Perforated Eardrum and Pulsatile Tinnitus — Will It Go Away After the Perforation Has Healed?

[Hushdavid]

Hello All,
I'm new to the forum, but have been reading a wealth of information here!

I have tinnitus from an accident in 2010. It's the "cricket" tinnitus and I've learned to deal with it, and strangely…find it comforting.
Two weeks ago, I had a bad head cold and my head was very stuffy.
I went into the doctor and he informed me that I perforated my eardrum. He said to come back in a month and we'll see how it's healing.
Long story short…I have pulsatile tinnitus in the same ear as my regular tinnitus. It's pretty intense, but it seems to have reduced in the last few days.

My question, will the pulsatile tinnitus go away after the perforation has healed?

Anyone else have been through this?

Best,
David

 

[Karen]

Hi, David,

I have both regular tinnitus and pulsatile tinnitus in one ear, too. Mine was caused by a blood pressure drug, so it is a different situation.

I can only speculate as to whether your PT will go away once the perforation heals, but I would say things should get a lot better, based on the fact that it has already improved for you over the last couple of days.

You could also look on Whooshers.com, if you haven't already, to see if there are any references to this situation.

How long did the doctor say it would take for the perforated eardrum to heal?

Best wishes,
Karen

 

[Hushdavid]

Hello Karen,

Thank you for your response. I looked into Whooshers.com, but they don't have a search feature. So I will look at the header of each post and see if there are any references.

Yea, Having two types of tinnitus in one ear is tough!
My GP said to come back in a month to check on healing. After some quick research when I got home, I found out it normally takes 6-8 weeks to heal. He said mine may take longer because there is some scar tissue. I've perforated the ear while diving a while back.
Meanwhile, I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with the ENT, but that isn't until next week!

The research I've found within the last week doesn't give any conclusive answers. It seems like most information says once the PT source is found and an remedied the PT will go away.
I'm hoping this is accurate!

Best,
David

 

[James]

Hello @Hushdavid

I hope your PT will go away. Find the source and heal it. Makes sense to me.
Welcome to the forum. James

 

[Karen]

Hi, again, David,

Six to eight weeks sounds about right for the healing process. I hope things continue to improve for you.

You are right that pulsatile tinnitus is often fixable if the cause is found. The problem is that many doctors, ENT's included, don't know much about pulsatile tinnitus, and many don't have the time it takes to deal with it (running tests, etc). In my case, my ENT referred me to a neurotologist. The neurotologist ordered tests for me, but found nothing. I've been to three neurotologists and two ENT's, and nothing has been found so far. It's difficult to find a doctor who is familiar with our symptom and can work with the patient to diagnose possible causes.

In your case, I'm hopeful that things will improve as your eardrum heals. Please keep us posted on how you're doing as you go through the healing process.

Best wishes,
Karen

 

[Fungus]

Hushdavid, I think there's a very good chance the PT will go away. I had PT (as well as my regular tinnitus) after grommet insertion (essentially perforated ear drum!) and also after T-tubes, both would have caused inflammation as well as holes. As the T-tubes are bigger, the PT lasted for longer

A few days ago I inadvertently pushed one of the sound-generating hearing aids that I have (pointed end!) too far into my ear causing acute pain and then a re-emergence of the PT. As my ear has settled down the PT has become much quieter.

Here's hoping it goes away.

Fungus.

 

[Hushdavid]

Hello All,
Thank you for the support and feedback. I believe you all have brought good luck, because today is the first day the sound of PT isn't overwhelming! It's there, but my normal tinnitus covers up most of the it.
It's strange to say, but I'm glad I have my crickets back!

I'm will visit the ENT Wednesday and report back.

Best,
David

 

[Fungus]

There you go, Hushdavid, a few positive experiences have chased the pulsytinny out.

I still get the PT a bit, usually at night, or after exercise....I then tell myself it's a good thing....my heart is still beating and there's blood getting into my rotten ears.

Here's hoping that it goes for good and that the crickets are getting bored with their singing.

Fungus.

 

[Hushdavid]

I just got back from the ENT and it was very strange.
I told her the situation and she said it didn't sound like a perforated eardrum, but then looked in my ear and said that she did see a small perforation.
Asked me to take a hearing test. After the test she stated that I shouldn't hear anything from that ear and I'm hearing something (albeit extremely little) Then stated that it must not be a perforation.
Prescribed me prednisone and told me to take it for 10 days and come back in a month. If it doesn't heal, I will need to get a MRI.

Yeah…this freaked me out.

 

[Karen]

Hi, David,

Yes, that was very strange that at first she saw something, and then she discounted it. I hope the prednisone works for you, but if it doesn't, don't worry. An MRI isn't a bad experience (just noisy!), and maybe it will reveal something that the doctor cannot see right now.

