Heartbeat in my ear, why can't ANY dr. find out the cause ??

Question

I have been to 3 ENT's, have had every test known to man & not one so-called dr. can give me the reason for this terrible, irritating pounding in my right ear. I do not have high blood pressure, I have low cholesterol, I checked out perfectly with brain scans & still no answer why this has been going on for almost 2 years now, why do they go to medical school if they can't find out the cause ?

I KNOW what it's called, "Pulsatile Tinnitus" ! Don't you think I know that by now !!

TO SIMPLY-JULIET !
YOU didn't tell me anything that I already knew, didn't you read WHAT I SAID !! I know all of that, you did were NOT helpful in the least ! What the heck do you do just "cut & paste" off the internet for the fun of it ! This is a problem that is driving me crazy & you were NOT helpful at all. You just like to hear yourself talk !
I also wouldn't brag about your sister !

TO Baby Doll, I asked the question for HELP not for someone to cut & paste off the internet but to share personnel experiences !! On if they have had any different feedback on the subject, thanks for yet another smart *** reply !

To John e Russo....YOU are the first in almost 2 years that has mad sense to me. Wonderful information, what can be done for this ? Please, I would love to email you, how can I do that ?

Medical dr.'s are nothing but just a bunch of fools that think they know everything, I have had so many idiot dr.'s think they were right & guess what they were dead wrong ! Just because they have a so-called degree in medicine doesn't mean they have the right to kill people.
All they know is what they learned in a book, no common sense & all they do is pass drugs from the idiot drug rep's that buy their *** off to push the drugs !

Answer 1

Actually this is a common occurrence with a simple explanation and I am profoundly embarrassed that multiple physicians have been unable to explain the obvious. The inner two thirds of the ear canal are a tunnel through bone. The jugular vein passes beneath the ear canal. Bone transmits sound quite well. 30% of quite normal individuals hear the 'pulsation' of the jugular vein as it passes under the ear canal. The number of people who are able to hear this increases when conductance of sound across the tympanic membrane is decreased and bone conduction of sound is therefore relatively increased. Debris in the ear canal such as cerumen decreases sound transmission - changes in pressure in the middle ear 'retract' (stretch) the tympanic membrane (ear drum) 'tighter' decreased sound transmission - and in both cases the pulsation of the jugular vein is heard. As people age the tympanic membrane tends to stiffen - decreasing sound transmission - making the jugular pulsation easier to hear. The sound may drive you crazy - but it is not technically a medical problem - simply a variation of normal. If you need additional information please let me know. I apologize again for our profession. The quality of medical care in the United States has declined steadily since around 1985 and this troubles me very deeply. If physicians could not diagnose and explain a relatively straight-forward and common situation how is someone to be confident with more serious disorders. As always I wish you the best of health - and may God bless - j

Answer 2

You may have a problem with so called pulsatile tinnitus. Tinnitus is a disorder in which a person hears sound when nothing’s causing it externally (when there is no such sound). This sound may be perceived as whistling, ringing or maybe even machinery sound. Pulsatile tinnitus is a disorder when you experience the noise sound with the heart beat and you may perceive it as a heartbeat. It has been found that this happens when the blood flow in the vessels near the ear alter. These vessels may be large arteries and veins in the neck and base of the skull and smaller ones in the ear itself. This may happen when blood flow in the body increases like it does during exercise or anemia. It may also happen when some of the blood vessels narrow, so the surrounding vessels need to carry more blood and this increased flow causes the noise or if arteries harden and blood does travel smoothly as it usually does and this turbulent flow may cause the noise.
You should address a doctor about this and have some proper exams. They would perform hearing tests, check blood vessels, and probably order some sort of imaging tests like an ultrasound, mri, ct scan, mra, etc


OR

If you could hear your heart beat in your ear and the pulsating sound got louder and louder and the right side of your head was painful... then, its AVM ehich is a spectrum of congenital (developmental) blood vessel malformations. An AVM occurs when brain or spinal cord arteries attach directly to veins without the blood passing through the capillary network. AVM's can cause bleeding within the nervous system (a kind of stroke), or progressive neurologic deficits, headaches or seizures. They occur in a variety of brain locations, sizes and shapes.





DEAR Mrs. BITE ME,

I'm sorry that my answer is not of any help to you... and yea, i was not able to read your EDITED post before answering. We are here to help you and not just to gain points. So pls... dont bite us. Btw, how old are you? I guess in your late 50's or early 60's, right? Well then, maybe you already know that PULSATILE TINNITUS is most frequently related to hearing impairment... that age-related changes in the body are principal reasons... that it is a symptom of something and not itself a disease... that it's been linked to hearing loss. Anyway, i hope it will be diagnosed sooner... and you get well soon.

Btw, i want to brag about my sister coz i know its not that easy to become a doctor

God bless =)

Answer 3

It's called Tinnitus and there isn't anything they can do. The doctor thought I might have it last week but it turned out to be a sinus infection, Thank GOD!

ETA: Well, how was I to know you knew. You didn't post it in the d*** question. Good grief, stop being so lazy and look it up yourself on google if you hate the answers so much.

Answer 4

As your heartrate increases from physical activity, your blood pressure increases. As this happens you can often feel your pulse in thinner areas of skin, such as the ear. It isn't that much of a concern, really, just ask your doctor and make sure you arent at risk for high blood-pressure problems.

Answer 5

Been hearing heartbeat in my left ear for over 2 years now. It is literally driving me crazy!. Diagnosed with Coronary Disease in 2014. Had an Endarterectomy.(Right Carotid) Couple months after this the heartbeat in left ear started.Have had a MRI of Brain showing Small Vessel Disease, Ct Angiogram of Neck,Cy Brain,,Carotid of neck, been to ENT Dr many times. Nothing showing anything but yes, the MRI. BUT...nothing done about it. MRI Brain says Central and Cortical Atrophy consistent with age. (I am 78)and very active!Oh ya, I am on Beta Blocker BP med,Plavis,Statin,ASA meds BUT heartbeat in head is like a base drum 24/7 with headaches off and on. So......recently I thought maybe the small Blood Vessels are making it difficult for blood to go where needed so decided to take something to make blood vessels larger by taking L-Arginine. over the counter supplement. Six weeks later the heartbeat is still there but not a base drum. Definitely a plus! Just found an article on Mayo Clinic with suggestion of taking Viagra to enlarge vessels? Why not?

Answer 6

i dont know what that is but i have the same problem.... And just like your doctors, they tell me the same thing

Answer 7

if you know what its called and said that simple juliet didnt tell you anything, then why did you ask the question?

try this site: http://www.doctorhoffman.com/pulse.htm