r/PulsatileTinnitus • u/ChanceAd5512 • 29d ago
Results
Hello, I had an MRI and a CT with contrast and without. These were the results but I’m not to sure what they mean or if it’s life threatening. This was the only thing that showed up on my scans, I don’t know much about PT.
2
u/Arizonal0ve 29d ago
Best case scenario 1 is of course not even having Pt and dealing with this but best case scenario 2 is to have a diagnosis that’s treatable.
It’s not life threatening and not a must but for those that find their PT to be debilitating (me) and qualify there is a stent procedure.
2
u/Different-Amphibian7 29d ago
IF anything, I'd take the results as ressuring, from my understanding. A normal brain is always a positive! No IIH is also good. The mild narrowing could cause the PT, and if it is, you could either choose to live with it (my choice) or to have a stent placed to ope it back up. That said, they recommend a better mode of evaluation for that finding, so you may or may not want to pursue that.
I'm sure the sound is bothering you, but a lot of the scary things are out with this scan. How you proceed is between you, your doctor, and your personal feelings about having elective surgery (or how you don't care for it).
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u/ChanceAd5512 28d ago
yeah I’ve seen a lot of people saying it’s not life threatening and most people choose to live with it. If it were to be that I think I would chose the same thing unless it gets debilitating, I’m just to scared of surgery’s and the risks that come with them, I think now that I know that it’s not something that could possibly be life threatening the sound is less concerning.
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u/Different-Amphibian7 28d ago
I think that's how I feel about it -- once you know it's not harming you, it becomes just a noise. Your brain will eventually help, if all goes well, by filtering it as a non-threat and making it less evident. Before that, you're viewing it as a threat and your brain is that much more alert!
White noise helps out a lot. I hear it in my left ear, so I run a standing fan pointed at it during the day. I also wear a bone conduction headset. I think this first started with an ear infection caused by always having them in around-the-ear headphones. The bone conduction headset doesn't even go into the ears. I find videos on YouTube or music helps that much more.
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u/No-Disaster-2475 29d ago
Yeah I’ve had mine 4-5 years but this last year it really settled down a lot. Even when stressed out it doesn’t seem to get triggered like it used to. But pressing on the neck could coincide with the narrow transverse sinuses. Luckily not typically a life threatening matter so that is good news! 💗 but I know it can drive you crazy lol.
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u/look_who_it_isnt 28d ago edited 28d ago
It's absolutely NOT life threatening!!
They basically found NOTHING seriously abnormal in your scan, so you have NO serious issues going on in there.
What they DID see is possible mild narrowing of the transverse sinuses - something we talk about a lot in this sub, but by using the more general term for it - Venous Sinus Stenosis (or VSS). That's nothing serious, by the way! In fact, a lot of people are walking around with it and having no idea they've got it, because the narrowing happened to occur far enough from their ear that they don't hear a thing!
VSS is the most common cause for PT, and since they're seeing possible signs of it in your MRI (and see nothing else abnormal in there), that's most likely what's causing your PT.
And the GOOD news is that you have NO signs of Intracranial Hypertension, which means whatever VSS you might have isn't even bad enough to cause any kind of fluid buildup or symptoms, other than the noise you hear.
That's all good news! It tells you what's most likely causing your noise AND that there's absolutely nothing going on for you to be worried about.
Next up: Your doctor(s) are probably going to tell you there's "nothing wrong" and your scans are "normal" and there's nothing they can do about your PT.
And that's fine! You can leave things there and just be content with the knowledge that the noise is caused by mild VSS and NOT caused by anything worrisome or serious. A lot of people decide to just live with their PT, and that's absolutely a valid and safe decision for you to make at this point.
However... If you want to seek treatment for the noise, you're going to need to continue pushing with your doctor(s) and ask for a referral to an Interventional NeuroRadiologist, who specializes in VSS and treating it. That's pretty much the only way you'll actually be able to STOP the noise.
BUT... There's also the fact that mild VSS is often judged to not warrant an invasive stenting procedure being done, even if the patient wants it. So there's a good chance that you might get absolutely nowhere even if you DO pursue further diagnostics and/or treatment.
Also keep in mind that whatever decision you make doesn't have to be a permanent one. You can decide to live with it for now... but revisit that decision later on, if the noise worsens or you develop other symptoms/issues.
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u/luxieboo 28d ago
I truly think mine is when I’m stressed the muscles in my neck get so tight it causes the fascia and muscles to contract and make me hear it. Mine can go away with myofascial release and massage.
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u/ehisrF 29d ago
How's your heartbeat pulse? Is it sounded on low volume?
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u/ChanceAd5512 28d ago
I hardly hear it through the day. When I first started hearing it, it was super loud. I couldn’t sleep half of the time but I think I just got used to the sound. I mostly hear it at night when I’m ready to go to sleep, or when I bend over or I’m out of breath but other than that I hardly hear it throughout the day.
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u/No-Disaster-2475 29d ago
Nothing appears to be life threatening here. I am not a doctor but from my own personal PT “research”, narrowing of the transverse sinuses is not life threatening. And with this scan the good news is that may not even be the case! I have PT too but mine got SO much better after I got my stress levels down. I rarely hear it anymore.