Hey peeps, I DCM and lately I’m hearing a a whooshing in my right ear - pulsating tinnitus. Does anyone else have this and should I be worried? Thank you 🙏🏻
Pulsating tinnitus : Hey peeps, I DCM... - British Heart Fou...
Pulsating tinnitus


After my surgery, Aortic valve replaced and bypass, I could hear my heart beating in my ears! Thought it was something to do with my new valve! Informed it was a form of tinnitus it lasted for a good 12 months, at times it was like hob nailed boots marching on cobblestones when the house was quiet at night it was awful. Have a word with your GP, just to put your mind at rest.
Best wishes Pauline
Oh gosh, ok I will mention it, it so odd because it’s only in one ear too & it’s only at night.
Will get it looked into. Thank you. Best wishes to you too.
I had this years ago it was always one ear like a heart beat I never mentioned it to my cardiologist and it went away on its own you could try sleeping on the other side
I had the symptom you’re talking about for some 9 months, thinking it was pulsatile tinnitus, before I asked my GP to check it out. You should do the same. There is an action doctors are recommended to do which is listening to your neck and at this point my doctor heard the whooshing sound. In my case it indicated I had a heart murmur as a result of a problem with my aortic valve - aortic stenosis. This was corrected by valve replacement. Now, I also had a little breathlessness and the occasional ache in my left arm when climbing hills. So your problem may be nothing to do with your heart but I’d suggest you don’t overlook it and just make a plan to get it checked out.Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Sue 🙏
I have this usually at night. I can get relief from it by moving my jaw over to the other side, obviously this is only temporary as I can't hold my jaw in that position all night but it helps a little. I do have a mild leaky valve in my heart, together with other heart related issues so maybe you could speak with your doctor, if only to reassure yourself.
Dear Sez10
So sorry you are suffering from tinnitus , but my story is slightly different from most.
A life time ago I had cancer and all that involved. One of the drugs that saved me was cisplatin but a common side effect of that drug is permanent tinnitus.
I learned over the years to live with it and it became apart of my makeup. Fast forward to late last year and the bypass.
One thing I noticed after my mind sorted out the explosive effects of the operation was that the tinnitus was gone.
No one could explain it and slowly it has returned, now it’s back to being the same as before.
I suppose my answer to your question of if you “should be worried or not” is I don’t know, but what I do know is that tinnitus is better understood now and you need to ask your question to your team.
If you need any advice as how I cope day to day with it then please ask away.
You are in my thoughts
Hi, I have had tinnitus for years and I get a pulsating sound sometimes, what I do is lie down and whichever ear it is, I put a few drops of olive oil in my ear and let it run into the ear, I normally stay like that for five minutes and put a bit of cotton wool in there for the rest of the day, or do it before bedtime.
I could hear my heart in my left ear prior to surgery...whooshing sound.
Hi Sez10,
I've had pulsitile tinnitus for at least three years. I thought it was my stenosed aortic valve, but it has continued even after replacement. I also have a high pitched tinnitus. I get them singlely or both together and in both ears, especially at night. My GP sent me to audiology to have my ears checked. The audiologist carried out a number of tests. He was not concerned about the pulsatile type, but diagnosed otoslerosis as the reason for the higher pitch. He suggested relaxation strategies to distract myself from focusing upon both types and directed me to the BTA website tinnitus.org.uk/ .
I still get both kinds of tinnitus, but am less bothered by them, mainly because I am no longer worried by it. That in itself seems to have reduced the severity. Do contact your GP . Maybe you can get an audiology referral. It's worth it for peace of mind. I hope this helps you and that your tinnitus soon stops, or at least becomes less bothersome.