heart beat

[northernstarmn]

good lord can someone tell me iam not the only one who hears their heart beating in their ears like a deep down beating ( like how youd hear someones heartbeat if you laid your head on their chest) OMG its driving me nutz...

i thought hmmm maybe my BP is up but nope its a nice 115/68 to 117/70 but why oh why do i hear it constantly??

i try to do things like listen to music or distract myself but ya know how annoying it is to have headphones on listening to music and still hear it!!!  AHHHHHHHHHHH

Lisa

[champ40]

I have it too, in my right ear.  The first time I experienced anything in my ears was a few weeks ago.  I was walking in a parking lot and all of the sudden I got dizzy and my ears sounded like I had gone under water.  That has happend 1 other time.  Since that experience, I now have the weird heartbeat sound in my right war...funny I was thinking of how to descirbe the sound to my friend the other day!  That is exactly it!  I haven't had surgery yet...fighting with my insurance to let me go to Dr. Batzdorf and Holly and UCLA...I have had a consult there and Dr. B is recommening surgery soon!

[lydelia]

I like this thread. I have the heart beat problem too. When I start to get a headache, or have head pressure and put my head in too much of a downward position, or if I get to exercising too hard.

The throat thing .. Stormy it is weird that you mention that. When I was younger, and during both of my pregnancies, I used to get the heart beat in my throat when I would get too hot or worked up about something. It was awful! It almost felt like it was choking it beat so hard. I had to focus and really breath through it. Now that I am a calmer person, and not preggers, I don't get it any more. I

For throat things... I also go through spells where I swallow my food and the peristalsis action in my throat seems like it slows and I can feel the food going down every millimeter and it is super painful.

momof3 boys --- chiari drive thru, lol

[selmaS]

   And was Chiari dx'd then? If so, u were lucky for that to happen so quickly....

I am sure, it was the CSF obstruction that u were actually noticing, and it just amplified ur heartbeat....

What did they suggest?

   "selma"

[Debi813]

  This is how my issue started.  I had the heartbeat in my ear and then it turned into the ringing and the buzing.  My ENT, pushed me for a MRI.

[linnielou232]

I was also told by my family dr. who I went to after surgery because of the heartbeating problem.  It could be your bp or it could be your body being in shock after having surgery.  Your body might be confused so it makes your heartbeat faster.  I now take Ambien at night to help me sleep because of this.  I hate taking more med's, but whatever works

[classiechic]

I honestly thought I was the only person on the planet with my heart beat in my ears. I've had this problem since I was 16, I can remember the first time I noticed it like yesterday. It's constant, it's louder when i'm in quiet places. I am now 32 and was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation last November 2010. Also, I have Otosclerosis and Spinal Stenosis. I've noticed the heart beat in my head/ears even more so as My hearing loss progressed. I had my First Stapedectomy in my right ear May 27 2011. I can now hear better than ever, yet still I can hear my heart beat in that ear. I'm so used to it, it's not much of a bother as much. Still somewhat annoying. Hope you find some relief, Lay off the salt, try not to get your ears wet. There are some things I've learned to do to minimize it. I find chewing gum drowns it out. Love, Casey

[selmaS]

  Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.
.....do u have a dx of chiari as well? If not, u may want to see ur PCP to see if mayb u have an earwax buildup...that can cause this to  happen as well, and  showering or swimming can help loosen the wax so that it moves and it just might be in the "right" place to cause this discomfort u r experiencing right now.

  "selma"

[35chele]

I have a annoying heart beat in my right ear. it's been going on for about a week now.

[*Stormy*]

I would think the shunt should be regulating it....but to me, this might be a good reason to call your DR and ask them about it..especially if this is something new that has cropped up. The dizziness, brain fog and heart beat sounds is all something I get when I feel like my head is under pressure, also my ears block up. Do you feel like there is a lot of pressure in your head?

If you go to your PCP one would hope that she would send you to see the NS.

That is the thing that irks me the most...it doesn't seem like there is really anyone in place for follow up problems after the surgery!!

[northernstarmn]

for me i have a constant heart beat, and then sometimes it will go to that whisteling noise and then back to heart beat..weirdest thing...sometimes its so loud i  have to ask people to stop talking for a second or two..til either calms down a bit, its very distracting.......yesterday i didnt have it after i was awake awhile NO noise at all i was like woohooo awesome, then i decided to chew a piece of gum MISTAKE! the heart beat came back.. HUMPH :( and then i got a back of head headache,ergh....
went to bed and woke up with the heartbeat again.... Man i was hoping...
and as this day moves forward i feel a bit dizzy off and on..weird i havent felt that since i had the decompression-

I have a shunt (that was installed in an emergency situation after decompression) doesnt that regulate the CSF? and if it does the heart beat cant be related to CSF,or can it ? I dunno my NS (who put the shunt in) kinda left me out in the cold told me practically nothing about the shunt,and has released me from his care only time i have to go back is for him to adjust the settings after i have an MRI.

