Pulsatile tinnitus is characterized by a rhythmic beating or whooshing sound in your ears that usually matches your heartbeat. It can range from a mild annoyance to a debilitating distraction but is often treatable depending on the cause.
How Pulsatile Tinnitus Differs
Subjective and objective tinnitus usually present as constant ringing, buzzing or whooshing, pulsatile tinnitus sounds like a beat and not a continuous stream of sound. This type of tinnitus also has a physical cause that contributes to its severity. Like its subjective and objective counterparts, pulsatile tinnitus isn’t a condition itself but a symptom of one.
Common Causes of Pulsatile Tinnitus
This type of tinnitus is closely linked to your vascular system, including your veins, arteries and blood vessels. Any changes in those structures can exacerbate the heartbeat sound in your ears.
Conditions that cause pulsatile tinnitus include:
Increased blood flow: Any increase in blood flow affects the blood vessels, arteries and veins in and near your ears, exacerbating the beating sound.
Atherosclerosis: Plaque buildup hardens and narrows your arteries, preventing blood flow from reaching your head, neck and ears.
Intracranial hypertension: That condition is characterized by elevated blood pressure in your head, resulting in headaches, eye pain and double vision.
Blood vessel disorder or malformation: Misshapen blood vessels make it difficult for blood flow to reach your ears.
Tumors: A tumor in your head, neck or ear can put pressure on the surrounding blood vessels, resulting in pulsatile tinnitus.
Sinus wall abnormalities: Your sigmoid sinus receives blood from the veins in your brain. Small pouches can form, pushing through the sinus wall into the mastoid bone behind your ear, causing pressure and blood flow changes.
Pulsatile Tinnitus Symptoms
The primary symptom of pulsatile tinnitus is the rhythmic beating in your ears that seemingly syncs with your heart rate. You may notice the pace increases and decreases with your heartbeat, whether you’re exerting yourself or resting. Your symptoms might be more noticeable at night when there are fewer external sounds to mask your tinnitus.
How is Pulsatile Tinnitus Diagnosed?
It’s important to address pulsatile tinnitus as soon as possible as it’s often indicative of another condition. You’ll need to visit your primary care physician who will likely recommend an ENT or audiologist to conduct a thorough auditory assessment.
Your hearing specialist will review your medical history and ask questions to evaluate your symptoms, such as:
- How often do you experience pulsatile tinnitus?
- Do you notice symptoms in one or both ears?
- Do you have hearing loss?
- What kinds of medication do you take?
They will complete a physical exam of your outer and inner ear to determine if earwax, fluid or infection are contributing to your issue. An audiologist or ENT may recommend imaging tests like a CT scan, an MRI or an ultrasound to assess the blood vessels in and around your ears.
Treatment Options and Management Strategies
Treatment depends on the cause of your symptoms. Addressing the underlying condition will ease or eliminate pulsatile tinnitus. Your doctor can prescribe medication to treat infection and high blood pressure, or surgery may be necessary to treat a tumor, perforated eardrum or narrowed arteries.
Lifestyle changes also influence pulsatile tinnitus. Eliminating nicotine, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight will improve your cardiovascular health and boost blood flow to your ears.
If you can’t treat the source of your tinnitus, management strategies could help you cope with the noise. Sound therapy provides distraction in quiet environments to mask the sound of your pulse. Cognitive behavioral therapy and tinnitus retraining therapy teach you how to change your emotional reaction to auditory discomfort. Relaxation techniques can lower your blood pressure and reduce your heart rate.
Tinnitus Treatment in Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota
Do you experience ringing or buzzing in your ears? Is it affecting your quality of life? Hearing Associates offers comprehensive audiology services to help you live comfortably with your symptoms. Find out what you can expect during tinnitus treatment and schedule your appointment today.