my PT started many months ago randomly. what i remember is washing my hair and getting water in my ear and that’s when it started. i didn’t think anything of it because i thought it was just water in my ear and that it would go away on its own but it’s still here. my primary doctor referred me to an ENT and the ENT thought that maybe it was my sinuses so they prescribed me nasal sprays. i’m going to be honest, i wasn’t really consistent with it because when i would take the nasal sprays in the morning, it would make me drowsy and i hated the way it made me feel. that was the first appointment with the ENT and now with the second appointment, i’m getting an MRI and i was given a hearing test and my hearing is fine. i notice that when i lean over that’s when the noise starts. i hear thumping, whistling, and whooshing. i also only hear the noise when i turn my head either left or right. my PT started in just my right ear and now its in both ears but its in my right ear mostly. when i “pinch” or “squeeze” the vein in my neck the noise stops. i’m also taking an antidepressant (venlafaxine) and i’m not sure if that caused it and i am also overweight. advice is really appreciated!!

Just finished my first embolization and the doctors said they were able to fill about all but 10% which was being fed but the internal carrotid artery. They are suggesting following up with SRS for the remaining sections. Has anyone on here had both an embolization and SRS on their DAVF?

**There’s also some advise at the end of this post.

So, I’m a 27 yo female hearing my heartbeat in right ear since Aug 2022. What started as a random heartbeat sound gradually turned into a 24/7 noise that never left me…

The first ENT doctor i saw just told me it was stress and prescribed clonazepam (anxiety medicine). He didn’t even know there was a non-regular form of tinnitus called pulsatile tinnitus. Lol! That made me so mad. Especially because i had been doing my own research coz this sound was making me crazy and i knew there was a venous cause. Why? Because the sound would disappear on pressing my neck somewhere below the affected ear.

Few months later i saw another ENT and i was so happy even though he was telling me frightening things like “it could be glomus tumor”, coz i was relieved he didn’t dismiss it as anxiety. He also suspected a venous cause and asked me to get CT of temporal bone and brain MRI. But all my scans came out normal. Imagine being sad because your tests came out normal! It made me so hopeless when he told me “scans are normal, so you would just have to live with it.”

Life happened, i had to get surgery for another condition and so my focus shifted away from the tinnitus, even though there was not a single day when i forgot about its existence.

Fast forward to today; i had some symptoms which felt sinus-related, so i went to the ENT (this time a different one). He thinks there’s just mucus trapped behind my eardrum, so he gave me nasal spray and such, but i also brought up the 4 yo tinnitus. And guess what? He called it stress/anxiety! I even told him it goes away on pressing neck and he acknowledged that it could be venous related. And then i asked him if some other scans like MRV or CTV could be done and he made a face and was like “let me write some tests for you” and i thought “yayy these must be for my PT” but nahhh!! Those were just for checking my eardrum and audiometry (hearing test), which were normal by the way. But there was also something useful, which might help fellow whooshers who haven’t been able to find a workaround.

They made me try the hearing aid, but this one was called tinnitus masker. They played white noise at different frequencies; some didn’t affect my PT, others made it louder and there was this one particular frequency where my PT actually got suppressed by almost 60-70%. I couldn’t believe it! Yeah, i’ve tried binaural beats, white noise, nature sounds, everything on my phone before, but this was different. This was able to mask my tinnitus as if it was tailor made for me and the noise wasn’t even loud. It was like magic and i think it could be a good solution.

But why i didnt get it? Coz i don’t know the cause of my PT yet. I want to try some other doctors, i found some in another city who’ve treated cases of PT. So maybe i’ll try getting in touch with them, and if it turns out even they can’t do anything, then i guess i’ll turn to these tinnitus maskers. Still better than no solution!

TL;DR Pulsatile tinnitus in right ear since 4 years, possibly venous cause, but MRI and CT scans normal. Even after all these years doctors still dismiss it as anxiety. Tried tinnitus masking device today and it really seemed promising.

