Friday, September 2, 2011

Pulsatile Tinnitus: The Annoying Heartbeat You Hear

Pusatile Tinnitus is a type of tinnitus where you keep hearing a pulsation or whooshing or even a thumping sound that thumps in beat with heart. It is sometimes known as vascular tinnitus because of the fact that many times it is due to some disruption in the blood flow. This is not a very common form of tinnitus (only prevalant in about 3% of all tinnitus sufferers) but pulsatile tinnitus causes some challenging struggles, nonetheless.

The most popular type of pulsatile tinnitus is an arterial turbulence which is plaques or crimps in the arteries of the neck or head region that causes a loud blood flow. Hypertension is known to make this worse. If the blood flow is elevated for some reason or the blood vessels are narrowed down and restricting blood flow the turbulence can be heard.

This is different from and not related to tinnitus that is of the continuous type, though you can have both kinds. For those who are unfortunate enough to have both pulsatile tinnitis and the more constant tinnitus, the pulsatile tinnitus is seen as the most irritating.

As with any form of tinnitus, pulsatile tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom of some other more serious problem. As this has to do with matters of blood flow, the underlying reason could be something important and, therefore, must be checked into by a doctor. Many forms of pulsatile tinnitus are treatable as are the majority of the causes.

Some of the most common causes of pulsatile tinnitus are:
Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) - an irregular number of veins and arteries that sometimes happen nearby the auditory nerve in the cranial cavity. The beating tinnitus is comes about because of the pulsation taking place against the auditory nerve.

Atherosclerosis (Atherosclerotic Carotid Artery Disease) - Cholesterol that has built up on the artery wall sometimes causes a constricting of the artery that causes turbulence in the blood flow which could be what the individual suffering is hearing.

Benign Intracranial Hypertension (BIH) - inflated pressure of the fluid that surrounds the brain. It is more frequent in younger females that are obese. It could bring some hearing loss or some dizziness as well. This can ordinarily be treated by losing some weight.

Carotid artery-cavernous sinus fistula - This is normally the result of some massive head trauma and involves an abnormal joining between a large group of veins and a large artery. Radiology is normally the only treatment that will help this.

Chronic inflammation or infection of the middle ear - this usually brings about an increased blood flow which can be heard. This can be known as a middle ear effusion. It can be accompanied by a reduction in the level of hearing and, sometimes, pain. Usually this is cared for with different decongestants, antibiotics, and nasal sprays. In some cases surgery is needed.

Hypertension - In numerous cases the cause of the pulsatile tinnitus was the medication that is used to treat hypertension. Many cases the tinnitus got better after being on the medication for a few weeks and in other cases the tinnitus disappeared after a change in medication.

Glomous Tumor - this is a benign tumor which is also identified as a vascular tumor that is either in the ear or just below the ear at the base of the skull. Surgery is needed to correct this problem.

Intracranial Vascular Lesions - This might be an aneurism or an arteriovenous malformation. An irregular connection that causes the blood flow from a high pressure artery to a low pressure artery and could result in bleeding in the brain which is a very dangerous condition. Surgery is one of the therapies used in treating this condition.

Venous Hum - Increased blood flowing through the jugular vein in those who are anemic, pregnant, or who may have thyroid problems. This may result in a constant hum or a throbbing sound. After the underlying condition betters, the pulasatile tinnitus usually goes away.

There are many things that can bring about pulsatile tinnitus but in every case you should go have it checked over by a doctor to see what can be done and to make sure that there aren't any critical problems. Again, while it may not be a disease, pulsatile tinnitus may be a warning sign for some other problem.

While you should go visit the physician to ensure that there isn't something more problematic going on, there are some options that you have available that can help relieve the pulsatile tinnitus. To find out more about pulsatile tinnitus causes and what choices are obtainable to treat pulsatile tinnitus, click this: http://stopmyearsringing.weebly.com/

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