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Pulsating tinnitus

(35 Posts)
Nanderin Sun 03-Nov-24 09:50:41

Hi does anyone suffer from this it's awful. I suffer from tinnitus as in high pitched ringing but now pulsating like heart beat.

luluaugust Sun 03-Nov-24 09:58:47

Yes I have tinnitus Nanderin and it is hard to deal with but apparently very common. I think if you do have the pulsating kind it is a good idea to have your ears checked asap. Good luck

Whiff Sun 03-Nov-24 10:09:36

I had jaundice in 2017 and woke one morning to a thumping sound looked everywhere. Then realised I was hearing my heart beat in my left ear. I miss heart beats so I know when they have missed. Only time I don't hear it is when I sleep . My heart beats between 60-70 . But at least I know I am still alive . I get heart flutters and palpitations occasionally and that alters the thumping . So I just try and relax and it goes back to it's normal thumps. Had a hearing test recently but my hearing hasn't been effected by the thumping . But a hearing aid won't work in my left ear as it will only make the thumps louder. Hearing in my right ear fine. My ear drums are shiny which means they are healthy .

NotAGran55 Sun 03-Nov-24 10:21:02

I agree with luluaugust that it is advisable to get checked out asap.
I too have tinnitus, and during a hearing test was asked if it was pulsating, but it wasn’t.

Kate1949 Sun 03-Nov-24 10:28:38

Yes I get pulsating tinnitus. It's unpleasant. I made the mistake of Googling it and all sorts of horrible things came up. I've had it for a couple of years, mostly when I lie down, and I'm still here despite Google!

lixy Sun 03-Nov-24 10:54:19

Yes, me too when I am in bed usually. I don’t have it all the time. It arrives when my sinuses are congested with hay fever or a cold. I resisted the urge to ‘google’ and I’m glad I did kate1949!
Not always practical, but I have found that a good head massage when washing my hair in a hottish shower helps.

JamesandJon33 Sun 03-Nov-24 11:21:04

My DH did. But now he has hearing aids it has gone .

Oldbat1 Sun 03-Nov-24 14:50:57

Tinnitus sufferer here but then I was issued with nhs hearing aids and tinnitus went. Sadly a few months later it returned and remains constantly now.

Astitchintime Sun 03-Nov-24 14:59:05

I have had Tinnitus for years and recently developed the pulsating sound too - mentioned it at the Tinnitus management group and was told to train my brain to NOT listen to is.

Marmight Sun 03-Nov-24 15:20:03

I’ve had it since my eldest daughter was a year old so that’s 48 years ago. It presents in different ways. Electronic whistling, screaming and thumping. Ive had various investigations over the years including having water siphoned into my ears while counting backwards in threes No idea what that was all about. 🤷‍♀️ and also a brain scan. (They did find a brain but nothing untoward with it 🤣). I’ve learnt to live with it. Sometimes it drives me nuts and is particularly bad after alcohol, while flying, in noisy conditions such as fireworks & crowds, and with a head cold. I think the brain can be trained to automatically ignore it. As I type, it is screaming at me but that’s because I’m thinking about it. I have the radio on all the time which helps distract me from ‘it’. Sadly there is no cure but I’m ever hopeful.

bridie54 Sun 03-Nov-24 15:57:49

I've tinnitus similar to yours Nanderin in that it is constant and high pitched. But no pulsating. Mine started after a serious head injury when i was 19 and hasn't changed since.

I had my hearing checked back then and was given a hearing aid for one ear but I couldn't get to grips with it and didn't persevere as my hearing wasn't badly affected. It was difficult back then and I couldn't say it affected both ears as the noise is 'in your head' but it very definitely affects both ears now tho my left ear is a lot 'noisier' than my right.

Given all the injuries I sustained in that accident if i could wave a magic wand to change anything it would be to get rid of the tinnitus. I too have radios on all the time.

Marmite your brain find made me laugh. I can pass on alcohol so have never had any bother in that department but it's quiet situations when it bothers me. Some TV audio can be very poor and i have the volume up a bit then but that is likely to be the deterioration in my hearing too.

But like you will be ever hopeful of some sort of cure.

whywhywhy Sun 03-Nov-24 16:02:23

Yes. I’ve had it since 1984. It gets me down at times.

MissAdventure Sun 03-Nov-24 17:00:16

I think this must be what i had for a while, and it was horrible, and really unsettling.