 

[Hushdavid]

Thank you Karen, you are a comfort!

The ENT experience was very strange. She was saying the opposite of things that I researched. (e.g. Fluid in the middle ear didn't cause PT, a perforated eardrum couldn't be the reason for my PT, etc.)
She seemed in a rush to push me out the door, but didn't let me leave without placing the fear of God in me by suggesting the possibility that could be a tumor or aneurysm.

 

[Fungus]

As I understand PT is a lot to do with altered blood flow in the ear and inflammation, changed mechanics, fluid etc can all cause this..

I don't understand why the ENT doc. said you wouldn't hear anything from an ear with a perforation (if that were the only issue). I could hear from my perforated eardrum (though not as well as in the normal ear) and still can hear reasonably now with 'chronic perforations'....T-tubes....which apparently have given me about a 3dB additional hearing loss.

Not wishing to cast aspersions , but do you feel she got to the bottom of your problems, or just managed to get you out the door in double quick time?


Fungus

 

[Hushdavid]

Hey Fungus,
The latter. She called in another nurse to answer any questions, but even that nurse walked out. This has been a roller coaster of a situation.
I started the Prednisone (60mg x3 day for 6 days) and it's intense. The PT has gone away, but I'm dizzy and my head feels stuffy. The sounds in my ear changes hourly.

Again, a roller coaster.

 

[Fungus]

Hushdavid tinnitus recovery always lags behind that which caused it. As you had mild tinnitus before, there is every hope that your tinnitus will return to pre-cold levels. It may take some time, but it's very likely you will eventually get there.

I have noticed that I get a bout of PT after I have been out in the heavy winds and rain that we have had for the last month or so. It goes away after a while, so I don't worry about what may be causing it any more.

Very,very few cases pf PT are down to aneurysms or tumours etc. and you had an obvious cause for you PT with a head cold and perforation.

Merry Xmas.

Fungus

 

[Hushdavid]

I just got back from the ENT.
Come to find out, I had a perforated eardrum and fluid on the ear. Compounded with my tinnitus and eustachian tube issues.

Needless to say, he said the perforation is healing. The fluid will go away with time, and suggested that I take pseudoephedrine for tube related concerns.

It has been a tough ride, but thanks to the input from this forum (especially @Fungus @Karen) the journey was much better.

 

[Karen]

Hi, @Hushdavid

Thanks for updating us on your condition. I'm glad to hear that your perforated eardrum is healing, and I hope that the decrease in fluid results in your not hearing the pulsating any more.

I'd say this is a potentially happy ending, and I hope you'll keep us updated on how you're doing as you heal!

Best wishes,
Karen

 

[Hushdavid]

Update:
I've been in to speak to my ENT twice since my last posting. After a lot of research a purchased as "Earpopper" http://www.earpopper.com/ and followed the instructions per fluid in the ear. (7-11 weeks)
I will say that it has helped tremendously, but I still hear PT (albeit much quieter) Especially when I work out, or increase my pulse rate.
The ENT said there may be some fluid in the middle ear that he can't see, but the outer eardrum looks healed.
This has been an extremely slooooooow process.

 

[MariaS]

Hi Hushdavid,

I know this post was from two years ago, I'm just wondering if there was any improvement after your last post or if your pulsatile tinnitus went away? I've been told similar things by my doctor (fluid, perforated ear drum, etc) and my pulsatile tinnitus started after a sinus infection. I'm very nervous about it being something with my blood vessels (aneurysm, etc.)
I'd really appreciate it if you could give us a quick update... I'm new to this forum so I apologize if you've already given an update and I just missed it!

 

[Jazzer]

Hi, David,

I have both regular tinnitus and pulsatile tinnitus in one ear, too. Mine was caused by a blood pressure drug, so it is a different situation.

I can only speculate as to whether your PT will go away once the perforation heals, but I would say things should get a lot better, based on the fact that it has already improved for you over the last couple of days.

You could also look on Whooshers.com, if you haven't already, to see if there are any references to this situation.

How long did the doctor say it would take for the perforated eardrum to heal?

Best wishes,
Karen

Karen - could I ask you which particular BP drug seemed to affect you?

 

[Karen]

@Jazzer ,

My pulsatile tinnitus started within a month after I began taking Lisinopril, an ACE inhibitor. I already had tinnitus in my right ear; after taking the drug, my regular tinnitus got much worse, and the pulsating started shortly after that.

I switched drugs, and ended up on Toprol XL, a beta blocker. That didn't make it any worse, but it didn't go away, either. I finally got myself off all the blood pressure drugs, after tapering off the Toprol XL gradually.

Now, I still have the tinnitus and the pulsatile tinnitus, but at least they haven't gotten any worse. Actually, I feel better, because I have somewhat acclimated to this condition.