Whooshing Sound to Heartbeat... But Only When Sitting or Lying Down

[Jimlad]

Hello all.

Just joined as I know I need to tackle this for peace of mind. For me this started in October 2018. But it tends to come and go like a flare up, lasting a few days and then eases off.

My symptoms are loud whooshing sound in tune with my heartbeat in left hear. Sometimes it's faint and sometimes it's loud. Sometimes I feel my left ear is hot or I can see it's more red than the right.

Normally I can shift it with a walk or going about my daily business.

Most common in evenings and brought on most of the time when lying down or sitting.

Docs not much help, they said MRI with dye injection and CT scan is the best way forward which makes me feel worried!

 

[Arseny]

Hello all.

Just joined as I know I need to tackle this for peace of mind. For me this started in October 2018. But it tends to come and go like a flare up, lasting a few days and then eases off.

My symptoms are loud whooshing sound in tune with my heartbeat in left hear. Sometimes it's faint and sometimes it's loud. Sometimes I feel my left ear is hot or I can see it's more red than the right.

Normally I can shift it with a walk or going about my daily business.

Most common in evenings and brought on most of the time when lying down or sitting.

Docs not much help, they said MRI with dye injection and CT scan is the best way forward which makes me feel worried!

I would suggest doing a Doppler ultrasound test of your neck and head arteries and veins first. It will show if you have any problems with blood flow. You should also do it in resting position and after doing mild exercise (at the doctor's office) to see if any problems arise from that.
If everything is clear then you should do neck MRI first to see if you have any issues there and then you can do brain angio MRI with contrast.

You should also rule out high intracranial pressure especially if you're saying that it gets worse when lying down.

Also you should be aware that contrast dye can cause allergic reaction and MRIs are loud in general. Only do it in properly inserted earplugs like 3M 1100.