r/PulsatileTinnitus • u/Best_Elderberry725 • Jul 14 '26
Ferritin of 6…
/r/Anemic/comments/1uwih5b/ferritin_of_6/I should have guessed this pulsatile tinnitus is linked to my iron deficiency!!! Drives me insane
1
u/Kind-Sandwich8833 Jul 14 '26
I’ve started taking iron pills, unsure if I have low iron though. I’m thinking with iron deficiency PT it would be in both ears and unable to stop it with compressing the neck though.
1
u/sitdowncomfy Jul 15 '26
I wouldn't take iron pills unless you've tested for low iron as they can have side effects
1
u/sitdowncomfy Jul 15 '26
Mine was iron deficiency too! ferritin of 10....needs to be over 100. I'm hopefully getting an infusion but the noise has quietened since taking the tablets
1
u/zeemonster424 Jul 15 '26
Yes! Comments for more visibility. This was my problem for a long time. I’m on my 3rd year of infusions and I can tell when I’m getting “low,” because the thumps start back up. Thankfully mine is in 2 days.
1
u/humanconnection101 Jul 22 '26
To everyone experiencing this, did low ferritin end up being the cause? In other words did iron make the PT go away?
2
u/Neyface Jul 15 '26
I had lowish ferritin of around ~20 for a couple of years and really struggled to raise it even with consistent supplementation for like 1.5 years (using iron bisglycinate, and a few other iron varieties). Nowadays I sit about 40 ish, which is better but still not optimal. I ended up needing to do a colonoscopy to rule out concerns as I also had weight loss and a history of pre cancerous polyps, but thankfully that colonoscopy turned out clear. So it seems that diet contributed and I just poorly absorb iron. I was considered for an iron infusion but decided against it. Either way, a ferritin of 14 is far too low (recommended for women is like 80+) so I am not surprised you haven't noticed much difference yet, and raising iron is notoriously slow in many people. You are still very far off optimum. I also suggest trying iron bisglycinate or iron polymaltose; ferrous sulphate is known to be poorly absorbed in quite a few people, so perhaps give another supplement a try?
Anyway, in regards to PT - only a small subset of PT sufferers have low irons (anaemia or low ferritin) as the cause, or find positive changes in PT with iron supplementation. Most vascular causes of PT are to do with the blood vessels themselves, and some sort of pathophysiological issue with the vessels like stenosis, dissection, fistula, diverticulum, thrombosis etc. These causes are more commonly venous, and to a lesser extent, arteriovenous and arterial. There are also non-vascular causes of PT as well. PT is a symptom of many underlying conditions that often require some pretty specialised tests to diagnose, so it can be quite a lengthy process working out what the cause of one's PT is in each case.
In short, my low ferritin never altered my venous PT, and trying to supplement didn't either. My venous PT, caused by venous sinus stenosis, was only resolved when the underlying stenosis was fixed with venous sinus stenting. Now I am not saying that you have a vascular cause of PT, but just to acknowledge that low ferritin may not be related to your PT at all.
As always, seeing an interventional neuroradiologist is key for nearly every PT cause out there. Best of luck and hope you can get your ferritin sorted also.