Should I Be Worried? Pulsatile Tinnitus Started in One Ear, and Is Now in Both

[Qwerty]

Hi, I have had PT diagnosed in my right ear for nearly two years. Two months ago it started even louder in my left ear. It now prevents me from sleeping properly which is effecting my husbands sleep too. Should I assume that it is also PT? Getting very frustrated and low, I can even hear and feel it whilst watching the TV as it is now a off centre whooshing in stereo in my head! I had the Doppler scan on my artery for my left ear and camera up my nose and down my throat. Also I had an MRI before my diagnosis for my left ears PT. Has anyone else had PT start in one ear and the occur in the other at a later date? many thanks - Leah

 

[SoulStation]

@Karen

 

[Karen]

Hi, @Qwerty,

I don't have that situation myself (my PT is only in my right ear), but, yes, I have heard of other people whose pulsatile tinnitus started in one ear, and then later began in the other.

Did your doctor give you any sort of diagnosis as to what might have caused your PT? Are you scheduled to go back for any additional testing? Have you considered going to another doctor for a second opinion, or sending a copy of your scans to another doctor for evaluation?

I hope you have a peaceful evening, and that you're able to get some sleep. I've been taking magnesium chloride tablets at night about an hour before bedtime, which are calming and help me get to sleep naturally.

Take care, and I'd like to hear more about your condition.

Best wishes,
Karen

 

[Qwerty]

Hi Karen

After reading back my previous message I have noticed a mistake. I have had no testing on my left ear. All those tests were done over too years ago for my right ear. I was never given a reason for the PT. I have made an appointment at my Doctors for next Tuesday for my left ear. I'll keep you posted.

Does your PT appear worse when you are stressed or anxious?

Many thanks

Leah

 

[Karen]

Hi, again, Leah,

Thanks for the update, and I'm so glad you've made a doctor appointment to have your left ear checked out. Maybe he will order some testing for you. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say.

Yes, my PT does appear worse when I'm under stress or anxious. When I get really stressed, sometimes it feels like my whole head is pulsing. Then, when I calm down again, it goes back to baseline.

Good luck, and please do update us next week after your doctor visit.

Best wishes,
Karen

 

[ruben ruiz]

Hi, again, Leah,

Thanks for the update, and I'm so glad you've made a doctor appointment to have your left ear checked out. Maybe he will order some testing for you. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say.

Yes, my PT does appear worse when I'm under stress or anxious. When I get really stressed, sometimes it feels like my whole head is pulsing. Then, when I calm down again, it goes back to baseline.

Good luck, and please do update us next week after your doctor visit.

Best wishes,
Karen

Do you take meds? My theory is when the meds wear off the pulsing starts. Does true Pulsatile T mean there is a chance for an underling cure? Im not sure.

 

[Karen]

Hi, Ruben,

No, I don't take any meds except Synthroid, for underactive thyroid, and I'm afraid I'll be taking that for the rest of my life. However, I do think your theory may be correct, because my pulsating started right after I took a blood pressure drug for the first time, then tried to get myself off it because of the horrible side effects.

I'm told that there is an 80% chance that most people can be cured of pulsatile tinnitus, but I'm not convinced it is true of everyone. However, for many, pulsatile tinnitus is very curable once the cause is found.

 

[Mike Lee]

Mine started in right, then both, now back to right
I can stop it for a couple days if I am good
NO alcohol
I can control it if no stress or lifting ice, massage, relaxation
I'm lucky I can sleep on one side with just the right pillow
Test different positions, types of pillows

 

[Karen]

@Mike Lee,

It's good that you are able to sleep. For me, it helps to sleep on two pillows, at least. Propping the head up seems to help.

 

[Joan A.]

Interisting thread. Recently (1 years) i've developed another tinnitus on the left side that sometimes is pulsatile if i'm orthostatic.... if i lay supine it became louder, not pulsatile and in the whole head. Awful. MRI and others clinical examinations dosn't show anything of abnormal. Currently on TCAs + clonazepam. All the doctors told me that all depending by a tensive/depressive/anxiety status...

it is a mistery for me...

p.s. Avoid the trt brain retraining therapy

 

[Engie]

Why should I avoid the trt brain retraining therapy?

 

[Lola in Ohio]

Hi there. I have pulsatile Tinnitus in both ears. I use the neuronomics 'sound retraining therapy' as a way to cope with the distraction. It's not a cure but it's an aid I can get relief from. Sometimes my tinnitus is so strong I can feel the vibration inside my head. I've had MRIs and a cerebral angiogram. Aside from severe tortuiosity found in my cerebral vertebral arteries nothing vascular was found. My next step is to be tested for intercranial hypertension. Has anyone been tested or treated for that?

 

[Jamclem]

@Karen Hi Karen, just out of curiosity because you also have PT in just one ear. Do you have mild hyperacusis now and then in the same ear? (my H seems to be aggrivated more by vibrations than sounds i.e of a sitting in a train carriage with a diesel engine or a the vibrations of a bus stationary but engine on.

Hope you are well

James

 

[Karen]

Hi, @Jamclem,

I have both pulsatile tinnitus and a high-pitched regular tinnitus in my right ear. I'm not sure I have hyperacusis, but I do have trouble listening to certain sounds/vibrations, such as the TV set, for long periods of time.

Is that similar to what you have?

 

[Jamclem]

@Karen

Yes I think your symptons are similar. I do have PT and T aswell.My PT always stays in the right ear and I suspect my T (a dullish sound drifts to my left/centre when I sleep on the left said of my head. I think it is all been generated in the right ear only though.

Have a nice evening

 

[Karen]

Thank you, @Jamclem, and I hope you have a good evening, too!

Please stay in touch; it sounds like we have a very similar condition.

 

[ARC]

@Lola in Ohio

Hi,

I've been experiencing pulsatile tinnitus in both ears since 2013 intermittently in "crisis" lasting weeks to a couple of months. I'm also suspected to have intracranial hypertension. My first MRI showed absolutely nothing, while a more specialized second MRI that produced images of the cerebral veins showed bilateral transverse sinuses stenosis (large veins). Apparently, there is a chicken-egg kind of relationship between venous stenosis and intracranial hypertension. However, so far I haven't done any test to confirm the hypertension, typically tested through lumbar puncture.

 

[Karen]

Hi, @ARC

Are you going to consider a lumbar puncture if it continues, to see if you might have the intracranial hypertension? If you find out that you do have it, there are drugs to keep it under control. I'll be interested to hear what the outcome is.

 

[ARC]

Hi, @ARC

Are you going to consider a lumbar puncture if it continues, to see if you might have the intracranial hypertension? If you find out that you do have it, there are drugs to keep it under control. I'll be interested to hear what the outcome is.

Hi,

for the moment I've decided not to have the lumbar puncture but to take act by controlling better the factors that can influence on intracranial hypertension(weight, cervical vertebrae alignment ,etc) . In any case the link between the latter and venous stenosis if almost sure, but in my case I believe it is mild since I have rarely headaches as usually reported in high IH. I also have a lot of variation in my tinnitus with neck movement suggesting possibly that if I improve this aspect I'll have a better outflow of my cerebro-spinal fluid.

 

[Tommi_boi]

I think I've had em all ( normal tinnitus, pulsatile , sentive hearing ) but if there is one thing I learnt from all this , just don't think about it and get on with your life. It only gets better ( well most of the time) with time whether you have to habituate or not .

I have begun to regard T as my little friend in life now lol, how sad is that .