FEELING HEARTBEAT IN MY EAR!!!

Jeshika · Newbie Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 1

I am 20 and I had a headache yesterday, it lasted all day andfinally went away this morning and then I noticed my ear was pulsing a lot. I tried the push my neck thing and it seems to stop it momentarily, but then it starts again. Its starting to be more faint and with longer pauses now.. i hope its just stress. This is making me nervouse that i may have empty sella syndrome, or maybe jsut wax or an infection. the plan is to see the doctor and i thinkn you should all do the same .. no overweightness here no high blood pressure but it does run in my family .. hang in there and ..maybe jsut pray that God will help you get through it.
latter
jeshika

medint · Newbie Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Reston, VA

I'm a 64 year old male. Had whooshing (heartbeat) sound in left ear, since August 2006. Got it corrected in June 2007, but it was a long, long road that so far has corrected the problem, but with a few side effects.

In my case, it started rather suddenly. I researched it as pulsatile tinnitus. I went through the family doctor--"you'll just have to live with it,", an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor--"ultrasound doesn't show any tumor around your ear/head area," and then an MRI, and a Cat-scan, both of which showed some artery issues in my head around the ear. This pushed me to a neurosurgeon, who said he could see it was probably a "dural arteriovenous fistula."

What that meant is I had some arteries in my head near the ear that for whatever reason started to shoot away from the main artery that was sending blood into my brain. These renegade arteries were causing less blood to get to the brain and were dangers of breaking and causing a stroke. These renegade arteries, at least mine, formed near my ear, and were, probably, the cause of the whooshing sounds.

I'm not a doctor, and I don't mean to say I know what really causes our problems.

Anyway, the neurosurgeon doctor said this problem occurs with many people, many who never know it until it's too late. Something one is born with, and not necessarily caused by an accident or by high blood pressure. I don't have high blood pressure.

The doctor said he could cut open my head and stop off these renegade arteries. Didn't seem like much fun to me. But, he said they're some doctors, a couple nearby, called interventional neuroradiologists who can do a neuro embolization, without cutting open my head. They put a catheter in your groin, send it up through your circulation system, until it is at the spot where these renegade arteries are. The doctor then sends up some liquids to place in these arteries and stop them off.

I checked it out, had an angiogram confirming the problem, and had the doctor do the procedure, which took 4 hours on the operating table, and he closed off the offshooting arteries that were making this awful whooshing noise. Under an anesthetic fot the entire time. Never, never the slightest pain. Spent 2 days in the hospital recovering, mostly to ensure no problem with the little cut where the catheter was placed into the groin.

Oh yes, the side effects. To see the arteries being worked on, the doctor has to constantly use xray/radiation. In my opinion, an awful lot of radiation, to the extent that after the procedure was finished, I noticed that I had some numbness on the side my face, down to my lips, but only on the one side of my face. I also found I had lost some of my ability to taste certain foods, like butter and pretzels. Butter, to me, now has a rancid taste, and pretzels taste a little like sawdust. Still have these issues now nearly 9 months after the embolization. So, if you're a cook, be careful. But, the crazy whooshing sound is gone, thank goodness.

A six-month followup angiogram confirmed that the renegade arteries are closed off as they should be. No absolutes that the problem might not reoccur, so there may be more angiograms, and even further embolizations should further problems occur. I can live with this!

For futher research, you may want to check out "dural arteriovenous malformations," and the work done by "interventional neuroradiologists." I can't say enough about the work done on me. Wonderful! Hope this might help someone else.

Guest · Guest

I believe this is cause by stress, or an illness that has caused stress to your body. I have had this for almost 3 years. The only way to manage it is controlled deep breathing. When the swooshing starts, stop and pay attention to what you are doing. Are you stressed and clenching your teeth? Are you holding your breath because you don't feel well? This would happen to me at night to when I'm trying to sleep, then I found that I was breathing really short breaths and even holding my breath causing pressure in my head and sinuses. Take a deep breath in slowly count to 10 on the breath in, then exhale out count to 10 and stop exhaling hold it for 4 seconds and expell the rest of your breath in 5 quick short breaths. Repeat 4-5 times. Now change your mind because you are stressed. Say the alphabet to your self not out loud, now say the alphabet backwards. Now you should feel refreshed and your mind will be empty and your body can focus on it's automatic normal functions. It's that simple. It works! Trust me.. Very Happy

Guest · Guest

add me to the list.

Yesterday, after eating a steak, i started to feel sick. It happened about 1/2 an hour after eating. Later that night, i started throwing up (around 10 PM), and continued to have moments of vomiting all night, and even into this morning.

Around noon to 1 PM, I started to hear the "heartbeat" from my left ear.

other then the major headache and vomiting, I also have a headache near the bridge of my nose.

though, the noise goes away when i sit up or stand up. It's only when I am laying down I hear it..

i may go to the doctors and i'll let you know what they say

Guest · Guest

I've got the same thing, only happened very recently and I get a random pulsating sound in my right ear, it's pretty annoying. People are saying it's stress related, I do have exams right now... but I hope there's nothing seriously wrong with me...

SwooshQuack · Newbie Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 1

Great thread, although after finding it and reading it, my perspective on my future has changed. Before I was afraid they'd find a tumor, blocked carotid, etc. however now my fear is that like many of the posters here, I'll have to live with this noise for the rest of my life.

I am just starting the doctor route, but they have ruled out high blood pressure, ear wax, fluid behind the drum, etc. If during the course of the tests to come a solution is found, I will do my best to remember to come back and update this post, but being a male in his 50's, my memory ain't what it once was.

I've had this noise in my left ear for about two months now. It started being just an occasional thing, but is now 24x7. Noise is usually a swoosh swoosh, but also has sounded like a duck, a squeaky door, a drum, etc. If the noise around me is loud enough, the ear sounds don't bother me, but as others note: at night when it's quiet is the worst time to have this. What has helped me is having a white noise machine, which I happened to see at my first Dr. appointment. It sounds like a fan running inside a closed container (which is exactly what it is), and the volume can be adjusted to many levels.

Good luck to all of you out there with this problem, and perhaps some day soon one of those doctors who says "just live with it" will come down with their own "swoosh" and find a cure!

ourfirstone · Newbie Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 1

I'm 4 1/2 months pregnant and have had this same thing for the past month. I actually have low blood pressure...very strange, and I was hoping that it was just a pregnancy symtom! However, reading these posts, I can see it may be here to stay! I just hope it's nothing serious...

Choctawsgirl · Newbie Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 1

My daughter is now 25, when I was pregnant with her is when I started hearing my heartbeat in my right hear. My Doctor said it was the way she was laying and would stop when I delivered. It didn't, its really loud and the only way I can hear out of my right hear is press on the large artery on the side of my neck, it stopes the beating in my ear. No one seems to know a cure. I guess the only good thing about it is as long as I hear my heart I know I'm still alive...... Wink

Wish I had an answer for this, it really drives me nuts at times..

Guest · Guest

yes, i allways get it wen i lay down, im sure it is normal

atlantadoggy · Newbie Joined: 24 May 2008 Posts: 1

I had no idea there would be a forum for this. The Internet is truly remarkable.

Anyway, I've had the same swooshing sound and pounding for months now. I also get the headaches around the bridge of my nose and in my temples. I'm guessing it's sinus related, though after reading through a lot of these messages, I wonder about that. I've had sinus/allergy problems my whole life but never heard that swooshing sound.

I have been under a lot of stress lately, and I do have high blood pressure. So, based on what I've read here I'll go visit the Doc (Ka-ching!) to see if there's something else going on.

FEELING HEARTBEAT IN MY EAR!!!

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