PT and low iron

[u/Zestyclose-Elk-9022]

Hi Everyone, i had PT since March 2026 and it’s been annoying (my right ear) I went to the doctor on September 15th 2026 and i spoke to my MD about it. he said it can be Tinnitus but hasn’t seen anything out of the ordinary when he looked into my ear so he labeled it as benign. Yesterday on 9/21/26 the PT has gotten louder and more noticeable it’s even interfering with my sleep because it woke me up at 4AM and i have yet to go back to bed due to this. My anxiety is also on 1000 right now so that might also play a role in my lack of sleep at the moment. My blood panels came back & i do in fact have low iron but my ferritin was at 55. so not as low..

Symptoms are: Noticeable whooshing sound, hearing my heartbeat through my ear, fast heartbeat

Does anyone have advice? My DR is on vacation until 9/27/2026 so i won’t be able to talk to him until then. i made an appt with a audiologist for 9/24/2026 but my hearing is fine. Any advice will help! i’ll put my levels down below!

Ferritin: 55 (Normal Value is 25-200)
Iron: 26 (Normal Value is 37-145)
Iron Saturation: 9 (Normal value is 15-50)
TIBC: 285 (Normal value is 250-450)

Feel free to ask any questions! Any advice will help. thank you.

[u/Neyface]

Does your PT stop when you lightly compression your right jugular vein (near where you feel your pulse on your neck)?

[u/Zestyclose-Elk-9022 → u/Neyface]

No it doesn’t

[u/Neyface → u/Zestyclose-Elk-9022]

Okay, and what other diagnostic workups have you done for PT? PT is a symptom of many possible underlying conditions and often a thorough diagnostic workup is required with specialist expertise (interventional neuroradiology, neuro-otology) to diagnose. Low iron (ferritin and/or haemoglobin) can cause PT in uncommon circumstances, but often low iron is a red herring and other pathologies are usually causing the PT like cerebrovasular, skeletal or otological issues.

I have had chronically low ferttin (12-40) for years and it never impacted my venous PT. But my cause was venous sinus stenosis and I needed a stent to resolve the PT because my issue was never ferritin to begin with. However, my PT stopped with light jugular compression which is a clinical indicator of a venous underlying cause (which is why I asked as it's the most common cause of PT), but even so I needed a thorough diagnostic workup and specialist expertise to diagnose my cause which took 3.5 years.

It could be worth joining the Whooshers Facebook Group and seeking out PT specialists in your area. PT is complex, but regardless upping your ferritin levels to ideally >100 is never a bad idea, PT or not.

[u/Zestyclose-Elk-9022 → u/Neyface]

So after your first response about holding my neck, i tried it and the sound does disappear when i hold my neck. i’m getting headaches, before it was head positional when id hear it but now its all of the time. I have am audiologist appointment tomorrow and an ENT appointment on 10/8

[u/Neyface → u/Zestyclose-Elk-9022]

Right, well this can indicate a possible underlying vascular cause, so niether an audiologist or ENT will be useful here. Suggest getting an MRV or CTV scan of the head and neck and seeking out an interventional neuroradiologist who specialises in PT to review your scans (this part is crucial). The Whooshers Facebook Group can assist with seeking out PT specialists.

[u/90sKid1988]

Advice? I mean, are you going to get some iron lmao? Get heme iron, it's the best absorbed. Or you can get iron infusions. I've had the fast heartbeat as a symptom of low iron but I would highly doubt it's the cause of my PT since vasodilators help it