[*Stormy*]

Rebecca- thanks for the info...it helps to have some reasons why! I have an MRI 4 months from now so hopefully it won't get worse between now and then. I think you are right about it being neurological, just another thing to add to the list.

pdxmomof3boys- Sounds like our experience is the same, mine is only with the headaches or high pressure feeling too. What stood out to me was you mentioning having a heart beat in your throat. I have that too, it was constant during my 3rd pregnancy (prob. due to higher blood flow) and it was one of the first throat symptoms I had. It has calmed down a little post-op but I still do get it, sometimes it is just this weird flutter that takes my breath away.
I just wanted to tell you too, that I have definitely going through up and downs since my surgery (almost 6wks ago) some days I feel great and some days I don't. I have had symptoms come and go but I think it is my body just trying to regulate. If I look at the general progress though, I am getting better but it is something where you have to look over a long time period. I'm sure the same will be for you!

[youngwife]

I agree that CSF may be causing or contributing this noise/pain.  And, just because you've been decompressed, doesn't necessarily mean that your CSF flow has been restored properly.  

You could have an absorption issue causing fluid to pool, even though the occipital space is roomier.  Chiari is very complicated, as is CSF flow.

Rachael was decompressed in 2007, and she still suffers from high pressure headaches.

Blessings,

Rebecca

[youngwife]

My daughter, Rachael, has also suffered from having a "heart beat in her head"!  She has Chiari and SM, and chronically has ear pain, pressure, and ringing that can not be explained by her ENT.  I attribute it to neurological issues from having Chiari.

(((HUGS)))

[pdxmomof3boys]

I too hear my heartbeat when I have a headache, but only with the headache. Otherwise I had the ringing and weird random  noises in my ears constantly. I agree it is probably pressure related. I used to feel my heart beating heavily in my throat and it would drive me crazy! That is gone, but things are coming and going like I'm a chiari symptom drive-thru! Haha...gonna go take some meds and lay down. It's what I've been doing all day and most of the week! I've lost the magical post-op glow that was the return to my former self. I hate it! Hope tomorrow brings me back again.

Rosemarie

[northernstarmn]

thats interesting i didnt know there were differnt types.

thanks for the info ...

[*Stormy*]

Me again.. this conversation peaked my interest so I went looking to see if I could back my pressure theory up...

Turns out there I two types of tinnitus:

Pulsatile-  (like a heartbeat) tinnitus is often caused by sounds created by muscle movements near the ear, changes in the ear canal, or blood flow (vascular) problems in the face or neck. You may hear sounds such as your own pulse or the contractions of your muscles.

Nonpulsatile- tinnitus is caused by problems in the nerves involved with hearing. You may hear sounds in one or both ears. Sometimes this type of tinnitus is described as coming from inside the head.

Both types can be caused by the same things..nerve damage ect. Looking at the pulsatile type being affected by blood flow in the face and neck, I think it's reasonable to thing that could be affected by the pressure in your head...

Hope this helps!

[*Stormy*]

Lisa- I have the heartbeat in the ears quite frequently and constant ringing, white noise in my ears. I had this before surgery and it hasn't changed for me at all yet. I notice that when I get pressure headaches, my ear ringing gets louder and that is when I lie down and I hear the heart beat.

So, for me, I think it is when I have high pressure on my head it's almost like it's pushing on an artery or something (just a guess). My problem with it is, why I am I still getting this pressure feeling when I have been decompressed??? I thought it may be just the inflammation from surgery but still after 5 weeks?? And it always gets worse after lying down awhile, I wake up every morning with a headache (I've checked it out and that is what describes a high pressure headache, low pressure ones from leaks usually occurs when standing up).

[selmaS]

Oh and using NSAID meds can increase the tinnitus.....so, be careful and try to stick with the anti inflammatory meds.....

[northernstarmn]

this heart beat thing has been off and on since i last got out of the hospital in novemeber, i also had the ringing and buzzing in the ears but the heart beat is now constant and has been constant for oh the last 3 weeeks...

thats interesting it can be from both my issues...lovely!

[selmaS]

HI Lisa,

U r not alone...I have seen several members mention this . I do not have the heart beat, but the buzzing and ringing.....

In doing a quick look around I found that the brain stem can affect heart rate and breathing....and if our 8th cranial nerve is also affected by our chiari ...then we have hearing issues as well as balance and all the rest.

I also read where a shunt can have an affect on this sensation as well.

When did u notice this?

"selma"