What I have is pulsatile Tinnitus ? Hoping to get some responses from similar experiences .

[avirata]

Hi,I do have kind of beating sound/sensation in my head which is not sync with heartbeat . It is too fast like I feel some blood vessels hitting each other much inside of the head and not just inside ear .

Is this still considered pulsatile Tinnitus ? I am going to consult GP but ENT or neuro?

Please share some of your pulsatile Tinnitus experiences and how you got it diagnosed from medical team ?

I don't mind even if it's pulsatile Tinnitus but just to ensure I am not having any other medical conditions as root cause .

I have hearing loss originated Tinnitus from long ago but this one is new and quiet bothersome .

[SueX]

Hiya - sorry to hear your experience. Yes I have pulsatile tinnitus and when I started reading up on it I realised there were many many kinds of pulsatile tinnitus. One is even called 'morse code' tinnitus which is stacatto in nature. I know that I have an artery in my head that is wrapped around the vestibular and cochlear nerves so I thought my tinnitus might be the one where you are hearing your blood flowing. But if I run around for a few minutes to get my heart rate up and then stop and feel my pulse in my wrist or my neck then absolutely the tinnitus is in time with my heart beat. If you can't find your pulse another way of checking if the T is in line with your heart beat is to get a simple blood pressure monitor from somewhere like Boots. As it is testing your blood pressure you see a little symbol flash which is your hearbeat - only worth doing if you can't find your pulse. I've had pulsatile tinnitus since Sept 24 - doing the rounds of scans and doctors at the moment. I think you probably should see an ENT first in case there is a 'simple' cause and then seek a neuro consultation (in my humble opinion).

[avirata in reply to SueX]

Do ENT doctors hear out from us who have hearing loss originated T already? I always had ignored responses from them whenever I went to seek some help from them .

[SueX in reply to avirata]

Well, a good ENT consultant should order specific scans (ie MRI CT) if you symptoms mean that certain causes need to be ruled out. Pulsatile tinnitus should usually be a red flag in that it does need some investigation.

[avirata in reply to SueX]

Yes I had ignored this symptom for a while as ENTs didn't respond me well but got to know that pulsatile Tinnitus not only irritating but also would be having some root cause to deal with.So wanted to get it checked properly this time.

Will try to visit a good ENT this time

Thanks for your response

[Jimbob7]

PT here as well, like Sue.

I also have the "typewriter tinnitus" or "morse code". I call them my crickets. They click away much faster than my heartbeat. I believe I might have the same as Sue - a looped or damaged AICA artery causing this. They're reasonably quiet this morning but the basic heart beat sync'd pulsatile is going great guns.

Sometimes I have both at the same time but usually one sound is more dominant than the other. Pretty much mainly left ear.

Habituation is less straightforward but obtainable using the same methodology as other tinnituses.

Good luck! You're not alone.

[avirata in reply to Jimbob7]

Ok thanks for sharing your experience

[SueX in reply to Jimbob7]

Re the stacatto tinnitus, I've been trying to work out if mine is. Like yours, I hear crickets and also an electricity sub station. But I'd describe it as faster than morse code. It's like very very fast electricity, if that makes sense. I often wonder why it suddenly changes a bit. Something must cause that change right? If you suspect looped AICAs Jimbob, have you had imaging yet to confirm that? They show up on MRA with contrast.

[Jimbob7 in reply to SueX]

Mine is faster than morse code too - it's like a typewriter going ten to the dozen. The sort of noise you hear on hillsides on a Spanish holiday - with those crickets all doing their thing at dusk.

I have had 3 but in the wrong area - they concentrated on my Cervial Region - next time I get a window of opportunity to have a MRV/ MRI - I'll say I want it around the Cochlea.

But is has to be a 0.5mm Slice - a 1 mm won't show it up. The problem is we get to a point where our research has gone further than our ENT Consultants. Mad though that is - it's the truth.

[Upbeatmap]

Hi Avirata

I have PT which is always in time with my heartbeat. After seeing two different ENTs I was diagnosed with SSCD. One of the key symptoms is PT along with various others. I eventually had 3 separate operations in an attempt to fix it but they were only partially successful so I’m stuck with the PT and have learned to live with it.

For me, the key to living with it is to get good sleep as, when I don’t, the symptoms are much worse. I manage that by having a specific bedtime routine and using Sleepbuds, which play a rain sound all night. These help distract my brain from the PT and, most of the time, I sleep pretty well.

Not sure whether this will help you but thought I’d share.

Take care

[avirata in reply to Upbeatmap]

Mine doesn't sync with heartbeat but it is rhythmic pulsing purely inside head changes location too . I am just confused in which way I can get it checked or how can I explain this to doctor.Thanks for the response. I will see ENT first and seek some medical opinion on them

[SueX in reply to Upbeatmap]

What make are your sleep buds? It's sleep I really struggle with but haven't tried anything yet. Did you try other sleep aids before these or where they recommended?

[Upbeatmap]

I use Ozlo Sleepbuds. They are very expensive but work very well. Before that I used Bose Sleepbuds but they were discontinued and some of the team from Bose left and set up Ozlo so that’s how I know about them.

[PABLR]

I have had pulsatile tinnitus (at the moment just regular tinnitus), the cause of which was probably a vascular loop (there was definitely a loop, which may or may not have caused the pulsatile tinnitus) I had a cochlear implant a bit over a year ago and the pulsatile tinnitus disappeared. The other stayed. You win some... Good luck with finding out what is causing it. I had an MRI which determined the vascular loop.

[Jimbob7]

Just to add to this good thread about PT - my hearing aids were an unexpected help for the PT. I didn't anticipate that they would but they help to level out the PT noises by providing a steady amplification of external sound. It draws the attention away from the internal. Those who have some hearing loss (or not) might try them.

[avirata]

Yes I agree hearing aids help to great extent for people who have all types of Tinnitus :)Just to ask you did you ever feel that something is colliding with each other and that makes this fast beating sound in head ?

Mine Tinnitus feels like fast colliding kind of sensation along with accompanying some rhythmic pattern of music beats ( on top of this I have general Tinnitus sounds performing side roles with them )

It's hard to explain what exactly I have

[Jimbob7 in reply to avirata]

Yes, it feels exactly like that. I'm a watchmaker and if you hold a high qualiry mechanical watch movement to your ear you will hear the ticking - it is very like that - quality watches tick from 6 to 10 times a second with a very light sound - almost like the percussion instrument chimes. It's basically like that in my left ear. Not all the time - just most of the time. I also have hissing - very loud in both ears and in my right ear I get randome blips and chirrups.

The ticking sound could be that one of my AICA artiries has become looped around my cochlea - massively amplifying the sound of capillary action through it.

Imagine holding a straw against a microphone and blowing liquid through it very regularly and steadily and you recreate the sound.

[avirata in reply to Jimbob7]

Seriously,

Thanks for your honest try to explain it to us how your PT feels. I will go and get it checked shortly and update here if I could get any else root cause found out from Doctor.