Audible clicking in time with pulse

[Nancy T]

I'm a 50-year-old woman, 50 lbs overweight, no history of heart problems although 7 years ago an internist told me I had an extremely faint heart murmur, but nothing more was ever said about it, nor was it mentioned by any subsequent doctor, no workup. I've had mild neurological/muscle/joint symptoms for 8 years with possibility of MS and fibromyalgia but nothing diagnosed; I'm generally healthy although I take Strattera for longtime "dizzy-fog" due to mild dizziness (due to ear and/or brain causes, I have unilateral hearing loss too) and lisinopril for mildly high BP (though it's only high in the doctor's office).

For more than a year, I've been occasionally hearing a distinct hollow "dripping" or "clicking" sound (sometimes followed immediately by a little "smooshy" sound) that I discovered is in time to my pulse.

I ONLY hear it when lying on my back, like when I go to bed (and not all the time--maybe once every week or two).

A couple of times, when I shifted position slightly, it became quite loud--like a clock ticking loudly inside me! Very weird! It does seem to be position-dependent.

When it starts, it will sometimes last less than a minute, sometimes several minutes, often starting and stopping, but always in time to my pulse.

At first I was certain I was hearing this sound through air conduction (i.e., not from inside my head/ears), because plugging my ears seemed to make it stop (though possibly due to position change from moving my arms to plug my ears?). Another time, plugging my ears did NOT seem to make the sound stop. So I'm uncertain.

What do you think could be causing this? I'm not sure, but it seems to happen more frequently when my stomach is partly full when I lie down. What is CERTAIN is that this clicking(/smooshing) sound is in time to my pulse.

I do have a small vascular loop in my right ear (opposite side to my hearing loss). I never have shortness of breath or other problems.

Thanks,
Nancy T.

[lasasj]

I have the same problem except my girlfriend can hear it too.  If I lie in a particular arrangement it gets so loud that she can hear it over the tv.  Ever have any luck finding out what it is caused from?

[Nancy T]

Thanks for the replies--what a mystery. I don't think there are any blood vessels that press on the inner ear bones, but there must be some kind of connection somewhere. I should ask my ear doctor, but he never seems to be interested in these weird things.

Nancy T.

[surfgirl]

I have had this too..........I forgot what the doctor said it was..something to do with my ears, and not my heart though..........it is certainly strange though.  I too have thought it was outside noises.

[deedle1976]

How strange. Perhaps something wrong inside your ear. Maybe a blood vessel pressing on the little bones in your ear that conduct sound or something like that.

[Nancy T]

Whoops, for some reason I thought this was the doctor forum. Still, anyone have any guesses?