Hearing pulse in one ear and also blood pressure freak!

For about a month I have been hearing a high pitched hiss in my left ear in time with my pulse - if I move my head or jaw to the right the noise gets louder but move to the left and it gets much quieter. I have damage to my neck and also tmj problem. I wasn't too freaked at first as I have had all sorts of weird ear noises over the years because of the above two problems and am sure that I have had this one before and its gone away but suddenly remembered reading about a man who said he could hear his pulse loudly in one ear and he had a brain haemorrage a week later:weep: So once I had remembered this I started panicking.
I went to see my Dr today and explained all this and she does accept my anxiety . She looked in my ear and listened to the arteries in my neck on both sides - I had to turn my head an hold my breath and she said all was normal. She said its a type of tinnitus and is 99.9% certain its related to my neck problem causing nuscle tension that is altering the inside of my ear making a blood vessel audible. she said she sees lots of people with it and its just harmless tinnitus but very unpleasant. so felt better until she took my blood pressure- the cuff did seem very tight but normally my bp is 135/78 .
today it was 160/90:scared15: She wasn't at all bothered just said its a bit high but nothing to concern her - I did want a wee at the time as I had waited an hour to see her and I know that can put your bp up. She said to have it taken again in a month.

So you can imagine - I am convinced the high blood pressure is going to burst the swollen blood vessel in my brain that is the reason I can hear my heart beat in one ear:wacko:

Can anyone talk some sense into me!

My BP has been much higher that that without any sounds or pulses in my ear ..... BUT ... I once went in for a BP check and could hear my pulse bounding away in my ear and thought "this is going to be sooo high" It was much lower than usual, and as I have neck and jaw muscle problems that was probably it in my case too... Try not to worry, you are not going to have any ill effects and I expect that your BP was slightly raised 'cos you were stressed. Next time will be better, I bet. XXXX

Hi Countrygirl, I've been experiencing the same thing with my right ear. I feel my heartbeat in my ear but it sounds more like a roaring, hissing sound. Same thing here when I turn my head to the opposite side or press on a spot on the right side of my neck (spot where you would check for your heartbeat) it gets alot more quiet. I've been experiencing this for a couple of years on and off. I researched the internet and they seem to call it Venous Hum. I get freaked out too at times, expecially when everything is quiet.


Daniela

Huge thanks both for replying. Daniela did you ever see your Dr about it??? Or is it just something that you put up with?? I have found out that if I press on my skull on that side around my ear then the noise gets alot louder! Also if I move my jaw forward it gets very loud and also when I walk it pulses in time with my steps!!!!!!!!

I looked on the tinnitus website and of course scared myself silly because they say pulsatile tinnitus can be caused by a serious vascular problem and you should have tests to rule it out.

My husband has convinced me to wait a couple of weeks to see if it goes away and if not then go back to Dr and tell them how worried I am bout it being a serious vascular cause and could they send me for tests to rule it out. But I did tell my Dr I was worried but she was so unconcerned about it. I hate having to ask for tests as it seems as if I don't believe my Dr which I suppose is true I don't:lac: do I.

I know you will all understand and probably laugh at this but I asked my husband to take me to hospital if I go confused and odd because that would mean a blood vessel had burst in my head - his reply was how will he know:roflmao: . He did take it seriously as well.

Sometimes I wish i didn't know so much medical info as that is what causes all the worry - my husband said that if he went to Dr with what I have got and they told him it wasn't anything to worry about then he would leave it at that - he would not google or anything. I wish

No Countrygirls, I have never consulted any dr's for this condition. I am scared silly about doctors and try to avoid them. I constantly google and my husband gets very upset with me but its stronger than me I just can't help it. I wish like you that I didn't know so much medical stuff...but I've had my nose in medical books for as long as I can remember.

Hi. I don't know if this will be helpful or the opposite, but I've had pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear for about 3 and a half years now!

Not trying to depress you - because I actually hardly ever notice it these days! But I had a scan and got referred to a specialist (both at my request!) and everything came back fine. I still don't know what caused it, but I have had neck problems for years and also tmj problems on the same side of my head. Maybe that is the link!

FYI, the specialist said that the vascular problems are really only in the very elderly & due to thinning arteries - I'd googled it too. (Slapped wrist!) I hope yours goes away or you learn to ignore it.

I have had tinnitus all my life. I always have a high pitched ringing and I can always hear my pulse in my ears, especially when I lie down. If hearing the pulse becomes a problem when you sleep, try using my technique (dont laugh). Lift your head off the pillow and punch an indentation into it for your ear to rest against. Without something covering my ear the pulse sounds a lot more feint. Try it... it might work for you too x

Interesting catalyst that you also have neck problems and tmj as I do. I don't have a problem when lying down at night no worse.
I had a scan of my neck arteries yesterday and they were perfectly normal - the radiologist made a big point of saying that I had not the slightest furring up or any fast blood flow, whatever that bit meant.
I am having a mri scan of head inc ears and sinuses week tomorrow so hopefully that will be normal as well. Will let you all know.

Ok , I wanted to throw my 2 cents in here. I thought , get it thought I had pulsative tinnitus ..Over three years. Well there has been a recent study that people have THOUGHT they had the venumus hum and pulsative tinnitus but in reality there is something called Tormentiutus or something like that. The doctors are having conventions on it right now because of so many people that complain about it,

Yes there several dangerous reasons for hearing your heart beat but there are other really bold signatures for those reasons. If you are hearing your heartbeat and not sure just why then its not automatic Pulsative Tinnitus.

Here I have thought for three years that I was going to keel over any minute from some aneurysm or some terrible tumor and the doctor told me after three years of being the last time I saw her that NO YOU DON"T HAVE PULSATIVE TINNITUS and she proceeded to tell me what it was called. I can not repleat it correctly but it starts with a T. Anyway she said its a harmless thing that over the years your posture and other factors cause your veins to twist in your ears and wrap around your ear drums thus causing you to hear you heartbeat as the blood rushes through it. Harmless,
aggravating but harmless.

Ok with that said .. The ringing in the ears. Im 55 and mine started when I was about 30 . I have had it off and on and as a matter of fact I hear it right now. This year it has been really loud as I guess allergies probably contributes to it, but over the years my mind has been able to blank it out most of the time. If I listen for it I will usually hear it but other times NO.

Also when you are having a mild ear infection it happens as well. I have both allergies and also ear problems right now and hear mine at this very moment but i know if I have had it some 25 years odds are its not going to kill me. I hope you feel better.. and know that none of you are not alone . Also that hearing your heart beat isn't always going to kill you ..Im still around and if you read my post from three years ago it was driving me mad.. but it subsides and your mind tunes it out so don't worry..

There is an online support forum at http://www.whooshers.com with tips from other individuals with pulsatile tinnitus and a variety of information. I suffer from pulsatile tinnitus. I encourage anyone with these symptoms to get second and third opinions from doctors. Pulsatile tinnitus is rare, and I'm not so sure that doctors who dismiss these symptoms do so after eliminating or ruling out all of the possible causes. There are many possible causes and they bridge many different areas of medicine. In the meantime, check out the site for tips form others on how to deal with the annoying and often debilitating effects of hearing a constant heartbeat sound.