Pulsatile Tinnitus Questions

[RyanB]

Hi all,

I'd like to describe my experience in hopes of any advice or insight. I've been suffering from pulsatile tinnitus in my left ear for about a month, and it seems like pulsatile tinnitus is more rare so it's hard to find good info specific to it.

The most difficult part that I'm experiencing that is unclear if other people experience is that if I plug my ear it gets very loud. It makes it very difficult to sleep on my left side since putting my ear on the pillow makes it go crazy. I would assume this means it's objective, although my ENT listened for it and couldn't hear anything.

It also gets very loud breifly if I burp, hiccup, or yawn. Back when it first started I would only get loud if I burp or hiccup. It got worse and worse ofer a few days and started pulsing when it got bad. It went away after a few days, but has come back two more times, a bit worse and longer lasting each time. Currently almost any movement makes it spike... just moving my head around makes it spike a bit sometimes.

Does anyone else have experience with anything like this?

Thanks so much,
Ryan

 

[billy43]

hi ryan.ive had pulsatile tinnitus 7 months.yes mine gets louder with jaw movement ,bending over and when running.Theres a site ;Whooshers.com That has a lot of information on pulsatile tinnitus.did your ent run any tests?most of the time PT isn't serious .In my case the first doctor I saw ,an Ent,ran an mri and an mra just to rule out the bad stuff and both test came back negative.well hopefully yours goes away on its own.good luck . billy43

 

[RyanB]

Hi Billy, thanks for the response.

Just to clarify, I don't mean the pulsing is louder in those cases... if I cover my ear I hear a screaming loud mostly constant sound.

Even without that, the pulsing I hear is weird too. It feels like I have a loud constant sound that changes with each pulse. In fact sound I hear is distorted with each pulse... if I listen to running water for example, the sound changes with each pulse. And it is matched to my heartbeat.

And yes, I've had an MRI and CT scan, and have an MR Venogram tomorrow.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[billy43]

Hey Ryan.well you definitely have pulsatile tinnitus because the pulsing is in sync with your heartbeep.it may be that you also have regular tinnitus as well.that would explain the constant sound you hear.it is possible to have both.i think I also have a combination of both but it the PT that by far bothers me the most and the one that is there all the time.it took months for me just to get a good nights sleep but luckily I am now so I think my brain is getting used to it.pulsatile tinnitus is rare so its tough just to find a doctor who is knowledgable about it and cares enough to pursue it .but it sounds like your doctor is at least interested enough to run the proper test.some people like myself have tried seeing nuerologists also because there are so many different causes of PT.but again your only 1 month into this so stay positive about things and remember that sometimes PT is curable .good luck with your next test.thanks billy43