Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Pulsating Feeling

For about a year now, every so often I get a pulsating feeling on the right side of my head, towards the front about an inch above my temple.  It drives me crazy!  Sometimes I get so anxious that I have to lay down.  I have also experienced bouts of dizziness and have regular headaches.  I have had an MRI and and MRA and both were normal.  My neurologist said there is nothing more they can do.  I am concerned because sometimes this feeling is accompanied by by right ear clogging, a feeling of fullness, or just a strange sensation on that side of my head.  At times, I get myself so worked up that I can even become confused or disoriented because I am so fixed on the feeling.  It doesn't hurt, it's just a pulsating, tapping, or twitching feeling.  There is no pattern and it can last an hour, or five.  I have used Zanex to get rid of it and my neurologist wants me to try Zoloft which I don't want to do.  I am receiving EEG biofeedback for anxiety instead.  Does anyone else have any advice or have this feeling?  I can't find anything online about it.  Thanks.
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Its not clear from the information you provide, what this might be.
Pulsatile sensations akin to 'ringing in the ears' one side can be due to Pulsatile Tinnitus. This diagnosis has a number of causes related to an abnormality in the jugular vein bulb in the neck, or sometimes by increased flow or narrowing in the neck arteries. This should be excluded by a good MRI scan of the neck which visualizes this area well.

Otherwise, it may be a muscle contraction headache - have you tried Botox? Also, problems with the middle and inner ear should be looked into as this can cause dizziness, fullness, and some of the nerves serving pain in the face and meninges arise in these areas.
Good luck
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I forgot to include the results of my MRI and MRA...here are the things that concerned me......

In the MRI results, they said "The fourth ventricle is midline.  In each mastoid region, solitary increased focus of T2-weighted signal is present.  This is nonspecific.  This could reflect very mild mastoiditis.  In the right suboccipital subcutaneous soft tissue, a 0.8 cm round structure is present.  This is nonspecific.  This is unchanged from previous examination.  This could reflect a node.  Solitary tiny foci of increased T2-weighted signal are present in both mastoid air cells."

In the MRA results, they said "In the right suboccipital subcutaneous tissue, there is a 0.8 cm density, which may represent a small lymph node.  In the right mastoid, there is a 0.2 cm hyperintense focus, which has uncertain clinical significance.  These findings are not significantly changed compared with the MRI study from 3/30/04.

What does all this mean?
Helpful - 0

You are reading content posted in the Neurology Forum

Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease