I Have to Live with This...

[Laura Grannemann]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and I'm sorry we have to meet this way. My heart goes out to every single sufferer of any type of tinnitus. After two angiograms, MRA, MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, etc. I was informed today that I have to live with this high pitched swishing in my left ear. I was told to exercise, meditate...I do, I do! Then told, there is no treatment that eventually my brain will learn to live with it. See, the thing is, I don't want to live with it. It is a daily reminder that I lost my Mother, my dearest friend, my first love. I was diagnosed a week before her passing. Very stressful time, 2 years watching her waste away from metastasizing colon cancer. Then, after my first angiogram, I had hope. I was told I had an aneurysm in my carotid. But that didn't last long as two Drs informed me that this wasn't the cause. So today I sit listening to my heartbeat over and over and over again. It never stops, wake, sleep, play, working out, meditating..it's always with me. A Grimm reminder of what I lost.

 

[Karen]

Hi, @Laura Grannemann,

I can relate to your story. I also have a high-pitched hissing, plus pulsating beat, in my right ear. I've had an MRI/MRA, CT scan, and Doppler of the carotid arteries. So far, nothing has been found. I've had this now for five years, and it occurred right after I took a blood pressure drug for the first time. It was also a very stressful time for me, as it was about two months after my mother passed away. I've tried a number of alternative treatments, too, such as chiropractic, acupuncture, etc., and nothing has worked to relieve the constant hissing/pulsating.

I finally gave up on the testing, and going from one doctor to another, and have been living with it. I have habituated to it about as much as it's possible to, but it is still very bothersome.

I've been told not to give up, that pulsatile tinnitus is vascular in nature, and that it is possible that a cause can be found. A couple of possibilities you can try: Send your scans to some other specialists for their review. Have you heard of Dr. Shapiro at NYU Langone Medical Center? He will review your scans, for a fee. I haven't tried sending mine to him as yet, but am considering it. Also, I understand that a new treatment center has opened in San Francisco that specializes in pulsatile tinnitus. I don't know all the particulars, but it might be possible to get someone there to review your scans, as well.

In the meantime, please don't give up; pulsatile tinnitus is said to be very treatable if a cause can be found.

I wish you a peaceful evening, and hope you find some answers soon.

Best wishes,
Karen

 

[Laura Grannemann]

Thank you so much for writing. You mentioned hissing/pulsing/high pitched. My gosh that is what I am experiencing. I will definitely look into those Drs you mentioned. I can't give up. Though I think I may take a little break. This second angiogram brought me to my breaking point. Think I will try and focus my attention on other things. I'll keep that white noise machine going and later, but not too later get at it again. I'm sorry you lost your Mom. I sympathize with you so very much and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
All my best wishes and prayers.
Laura

 

[Karen]

Thank you, Laura! I'm so sorry you lost your mother, too, and I totally sympathize.

Yes, your PT sounds so much like mine. We probably both have some hearing loss in the higher ranges. Mine is constant, too. I hear both the pulsating and the high-pitched hissing all the time, without end. However, I will say that it seems calmer in the morning than it does in the afternoon. Have you noticed that, too? Mine seems to be blood-pressure related (only my speculation); when my blood pressure is higher, my pulsating seems worse.

I wish you success in finding some answers, and I hope you'll keep in touch with me. You can send me a private message if you'd like, at your "Inbox" at the top of the home page.

Take care; hugs and best wishes,
Karen

 

[Danny Boy]

Thank you, Laura! I'm so sorry you lost your mother, too, and I totally sympathize.

Yes, your PT sounds so much like mine. We probably both have some hearing loss in the higher ranges. Mine is constant, too. I hear both the pulsating and the high-pitched hissing all the time, without end. However, I will say that it seems calmer in the morning than it does in the afternoon. Have you noticed that, too? Mine seems to be blood-pressure related (only my speculation); when my blood pressure is higher, my pulsating seems worse.

I wish you success in finding some answers, and I hope you'll keep in touch with me. You can send me a private message if you'd like, at your "Inbox" at the top of the home page.

Take care; hugs and best wishes,
Karen

Seems like PT is on the rise.

 

[Karen]

Yes, either that, or we're talking about it more now. Before I had PT and began researching it on the internet, I had never heard of it!

Also, I truly believe mine was drug-induced (blood pressure drug), and there may be more people taking prescription drugs that can cause issues such as this.

 

[Danny Boy]

Yes, either that, or we're talking about it more now. Before I had PT and began researching it on the internet, I had never heard of it!

Also, I truly believe mine was drug-induced (blood pressure drug), and there may be more people taking prescription drugs that can cause issues such as this.

It must something? I mean, I know something in real life with pulsatile tinnitus!? Never thought I would meet someone with that condition as it's meant to be rare? Issue is they never go to their doctor about it and that doesn't correlate with the true amount of sufferers.

 

[Karen]

That's right. I believe a lot of people have just tried to "live with it", and not talk about it, because they felt there was no cure. Now, however, there have been a number of people whose cause was identified, and they had surgery to cure it. Whooshers.com lists success stories of people who have been cured.

The key is finding a doctor who will listen, and getting the right diagnostic tests. I believe things are headed in the right direction for us PT sufferers!