Is This Pulsatile Tinnitus? Please Help

[kevin89carolina]

I'm 24 years old and have had a mild case of tinnitus for as long as I can remember. Recently, 3 weeks ago exactly I fire a handgun without hearing protection, twice. So, so stupid. Immediately my ears rang, but the ringing faded after a couple of seconds. The rest of the day my hearing was off and I was freaking out.

I saw my ENT that week who did a hearing test. Everything looked normal. My tinnitus was loud, but I was more concerned about my hearing loss.

A couple days later, my tinnitus got louder. A very loud high pitched frequency hissing in my head. I immediately went back to my ENT who prescribed me prednisone for 9 days. It didn't really seem to do a whole lot. Then here's where I officially lost it..

Last Friday, after constantly checking my ears and trying to adapt. I noticed a morse code type beeping in my left ear. Very fast high pitched beep beep bee bee be be beep beeep be be be beep beep be beep. And it's only gotten louder. I can hear it over EVERYTHING. Nothing masks it and I am terrified beyond belief. It seems to get louder with music. I can hear it in the shower, in the car, over the tv, over the loud fans, at work, everywhere.

Has anybody ever dealt with at morse code type tinnitus and has it ever gotten better? I'm not even sure if it's PT because it's much too fast. I've scheduled another appointment with my ENT, who won't do anything, a cranialsacral message therapist, and also another audiologist. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I've cried my eyes out the last 3 nights. My life seems over and I cannot escape the noise. It would be different if it was just a constant high pitched tone, but the beeping is driving me mad. Please, can anybody offer me some support and help

 

[Laura89]

Hi Kevin, I am sorry to hear you are having a hard time right now. I can totally understand the frustration, despair you must be feeling. First of all, I don't think that what you have is Pulsatile Tinnitus/Vascular tinnitus. It usually goes in synch with your pulse and typically sounds like a whoosh, whoosh whoosh, some people report that sounds like a high pitch pulse but still in synch with their heart. I have the whoosh type and I hear when my heart rate goes up, when I move my head from side to side, when I bend down, lay down, excersise basically anytime my heart starts beating a lil faster than usual etc. So its definitely a vascular issue for me. Have not found the cause yet.

Your life is not over, remember that you will have very hard days in which you feel you can't go on anymore, but slowly and as time passes those days will become less and less and you will start having better days. Your T might settle in some weeks, please give it some time. I have only been at this for almost 3 months, and I can tell you that I am better than I was when this all started. I know our conditions are different, but we both yearn for silence and peace.

Some advice that helped me and might help you (others might already mentioned this to you):

1. Sleep: Its hard, its tough, but you must try to sleep. At first I used to sleep in my bathtub with the bathroom fan on. Then I started to mask my PT with some music, all night I would wear earbuds and sleep like that. And now I don't normally need to mask it or to sleep in the bathroom anymore, tho I do wake up and move around a lot. So try stuff, if its extremely hard you might have to try prescription meds for a bit.

2. Eat healthy: When this all started I lost 15 pounds, I would not eat, I could not eat. I was very stressed, very sad. But you must drink water stay hydrated, eat good food and keep your body healthy, help your body heal. Avoid things you think might make your T worse, alcohol, coffee, cannabis, loud noise.

3. Dont loose hope. Things are shitty right now, but you must believe you have the strength mentally, emotionally and physically to overcome T. Right now seems like you can't possible live a happy life with T, but trust me, it is possible as many people here will tell you, and it is also possible your T might get better with time. Trust your body, treat it like a wounded person whom you love very much. I use to be very upset with my body, I couldn't understand why, I still don't but I am not angry at my body anymore and slowly, VERY SLOWLY i am starting to accept this condition (though I am still looking for answers).

4. Seek help wherever you are. Right now you need a lot of support from friends and loved ones. Try to avoid those people that bring you down or dismiss your pain or make you feel like you are making a big deal out of this. Instead find supportive loving people that will listen to you and be there when you need it the most. Acupuncture helps me a lot, hypnotherapy, massage therapy. Noise helps me, bathroom fan, fridge, windy days, rain, does not mask my PT but its nice to hear something else. Seek support groups in your area, many times I was told to talk to mental health professionals, this might work for you, as they can help you find ways to cope with the anxiety T brings, however this did not help me, instead I found that talking to spiritual supportive friends and spiritual counselling helped me more.

5. Exersice might help you too, for me this one is hard, since my heart rate goes up, but I still cycle to places, go for walks and run occasionally. Do it to relieve stress, make you tired and help you sleep.

6. Remember everything is temporary. Nothing is forever, and right now you are in the process of healing, so help your body and mind during this process. Easier said than done, trust me I know, and all of us here know too.

I send you many many hugs and I hope soon here you can feel a bit better.

 

[Rog]

Hi @kevin89carolina

we all know it is hard but you will get better . when people say "I promise" believe because its true. I am with T for less than 3 months and is pretty bad one too. Just do your best whatever your best is... God bless we all !!

 

[RyanJayDayv]

Hi Kevin, I'm really really sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. I can tell you straight away that this is NOT pulsatilla tinnitus. I have experienced pulsatile tinnitus (Which is now completely gone)!. I still have ringing but the pulsatile heartbeat pound sounds are gone. Anyway, please don't get yourself down about your current experience... It will get better i promise, i will give you any support you need if wanted. Peace.

 

[DebF]

I've had T with pulsatile T in my left ear for 25 years now!!! As I write this, I can hear my heartbeat and breathing in my left ear.
Went to an ENT years ago, and was told I have TMJ syndrome too. One thing that seems to confirm the pulsatile is the eustation tube in the left ear is more narrow than the right. I pray we can all have silence soon

 

[Theadora]

I had meningitis as a baby and as a result, I have had hearing loss and tinnitus all my life. At around 19, the gift of Meniere's Disease was bestowed upon me. (Extreme sarcasm) I am 43 now and I have had 3 major Meniere's attacks. When I was younger, I was not treated and it eventually cleared up. My last attack was around mid Jan. Anyway, the last stage of an attack is really loud tinnitus (in my best hearing ear) and now it has started to pulse. Normally, my T doesn't really bother me at all, but this pulsing T is driving me insane. The ENT was useless and the audiologist was nice, but gave me no info I didn't already know. The pulsing T is not new to me, but normally it never lasts long. It is because of the fluid build up in my inner ear mostly caused by allergies. I take a diuretic and a Zyrtec D and have been eating less processed, sodium filled foods. Since my condition is not heart related, would this still be referred to as pulsatile tinnitus?

 

[robinbird]

Maybe for now you should get an anti anxiety prescription. As time goes on, you can cut back or cut the meds out all together. I have had pt/t for a year. Came in like the devil. The heartbeating sound was more pronounced in the beginning. Now it mostly feels like pressure causing my noise intermittently. I only hear the heartbeat when laying down on the couch. I have had success with lorazepam. I only take it now when I can't sleep and I cut the pill in half. You will be able to cope as we all do that come to this site. Each in his/her own way. Hang in there. It does get better.