Also any time I am dehydrated. It usually happens to me when I am lying down on one side or the other. Most often the right where there's still some spinal stenosis that the neurosurgeon said some hardware inside of my spinal cord pushes on my carotid artery when lying down.
It also happens when I am significantly stressed.
Below are some common, fairly benign and easy to resolve reasons for it and far below are some scary reasons for it.
Get a work up since you don't know the reason why it is happening to you. We would very much miss you if something bad happened to you!
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nm.org says:
Anemia and dehydration increase the force of the heartbeat resulting in pulsatile tinnitus. Some medications may increase brain pressure and cause pulsatile tinnitus. A rare cause of thumping sound in the ear is muscle twitching.
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Can sinusitis cause pulsatile tinnitus?
Chances are the problem is benign and could go away by itself. For instance, having blocked sinuses can cause fluid to accumulate near the back of the eardrum, which can create a pulsing sound in the ears. Once the sinuses have cleared and improved, such as after a cold, the ear noise should dissipate.
londonuk.org
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Where do you press to stop pulsatile tinnitus?
Sometimes patients with venous problems, if they press on their neck with gently on the side of the pulsatile tinnitus, it may resolve or almost resolve, this happens because by pressing on the jugular vein in the neck, you change the blood flow in the vein that is causing the pulsatile tinnitus
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https://www.medicinenet.com/hearing_heartbeat_in_ears/ask.htm
What Causes Hearing Heartbeat in Ears?
Medical Author: Daniel Lee Kulick, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Last Editorial Review: 6/16/2017
Ask the experts
When I lie down at night with my head on my pillow I can hear my heart beating loudly in my ears. It is often so loud that I cannot get to sleep. I have borderline high blood pressure, could that be it?
Doctor's response
It is very common to sense your heart beat while lying in bed - rarely is it anything serious, but certainly this sensation will be aggravated if your blood pressure is high. If your blood pressure is normal, it most likely is not a cause of concern. It may also be intensified by any heightened "catecholamine" release (for example, adrenaline) state, such as caffeine consumption, anxiety, fear, etc.
However, there are several serious reasons for pulsatile-tinnitus
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FOR THE SCARIER REASONS:
https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-patients-and-visitors/patient-information/conditions-treated-a-to-z/pulsatile-tinnitus
People with pulsatile tinnitus often hear rhythmic thumping, whooshing or throbbing in one or both ears. Some patients report the sounds as annoying. But for others, the sounds are intense and debilitating, making it difficult to concentrate or sleep.
Pulsatile tinnitus differs from the more common, constant form of tinnitus. While even pulsatile tinnitus is often benign, it is more likely to have an identifiable source and may be the first sign of a more serious underlying condition.
Pulsatile tinnitus occasionally goes away on its own. However, since it can be caused by potentially dangerous conditions, patients experiencing pulsatile tinnitus symptoms should undergo a thorough medical evaluation. Fortunately, pulsatile tinnitus can often be successfully treated and cured once the underlying cause is identified.
Symptoms of Pulsatile Tinnitus
The most common symptom of pulsatile tinnitus is regularly hearing a steady beat or whooshing sound. The beat or sound is often in synch with the patient's heartbeat. When their heart rate increases, the beat or sound will become faster; when it decreases, the beat or sound will slow.
While it is common for people to hear their heartbeats if their heart is pounding hard, people with pulsatile tinnitus often hear it even when they have not exerted themselves. Pulsatile tinnitus symptoms may also be more noticeable at night while you're lying in bed, because there are fewer external sounds to mask the beat or sound.
The beat or sound may come and go, or it may be constant. Many patients with pulsatile tinnitus find their symptoms to be distracting and loud, and interfere with their daily lives.
Causes of Pulsatile Tinnitus
In many cases, doctors can pinpoint an underlying health problem behind pulsatile tinnitus.
Atherosclerosis
Plaque builds up inside the arteries in people with atherosclerosis. When plaque hardens, it narrows the arteries and limits the flow of blood to the body, including in your ears, neck or head. This may cause you to hear the characteristic rhythmic thumping or whooshing sound of pulsatile tinnitus in one or both of your ears.
Blood Vessel Disorders and Malformations
Pulsatile tinnitus is often caused by disorders or malformations in the blood vessels and arteries, especially those near the ears. These abnormalities or disorders — including aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations — can cause a change in the blood flow through the affected blood vessels.
Ear Abnormalities
Superior semicircular canal is one of three canals found in the vestibular apparatus of the inner ear. Patients with superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome, a condition in which part of the temporal bone that overlies the superior semicircular canal is abnormally thin or missing, often experience pulsatile tinnitus.
Thinning or missing bone overlying the main arteries and veins running near the ear can also lead a patient to hear their heartbeat.
High Blood Pressure
When blood pressure is high, your blood flow through the carotid artery is more likely to be turbulent, causing a pulsating sound.
Head and Neck Tumors
Glomus tumors of the head and neck are benign but locally invasive tumors that arise from glomus cells. These tumors are most common in part of the jugular vein that's positioned below the middle ear. Glomus tumors may grow into the middle ear and brain.
When these tumors press on the blood vessels in the head or neck, they can cause pulsatile tinnitus and other symptoms. Glomus tumors are highly vascular and can cause also pulsatile tinnitus just by being in close proximity to the ear.
Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
This is a health condition caused by elevated cerebrospinal fluid pressure around the brain. This elevated pressure presents with symptoms like headaches, double vision, pain behind the eye and pulsatile tinnitus.
Sinus Wall Abnormalities
These abnormalities include sigmoid sinus diverticulum and dehiscence. The sigmoid sinus is a blood-carrying channel on the side of the brain that receives blood from veins within the brain.
Sigmoid sinus diverticulum refers to the formation of small pouches (diverticula) that protrude through the wall of the sigmoid sinus into the mastoid bone behind the ear. Dehiscence refers to the absence of part of the bone that surround the sigmoid sinus in the mastoid.
These abnormalities cause pressure, blood flow and noise changes within the sigmoid sinus, resulting in pulsatile tinnitus.
Other Causes of Pulsatile Tinnitus
These conditions can also cause the characteristic thumping or whooshing sound of pulsatile tinnitus:
Anemia
Conductive hearing loss
Head trauma
An overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)
Narrowing of the blood flow tracts out of the brain
Paget's disease
Diagnosis of Pulsatile Tinnitus
If you suspect that you have pulsatile tinnitus, you should undergo a thorough medical evaluation by an otolaryngologist who is familiar with the condition.
For about a third of patients, the source of their pulsatile tinnitus may be unknown but it is important to rule out the serious possible causes. Physicians at Penn Medicine have developed a comprehensive program to streamline the evaluation and potential treatment of pulsatile tinnitus.
The team will first ask about your medical history and conduct a thorough exam of your head and neck. Your eyes may be checked to look for any signs of increased pressure in the brain.
The following imaging procedures may also be used to diagnose pulsatile tinnitus:
Angiography
Computerized tomographic angiography (CTA)
Computerized tomography (CT) scan
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Temporal bone CT scan
Ultrasound
Blood tests and thyroid function test may also be needed to rule out anemia or thyroid problems.
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