Pulsatile tinnitus more troublesome around noise

[DanielaHobbs_]

hello , I suffer from different types of tinnitus and would like to ask the group if anyone has the phenomenon that I am experiencing.

I suffer from pulsatile tinnitus/ a vibration in synch with my heart 24/7. It is noticeable in silence but when it becomes really troublesome is around noise: it becomes like a physical pounding that makes all external sounds also pulsate (the sound goes in and out), in synch with the pulsation in my ear. It is extremely frightening.

I have had an MRI and MRA with contrast and nothing has been seen. Ent also didn’t see anything in the visit.

Is anyone in a similar situation? Has anything helped?

[Minsky]

hi. Exactly what I suffer from. My PT pulsates in time to electric items example my oven extractor fan. The whooshing goes in time with my pulse in the ear as does distant traffic noise. So annoying but no solution other than try to ‘zone out’ and ignore. I saw specialist but no medical options. At least your scans all clear. Try not to worry. Best wishes.

[DanielaHobbs_ in reply to Minsky]

Hi Minsky I am new to this. I started having escalating problems since April. You have no idea how reassuring your response is ! I thought I was a unique and desperate case I am glad to see this phenomenon is something that does happen. Can I ask if you have hearing loss? I have one nhs audiogram and one done privately. The nhs hearing test is normal but the private one shows hearing loss in two frequencies . In the private test they did some “masking” (I.e. played static) into my left (dominant) ear, while testing the right ear, the nhs test was done without any masking. So I am none the wiser regarding which one I should trust .

[Minsky in reply to DanielaHobbs_]

Yes I have hearing loss in p t ear which fluctuates throughout the day. My private hearing test showed very poor hearing and low pressure in that ear? Not sure what that means. Am going to try an in ear invisible hearing aid at some point as normal one just highlights the pulsing noise. Dr says cochlear inner ear picking up the noise internally rather than externally. Trust me I’ve had this since last August and you do learn to live with it. Strangely it started week after third covid jab. I’m not an anti vaxer but seems strange! Try to ignore and zone out. As long as no other symptoms such as blurred vision weakness in face try to get on with life. Will let you know how hearing aid trial goes! Minsky

[DanielaHobbs_ in reply to Minsky]

Thank you Minsky I already feel better psychologically ! I am seeing the ent on Thursday and am also keen to try hearing aids. I am very new to those too . Regarding covid and the Covid jab: I have heard of so many people developing PT or hearing loss shortly after these. Forums and FB groups are full of these stories unfortunately . Please do keep me posted on how the hearing aid works for you. I expect my audiology referral to take some time with the nhs.

[Dazza2024 in reply to DanielaHobbs_]

The Private Hearing test may be better, my NHS Hearing test came back as Normal, but, not with my Private one. Did you get Regain Hearing to do the Private Test ?, Which Frequencies was it showing hearing loss at ? & how much in the Minus Decibels was it showing ?. NHS often don't test higher than 8,000hz, which is where some issues can be, although a lot of us have Tinnitus at 6-8,000hz also. I think the Covid Vaccine also caused problems with my hearing & it has been confirmed in numerous research studies in USA & New Zealand that it has caused problems, the U.K. won't acknowledge it and my NHS ENT would not answer about the Covid problems when I had my appointment. The U.K. Tinnitus helplines also surged to x3 the amount of calls when we had Covid & the Vaccines.

[DanielaHobbs_ in reply to Dazza2024]

Hi Dazza2024 how are you? It is lovely to hear from you.

You know , that s so weird: also my nhs hearing test came out fine but NOT the private one! I do think that the private one is correct and to my great sadness I have a notch of 35 db at 1k hz which I am sure is a result of some trauma or accident to the auditory system in April, when the other symptoms started. That frequency is also all distorted , pulsating - a real mess! I am getting panic attacks if I think about it. I do have also a notch (severe) at 8k hz but that has been there forever (literally) and was completely asymptomatic. I am seeing the nhs ent on Thursday and will get the results of all my imaging tests + will ask for a referral to the NHS audiology . At that stage I will also call Regain as I need prompt help with all my symptoms .

Regarding what you say on Covid, I have heard of so so many people getting sudden hearing loss , tinnitus and/or pulsatile tinnitus following Covid or the vax. I had only one shot exactly due to fear for my auditory system. Quite frankly , I have no idea what caused my recent issues . I was feeling fantastic when this happened and threw my life upside down.

[Dazza2024 in reply to DanielaHobbs_]

It may just be natural aging & genetics, which means your hearing is more at risk & is why your hearing is affected and not just daily loud noise that has brought it on. Loud noise exposure can trigger some things, but, everyone is different. The NHS is pretty slow on providing hearing aids and they are not going to be fine tuned if they did not pick up your hearing issues, they want to mask it often & this isn't really going to work, unless the HA are setup properly. I think you would benefit from a Hearing Aid, the HA will amplify the hearing loss, as you have it in the normal range up to 8hz, this should then reduce the tinnitus & the brain activity focussing on it. You could look at some medications to calm the brain down a little bit & help with sleep. I am taking Mirtazapine 30mg, it does not reduce the Tinnitus for me, because my brain is hyper active and I have pretty good hearing, something is more brain related for me. It helps me sleep a bit better sometimes. I am also going to try new meds soon to see if they have the calming effect. I am still with regain hearing with follow up appointments, so they are working on trying to fix my Tinnitus, but, mine is not easy, as I don't have any major severe blips or critical hearing loss. I do have a notch around 8,000hz but, this is where some tinnitus is, so it sort of blocks out the tone from the machine, but, it's not major to my normal hearing & I think I got this from one time exposure in a night club at 18 Years old and since then, it didn't change much, apart from a few months ago, where everything went a lot louder & my tinnitus fuzz is 12-14,000hz, which could also be Natural Aging and bad luck my brain is focussing on it. I would recommend the 2hr Tinnitus appointment with Regain Hearing for £99, as then they can also do a hearing test & they also test above the normal range over 8,000hz which is where some issues can be also. There is also enough time in the appointment for them to setup and test hearing aids, they then should be able to mask the Tinnitus by amplifying the hearing loss. The brain should then defocus on this, it may even reduce the pulsatile tinnitus after a few months, as the brain relaxes and also Mirtazapine 30mg may help with this if the Doctor thinks it might. Lot's of people find Tinnitus improves as in less noticeable with Hearing aids and using masking over time helps the brain reduce it & in your case it might do, as it does work for lots of people and is also confirmed in research studies. I am also watching a lot of videos on YouTube by Dr Ben, I highly recommend watching his videos as well, as he gives some inspiration to the future and that things may get better.

If you do a Regain Hearing Appointment in the future, update how you get on with them also.

youtube.com/@treblehealth/v...