PT Piano Player, New York Area... Double Melody. Advice on Doctor.

[Sergio V.]

Hello to everybody here
I'm new to the forum and to Pulsatile Tinnitus, in seek of some help

Mine is a very high pitch, in sync with beat, similar to like crickets in the distance (but loud). I think there are steady tones too, but the most nerve torturing is the pulsating one. It's loud enough to hear it when i'm on the bus, subway or busy street, although it gets quieter and milder at seemingly random times.

It started 6 weeks ago, in the morning. At First i thought it was high blood pressure, i went to check it and it was perfectly fine.
It kept going for the next days and i couldn't sleep, becoming increasingly anxious about it.
(That week i went to hear Andras Schiff performing beethoven sonatas, with this "added note" on top.)

I Went to an ENT that performed an Audiology test, which indicated nothing like hearing loss, indeed my hearing is still pretty good for my youthful 40s . He had the opinion that i was "stressed" (i was effectively going through some personal and practical difficulties), so he recommended Running 3 times a week. In reality, He didn't payed too much attention to the pulsative quality, and wanted to see me a "year later".

After that i had an appointment for a general checkup and blood test to discard high cholesterol - blood pressure..etc, and all tests were very good. That doctor had a similar opinion about stress, and prescribed me sleeping pills which i've been taking al this time.

The PT seemed to decay at some point before i took a little vacation the past days, in the hopes some relaxing would help, but since then it has increased its intensity and now i'm feeling some strange pressure sensations on top and back of the head-neck, nothing painful so far, but unease.

I hate sound whining, but i will not mask I'm confused about what to do now and i'm becoming anxious, depressed...helpless in finding a doctor that has some experience with this and will not ignore this syntoms.

I live in New York and wonder if somebody could advice me on what kind of doctor and tests should i take to outline a possible cause and hopefully a cure.

By now i'm holding on to go and let a Chaman expulse this daemon from my head.

Wishing you all healing your PTs and happiness.
Thank You!!!


Sergio

 

[James]

Hello @Sergio
Thanks for sharing that story with the forum. Your sequence of events sounds similar to what I did,,,the blood pressure question, a visit to the ENT, who also told me it was about stress. The pulsing thing which I have too, is not fun. That's great news you don't have a hearing loss. Maybe the T will go away with less stress in life. You could ask the doctor if antidepressants might help.

Time has not given me the answer to it, so I live with it. I feel better about it now, its part of me, but that's taken some time. If I let myself get run down it gets worse. Those sleeping pills sound like a good idea. Hopefully there will be a cure or a medication for it. I'm right with you about asking for help. Welcome.

 

[Sergio V.]

Hi James
Thanks for taking a time to reply my post. If i step aside from the annoying part of it, it'has made me balance my priorities in life, knowing now, first hand that bad emotions and stress takes a real, tangible toll on the body. On another positive side, i've experienced great sleeping with those pills, i never took in the past. Hope not to become an addict . I hope yours get Better and better until it vanishes, or you find the right procedures to heal it.
It's interesting, as a musician to note that, music and silence are conceptual, and ayway you can experience them even with this nasty hight pitch sound oscillating up there.

I will consult about antidepressants, i have aversion to them, since i like to experience life in a non flat mode, but lets face that sometimes you just need a little help.

All the best with your PT case and happy to share any experience that might be useful to others.

Sergio

 

[billy43]

hello Sergio.i also have a pulsatile tinnitus mixed in with reg.t. Ive had it for around 19 months.for me time has definitely helped.the first 4 or 5 months were absolutely horrible.but im happy to say im doing a lot better and lead a fairly good life.there are several other tests that you can take for PT.Theres a doctor in NY city by the name of Maksim Shapiro.he works out of NYU langone medical center.he is one of the few doctors who is truly a specialist with pulsatile tinnitus.he is neurologist who will exhaust all options in trying to find a cure for his PT patients.he was one of several specialist that I saw and I would recommend him to anybody who has PT and lives in the new York area. ok good luck with things. billy43

 

[Karen]

Hi, Sergio,

I have pulsatile tinnitus, too, along with regular tinnitus (a high-pitched, constant hissing sound). I agree with the advice offered by both James and Billy43. If your PT has become more intense, has new symptoms, or becomes more bothersome, it would be a good idea to go to a specialist for another opinion.

As Billy 43 suggested, you are lucky to live in New York, and to be near one of the best doctors (a neurointerventional radiologist), who has helped many pulsatile tinnitus patients, Dr. Maksim Shapiro. I wish I lived closer to New York, because I definitely would have gone to him for a consultation.

Pulsatile tinnitus is a very bothersome, and sometimes scary, condition, and it's good to get checked out, just in case there is something that can be physically repaired.

We wish you good luck, and hope you'll report back here if you do decide to see a specialist.

Very best wishes,
Karen

 

[Sergio V.]

Thanks so much, Karen and Billy and James.!

You are very kind in taking time to read my post and reply.
Strangely enough, i have a friend that lives next door to the NYU Langone center where he works, but i wasn't aware of that, and when walking that street thought of may be trying there...wow.magic. Hope they take my insurance.

I will contact Dr. Shapiro hoping to get an appointment soon and i will inform you of any progress, so it might help others eventually.

hugs and best wishes to all of you

Sergio

 

[Sergio V.]

Hi Karen and every PT colleague
here's my report.

It took me a while but i finally had an appointment with Dr. Shapiro, made me have MRI, MRA and CT scans.
He was very nice and patient in thoroughly explaining me what could be going on and what to do.
i did a simulation of the frequency and pulse of mine and made an audio file which i took to him. (i uploaded the file).
He was puzzled by how high pitched is.
My sound is a little more hissy than this mp3, but frequency is quite similar.

Finally, my tests revealed nothing that could be causing the PT and thankfully nothing serious or abnormal (aneurysms, tumors, etc...), which finally made me relax a bit and stop feeling "in hold " or threatened.

Dr. Shapiro also told me that the fact that has been milder the last days is a good sign, and suggested not to perform angiography or lumbar puncture, because it has proven to be of low effectivity with a case like this.

I don't know what follows now, other than hope for time to heal it.
Some days it decays to a tolerable level. Some mornings i have the illusion of getting up without it just in the moment between sleep and waking up. Other days, and i cannot find a reason, it just gets very loud and pulsating all the time. I definitely sense a correspondence between anxiety level and it's loudness. Feel good moments make it much more tolerable and far.

But still i cannot sleep well if i don't use medication. (or a glass of wine instead)

I'm suspecting that something might be compressed - messed on a micro level on my neck, may be related to computer use , tension, etc.., but still don't have a better clue, so i'm constantly reading through this forum to find some similar experience and possible treatment.

this is my news buy now. thanks a lot for all the information and support i've found here.

S