pulsatile

[Red_horse]

hello all,

I’m new here. I have not been diagnosed by a professional, my symptoms only began yesterday but I have read up on the types and pulsatile is sounding very similar to what I’m experiencing. I am worried as I read about it can be very serious. Can you please tell me where I should go, GP? Or should I go private? If I did, is it an audiologist I need or ENT doctor? Or shall I wait? Any advice greatly appreciated as this is causing me a lot of worry and anxiety.

Many Thanks

[Happyrosie]

hello Red_horse and welcome - you’ve come to the right place. Sadly, the internet is rife with misinformation but you can trust what you see here, and also on the website of the specialist charity Tinnitus UK.

I’m not a sufferer of pulsatile tinnitus myself and I hope that someone who does will see this. I’m happy to believe that most people who’ve been helped here don’t return as they do not need to be reminded of a period in their lives that they found stressful.

It could be a good idea to see your gp initially. The pathways that gp’s are recommended to follow are found on the NICE website. Go to National Institute for Clinical Excellence and put “tinnitus” into their search box at the top of the page. It’s worth you doing this because it was first published just as Covid struck and may have been missed. Some GPs are a bit dismissive.

The point to get to is habituation - you realise that the noise you hear is a phantom one and will not hurt you. But it may take some time to get to that point. The primitive part of your brain has, for reasons of its own, “heard” a noise and its job is to warn you to be careful, just as if your hand touches something very hot you will immediately withdraw your hand and say OW!. It might take the brain a long time to be trained. Lots of info on how to achieve this on the Tinnitus UK website.

[Red_horse in reply to Happyrosie]

thank you so much for the reply. I feel extremely anxious over this

[Steve1978]

Hi Red-horse

So sorry to read what has happened to you.

This is only my view, one view if you will so please consider that there are lots of views and opinions.

I got pulsating tinnitus in Aug 2015 and it went after a few days. It comes back now and again over the last 10 years or so esp when trying to sleep. But more or less 95% of the time it is not there.

If I had to do everything all over again and go back in a time machine I would have told myself to stay calm and ride it out for a few days. It is easier said than done but in the first day or two it can seem like a big problem out of the blue.

It can be a sign of a blood flow problem, I panicked back in Aug 2015 because that is the person I am and caused myself more problems. It rarely is the sign of a blood flow problem, often it goes as quick as it came. And it is rarely a serious problem despite what you may have read, try not to think of it as a serious problem.

Tell yourself it is not happening, get yourself focused on other things. Play background sounds as much as you can for now and overnight if you have to. It keeps the brain active and stops it focusing on the sound. Carry on with your life as normal and see how the next few days go.

My advice is to try not to worry and see how it goes. Worry often makes these ear problems worse especially when they come out of no where. At this stage I would not rush to see a GP or ENT.

Hope this helps.

[Red_horse in reply to Steve1978]

thanks so much Steve that’s calmed me down. I suffer with anxiety so this is why I’m reacting like this as I read it can be dangerous. I will take your advice thank you. I can’t believe it’s Christmas next week though, what a time for this to happen!! Thanks again

[horsewhispere]

Hi Red Horse,

Rosie is quite right, you'll be ok here. I too have pulsatile tinnitus...hearing your pulse/heart rate in your head...worse when there's no other noise i.e radio, tv or any other noise distraction. Mine started last February. I went to see my GP and he and asked for an urgent referral to ENT in our general hospital in Inverness. I'm still waiting for an appointment!! Two referral letters later! I googled it and there were some really frightening stuff! Forget that! They say it can be a tumour....very rare....also the more dangerous PT is a whooshing heart beat as opposed to a soft thudding heartbeat sound......I have the thudding type. So my suggestion to you is to forget what you've read and go to see your GP. It may well just stop on it's own, or it may not. Either way, I would heed what Happyrosie says. I do know that when it's my turn for my ENT they'll do a scan on my head to check for any anomolies, lumps (usually benign) also vessels that have 'looped' for some reason.

Try not to lose any sleep over it...that is if you can get to sleep! It's an absolute pain in the butt....with me it sometimes triggers panic attacks and anxiety, but everyone is different.

You mentioned Private. I've thought the same, however after a lot of thought I decided against it - for now - the chances are that they'll tell you the same as NHS but you'll pay for the knowledge! But each to their own. IF the NHS say for example that they haven't got the up to date equipment available then I'll consider Private. So with me it's a waiting game. Good luck with it and I hope you find a way to deal with it.

[mark835 in reply to horsewhispere]

Hi, do you have an update on your situation? Did the NHS help?

[Austen17]

Hi there. I've had pulsatile tinnitus for 2 years. When it first started it was very frightening because it was so bad that I thought there must be something terribly wrong with me. I went to my GP and they told me there is a protocol they follow which basically means they work to exclude any sinister causes. Firstly I had antibiotics to see if it was an inner ear infection (I was also dizzy), then he sent me for an MRI which found nothing.

At that point they said there was nothing he could do so they referred me to ENT. I waited 9 months to see a specialist and this was the worst time.

During that period I saw a pulsatile tinnitus specialist privately and they pretty much told me that it was unlikely that I would find a cause and habituation and acceptance was the only way forward. I found this very hard to hear!

When I eventually saw the ENT consultant, they sent me for a whole range of tests including blood tests, heart tests and a head CT to check blood flow and they found nothing. The most useful thing for me about all this was the peace of mind of knowing that there was nothing sinister causing it but the PT was still there 24/7.

Two years on and though I would not have believed it then, I am learning to live with it. It's still here 95% of the time but it's importance is gradually fading from my every thought.

I'm trying to see it now as an indicator of my mental state. When I am calm and relaxed my heart slows down and I can barely hear it, so I look for ways of staying calm and relaxed as much as I can. I miss the silence but I'm finding my way. I hope you do too. Good luck!

[kyleh7108]

GP refer to ENT. Or if you have money go directly to ENT consultant via bupa or another private company.