon then slightly less at night. Anyone have any luck dealing with this? Can modulate it with jaw/head movements. I work in a quiet lab and it's very frustrating to hear my heart beating all day..

 

I had this 3 times during my 5 years of T ... the last time was July 2017 which became very bad and I had surgery on my neck where they injected something to remove inflammation and my PT was gone within a week. For some reason I got it again since 2 weeks and made an appointment to do it again. But reducing your blood pressure can also help a lot. Or try dry-needling of the back, neck and shoulders that helped me also a lot.