Pulsatile tinnitus in one ear

Question

27 yrs ago I fell off the back of a motorbike and landed on my head ( with crash helmet) at 70 miles an hr. I bled from my right ear, and for several months I suffered with extreme dizziness and nausea,for which I had Stemitil tablets.JThe bleeding got less and less, then stopped. These attacks became less and less frequent over the years, and were shorter each time, and now I've been free of them for the last ten years or so.

Four weeks ago I began hearing my heartbeat and my blood flow in my right ear. I was seen by my Dr. and was told it was compounded ear wax, which I was to soften with olive oil, then get my ears flushed. I had my ears flushed, and became very dizzy during the procedure, noticing my eyes flickering from left to right very fast with the water in my ear canals,and the room spinning. My ears were pronounced wax free but the heartbeat sound remains.I think it is actually getting louder.

I am not bothered by it if there is background noise such as people talking or traffic passing, but when Im in a quiet place it really bothers me and I long for peace and quiet. Its hard to get to sleep at night for the noise in my head,which is in my right ear. It also varies with movement,pulsing with activity, and  it sounds like blood heard through a stethoscope held on an artery.
 
Can you advise me on any medical/health implications, and on if there is any cure? Im hoping to start a new job soon and I dont think they'd employ me if they were aware of this condition.
Thank you. From Mutti

shaneomac · Answer

Haley, im getting a weird pulse in my left ear, Im not sure what it is... It all started after swimming, i know i had some water in my ears, then i started getting pain in both ears. The pain has subsided now, and all i hear in my left ear from time to time is a weird little pulse/heartbeat i dont know what it is but it seems to be getting a little better, It used to be constant but now its just a little boomboom. Its the only symptoms ive been getting. Oh and a little swoosh sound when i push my behind my earlobe. I was reading up on all those pulsatile tinnistius or however its spelt And because you have a heartbeat in your ears doesnt mean you have it. It could be a little ear infection, or a wax buildup/bacteria. Im sure. As soon as i read some of those symptoms i got all stressed and went into panic attacks. DO NOT WORRY, IT WILL ONLY MAKE IT WORSE. Im sure you are fine, as for me. ITs actually pulsing as i type this.

WEgter · Answer

Haley, I want to tell you its ok but I cant because I also have a heartbeat sound in my right ear and I dont know what to do. I dont want to tell my parents so only my sister knows but shes not doing anything about it. Everyday since it started, I tried using Qtip, it doesnt work. Im onbly 14 and Im so scared that I posted a bunch of stuff on other sites.

haley04 · Answer

I had water in my right ear during the summer and went to the doctor and was told that I had bacteria in my ear so I was prescibed a med to drop in my ear. It only seemed to get worse even after I had finished my treatment. And now for the past couple of weeks I have been hearing my heartbeat in my right ear. It sounds like when you hear a babys heartbeat on ultrasound, a kind of woosh sound. I am scared after reading things on it because of a tumor, but I hope it is just something to do with the swimmers ear I had over the summer. Please help me, I don't have an appt with my doctor for about four weeks! I am so worried about this.

La0522 · Answer

Help! I'm having the same exact thing described here. I have had a carotid ultrasound and next am having a MRI and seeing an ENT tomorrow. The thing that scares me is that I've been diabetic for lots of year and i also had a bad head injury from a car accident but that was 6+ years ago. I'm really nervous about this - the pulsating is constant. Every time it is quiet and I hear it I get stressed out about it again. Any more advice? I wonder how long this will last?

mutti · Answer

Just to let you know, my problem /the sound of my blood flow/ heart beat in my right ear has been getting less and less since my last posting on this forum. IT HAS ALMOST CEASED!  Now I only notice it first thing in the morning when I wake up, and even then it is only slight.
 I don't notice it in the day now, and I believe it is going of it's own accord. I suppose it was the ear wax and now my ears are actually recovering.  I am very grateful to you for your advice and support, I was quite stressed and it was a great relief to have this forum for advice.
I will come back to MedHelp if I have need of it in the future. At the moment I am waiting for blood test results on my over active thyroid ( not a worry) it should be o.k. as it's been o.k. for over a year now.
Also I am posting on the Autism board as I've four sons and two have Aspergers syndrome. 
Thank you for all your help. From Mutti

mutti · Answer

It sounds very clearly like my blood or heartbeat heard in my right ear. It is consistant with any movements and with yawning or leaning forward, the pulsing and heartbeat ties in all the time with what I do. This makes me believe it is a problem relating to the jugular artery beneath the middle ear cavity., actually hearing my own blood flow, not just a noise from nerves or muscles. 
 I hope it isn't a tumor,although obviously I don't have knowledge of what those symptoms would be. If the nurse looked at my eardrums and didn't see anything she recognised as jugular tumoralis, would that be because the visible signs are easy to overlook from just examing the ear canal?
Thank you for the info on the pain- education website. I will check it out.
It would be a relief to discover it was all down to some other explanation. I shall have to go to my Dr. and ask to be referred to make sure. Thanks for your help. From Mutti

JoeCoffee · Answer

Tinnitus can also be caused by the myofascial  muscle layer. Take a look at this website for more info.  http://www.pain-education.com/100136.php    Below is a quote from this page.
"Patients have also described tinnitus, but this is usually associated with satellite trigger points in the deep head of the masseter muscle rather than the sternocleidomastoid itself."

Good luck

mutti · Answer

My ears were flushed by a nurse at my Dr.'s surgery, I haven't  been seen by an ENT person yet. The nurse did look inside my ear to make sure the ear was clear, and she looked at my eardrums and remarked that they looked o.k. not sore or inflamed from the flushing process, but that was all.

At the beginning of this experience of hearing my heartbeat and bloodflow in my ears, there would be the odd occasion when the sound would hesitate, falter and then completely cease. The silence was deafening! But it only lasted about five seconds before the heartbeat/pulse sound began to roar in my ear again.

 What  could cause it to stop for a few seconds if it is a vascular problem? It doesn't stop at all now. Where are jugular tumoralis visible? Would the nurse have seen it looking at my eardrum or could she have overlooked it like that? I do not have any lump or swelling around my ear or neck at all.

Thanks for your advice. It is very reassuring to have access to someone knowledgeable. From Mutti

Wear/a/Jimmy · Answer

Just to let you know, jugularis tumuralis, are supposed to be vissible. You just had an ENT working on your ear for ear wax removal (assumed) so I would hope that if you had it, he would have mentioned it then.  

SO my point is, you probably do not have one...  good news.

mutti · Answer

Thank you very much for your advice. I will ask my Dr. for a referral.
If Dr. doesn't refer me I will approach an ENT dept to ask them. I hope it isn't a tumour. That idea is a bit scary, but I want to get it sorted out. Thanks alot, from Mutti

Wear/a/Jimmy · Answer

The ear wax may be the root...   seems to me that if the crash was related, it would have appeared long before now.

Now getting dizzy during a water irrigation is common. Not really a sign of anything.

If it is not wax, you need to get a hearing test. Pulsatile tinnitis can be a sign of a conductive hearing loss, or a jugular tumoralis (sp). (basically a tumur near the jugular vein)  

Cure, if it is a conductive hearing loss there is usually a simple cure. If it is a tumor... that is more complicated.
 
Find an ENT that staffs an audiologist and get a thorough hearing evaluation. The results will help to determine the root cause of what is going on. 

Good luck

Pulsatile tinnitus in one ear

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