Positional Pulsatile Tinnitus During a Cold — Hearing Heartbeat Loudly in Certain Positions

Hey all, long time no see. I’ve mostly been managing the ear problems I’ve been having and for the most part dealing with my anxiety. I just have a little question!

Normally, I can’t hear my heartbeat in my ear at all. Not standing up, not sitting down, not lying down. I have a pretty bad cold right now, so I propped my head up to sleep last night to help the sinus drainage, and randomly, in some neck positions, I could hear my heartbeat incredibly loudly in my left ear. If I turned my head another way, it stopped immediately and was silent. So I’m 99.9% certain it’s positional.

If it happens again tonight, I’ll report back with what happened. Right now, I’m thinking it’s because I’m sick, and maybe I got some fluid in my ear, or maybe my head wasn’t very happy with how I had my neck positioned. Any of you go through this? The other thing I think it could be would be my Eustachian tube dysfunctioning, which seems a bit more likely to me at this point. But I just wanted to check with you folks to see what you think!

 

If you're sick, it's probably ETD or congestion/fluid. Give it a little time and if it doesn't improve after about a month, you should have it investigated by a specialist that isn't an ENT. A nasal steroid spray can help with this too.