Pulsatile Tinnitus - Can You Live With It?

Pulsatile Tinnitus - What Is It?

If you hear your pulse beating in your ears you have pulsatile tinnitus. There may be single or multiple rhythmic beats that can be heard as a low pitched thumping or booming sound, or as a higher pitched clicking noise.

Pulsatile tinnitus results because of different underlying health conditions. Often, Pulsatile tinnitus can be relieved. Pulsatile tinnitus is often a result of high cholesterol levels.

Blood flow can be affected by a variety of factors which can include:

Localized faster blood flow throughout the body which occurs during strenuous activity or can be caused by severe anemia.

When the veins become compacted with fatty cholesterol deposits, the flow of blood becomes rather disordered instead of the smooth journey it will normally take. This causes pulsatile tinnitus noises in the ear.

Causes of Pulsatile Tinnitus Include:

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) - Abnormal groups of arteries and veins that occur within the cranial cavity close to the auditory nerve.

Carotid artery-cavernous sinus fistula - An aberrant connection between a large artery and venous pool within the cranial cavity; usually the result of severe head trauma.

Inflammation or infection of the middle ear. Chronic inflammation is almost always accompanied by a forced increase in the flow of blood to the inflamed tissue. You are able to hear the increased blood flow sounds because the inflamed tissue is in the middle ear.

Middle ear fluid. The middle ear is normall an air-filled space. If infection or inflammation occurs, or there are blocked Eustachian tubes, fluid will gather in the middle ear, resulting in Pulsatile tinnitus.

Pulstile tinnitus will also occur when the is a narrowing or a partial blockage of these blood vessels from an atheroma which is a fatty deposit in inner lining of a blood vessel, which can obstruct the flow of blood and is caused by high levels of cholesterol in the body .

Pulsatile tinnitus treatment normally involves a multi-faceted approach which can encompass a number of symptom management approaches. Most patients with Pulsatile tinnitus are helped using conventional allopathic methods of tinnitus relief treatments including drug therapy, alternative treatments, and sound and/or relaxation therapy.

Pulsatile tinnitis is treated by treating the underlying cause of the tinnitus. i.e. Pulsatile tinnitus caused from high cholesterol levels in the body can be reduced by controlling the diet and reducing the levels of cholesterol in the blood.