It would happen at night, and reverberate around the bed, then I'd be awake, checking it wasn't missing any beats.

It's stopped now, thankfully.

farview Sun 03-Nov-24 19:23:30

I've had tinnitus since 1984...I'd learned to ignore it most of the time...but my H who has Alzheimer's/dementia has developed tinnitus over the last year...he constantly is getting angry,thinking pills,food etc are causing it,blames me for it...so because he is bringing it to my attention all the time....I'm now finding my own tinnitus hard to ignore 🤦‍♀️

Georgii Mon 04-Nov-24 07:33:14

I have this recently but only in the left ear. Does anyone else have this as Google suggests some worrying possibilities.

LornaC Mon 04-Nov-24 13:40:42

I have tinnitus and when it started 8 years ago my GP referred me to my local hospital in Norwich. I was given an Audiology referral appointment , arrived and had thorough hearing test and then what I can only describe as a tinnitus training course. There were 8 of us in a small lecture room in Audiology. It lasted a good two hours and we were lectured by an Audiologist. She went through all aspects and types of tinnitus explaining it was a brain thing! (Sorry simplifying as it was a long time ago) then taught us to stop and overcome it temporarily. So not totally of course but when you are not busy or trying to get to sleep and it is bad you can teach your brain to make it go away for a while. Simplistically this can be done by making other noises like pursing your lips and gently breathing fast in and out and concentrating solely on this sound. It cancels out the tinnitus this is my method but there are lots of others it does not happen magically you have to keep working on it but it does if you work at it. So I know the waiting lists are bad, it might be worth asking your GP for a referral if your local hospital does these courses.

missdeke Mon 04-Nov-24 13:42:41

I have tinnitus from too many live music concerts. Always the same high pitched white noise sound with squealing in the background. Pulsating tinnitus should always be investigate as it can relate to high blood pressure or other heart related conditions.

MissAdventure Mon 04-Nov-24 13:47:38

I blame Take That for my tinnitus.
My ears rang for weeks!

PilgrimQuill Mon 04-Nov-24 14:14:10

Homeopathy can often cure tinnitus depending on the cause. Might be worth finding a classically trained one and asking if they do a free initial consultation so see if they can help. Not all cases respond. I have found that those triggered by air travel are the least responsive to homeopathy while those which started from an infection or illness most likely to be helped.

Nagmad2016 Mon 04-Nov-24 16:45:41

I have had constant tinnitus for a long time and have learned to endure it. However, if I take certain medications eg. anti-inflammatory tablets, I get really loud, pulsating tinnitus. It settles down if I stop taking them. I have learned that the pain is easier to endure than the treatment.

rocketstop Mon 04-Nov-24 19:03:26

I started with Tinnitus very mildly but then when I go long covid in the first wave it got really bad and has remained so ever since. Sometimes it can be very debilitating, sometimes you can ignore it. I found it is worse with stress but I took statins and they made it so bad I had to stop them, frightened me to death.

Milest0ne Mon 04-Nov-24 20:52:50

I have had tinnitus for as long as i can remember In childhood i thought it was normal, I mainly have a high pitched ringing which seems to be above my head.
Just recently I have had another sound which is a deep humming noise. I can feel this vibrating through me. If I step outside the house, I can't hear it. At times I feel like going to sleep in the car. It mainly gets louder after 8pm and drops lower overnight so it is hardly there in the morning. I have been all over the house turning electrical appliances off and it is not the central heating. I have been and had a hearing test but my hearing is OK. I think a holiday is needed.

NanKate Mon 04-Nov-24 21:17:10

I never thought I would get used to my tinnitus of 20 years but I have. I’m better with my hearing aids in.

I imagine mine as silver bells. 🔔

valdavi Mon 04-Nov-24 21:17:48

I get a similar tinnitus, MilestOne. It's like being in the engine room of a ship, not pulsating but rythmical & deep-pitched. It doesn't bother me too much, I'm grateful it's not high-pitched & playing a tune, that woul drive me nuts.Putting my hearing aids in stops it.

sunbar Mon 04-Nov-24 22:49:31

I've had it for so long I just call it "the background music of my life". Hearing aids don't help at all. No pulsating though.
Prob my own fault. I sang in rock bands for years. It's most likely generational too. I feel like we invented loud music! Now I wonder what all those young people who drive around in cars that PULSE with loud music will have to deal with someday...probably at a much younger age than grans....