Pulsatile Tinnitus Followed by Bell's Palsy

I was diagnosed with Bell's palsy 6 weeks ago. It affected the left side of my face. I had discomfort in front and the back of the left ear. I was given steroids as per normal.

3 weeks ago I started hearing my pulse in the left ear which got louder as the days went by. I went to my GP who gave me ear drops and 2 types of antibiotics, none of them worked.

He has now referred me to the ENT dept, but the waiting list is around a year.

My questions are: is the Bell's palsy the cause? Although I have made some recovery from the Bell's palsy, I still have some effects. Will the tinnitus go away when the Bell's palsy finally goes? Is there anything I can do in the mean time?

Thanks.

 

Bell’s Palsy affects the 7th cranial nerve. If the 8th cranial nerve has been affected by the Bell’s Palsy then the pulsatile tinnitus may be related and it may resolve when your other symptoms resolve. Of course, your pulsatile tinnitus could arise from a completely different etiology. It is impossible to say without the requisite imaging. It is a shame you must wait an entire year for an ENT appt. I get furious if I am expected to wait more than a couple weeks.

 

Thanks for your reply. I will look into that further. At the end of last week the doctor put me on Fexofenadine Hydrochloride tablets for a month. To me they look like a treatment for hay-fever, but I guess he knows what he's doing. He's also going to try and get me a faster appointment.

 

**** UPDATE ****

Those pills have made no difference, however I did get an appointment out of the blue last week at ENT. They have asked for an urgent CT scan, so just waiting for that now. They did stick a camera up my nose and said that was all good. Also had a hearing test, no issues there apart from the tinnitus ear had slight hearing loss.