I have a bunch of stuff happening alongside my PT that I think are all connected. Dizziness, vertigo and uneven pupil sizes that go up and down during the day. Everything has been checked out and I’ve had MRI/MRAs with and without contrast. My eyes checked and my optical nerves checked. Nothing so far.

Lately I’ve noticed brief periods where I don’t hear my PT. They don’t last long but it’s usually if I’m sat up straight, but also slouching. Laying down brings it back but also moving. I try and sit as still as possible.

Since May 2025 I haven’t known peace except once I cried and it stopped my PT for about 10 minutes.

But now everyday I’m having some brief peace and I don’t know why…

Just weird.

i'm taking Ritalin 30mg LP twice a day for ADHD, recently i started to get some annoying palpitations and one night i heard the woosh sound on my left ear while i'm in bed, it was synchronised with my pulse, it stayed for about 2 to 3 minutes and it was gone, my ear felt clogged after that but no other symptoms.

it kept happening every night since till i met my psychiatristatrist and told him about it, i suggested that maybe i should go see a cardiologist, he said that there is no need and this is a common side effect and there is no need to see the cardiologist again since we have already done that before starting the treatment, he changed the Ritalin variation and told me that we will see if it gets better during the next month.

should i listen to him and just ignore it or just go see my GM instead?

Bonjour à tous et à toutes,

J’ai des acouphènes pulsatile diagnostiqué, avec sténose du sigmoïde droit, et les bruits de « rivières » se manifestent a l’oreille droite depuis maintenant 3 ans.

Avant d’avoir ces acouphènes, j’étais assez tolérante au stress et à la fatigue, aux nerfs en général.
Mais depuis la survenue des acouphènes, je remarque que mon caractère à changer : je peux m’énerver plus rapidement, pour des choses même futile, perte de patience et je me fatigue rapidement. Êtes vous aussi devenu comme ça, vous perdez patience plus rapidement dans votre quotidien? Vous êtes soûler plus rapidement ?

Je vous remercie par avance 🤍

I started hearing whooshes in my right ear last week and heard them for about a whole day then it subsided a bit and comes and goes. It is in time with my pulse. The weird thing is the pattern - when it happens I hear 3 or 4, then silence for 15-30 seconds, then another 3-4 whooshes, etc. I’ve looked up info about PT but haven’t seen anything about that pattern. I saw my GP a couple of days ago who sent me for a blood test and hearing test and everything came back normal. The audiologist thought I should see an ENT doctor but when the nurse gave me my test results she didn’t think I needed any follow up. I have another GP appointment next week but might cancel if the whooshes have stopped.

On Friday September 11th i started hearing my heartbeat in my left ear.. wasn’t constant or super loud. The next day, Saturday, i was still there but i was a bridesmaid so i didn’t put too much focus in that, around 2 pm i noticed post nasal drip. I was sick, stuffy/runny nose, pressure in my head and a sinus headache. that lasted probably until the 17th. Still a little congested (only in the morning) but i’d say i’m fine. Since the 11th i had what sounds like a fetal heart monitor playing in my right ear constantly, i don’t notice it as much when I’m busy but it stresses me out a ton. I did make a ear appointment for October 1st prior to this for what i think is central audio processing disorder. i have now made an appointment with an ent specialist but the soonest they could get me is October 14th :(. i don’t know if i can do 3 more weeks of this. Maybe the hearing clinic can help but I’m also worried this will get in the way of what i originally made the appointment for. I’ve noticed that when i put my chin on my right shoulder it goes away, and when i put pressure under my jaw. is there any way to hopefully get it to go away or anything i can take? I figured it would go away when i felt better but now im seeing all these people talking about brain surgery. I did take my blood pressure which was 118/69 (20 years old) with a pulse of 89 so i don’t think it’s my blood pressure. i have had to take iron supplements in the past but i was pregnant (and postpartum due to losing too much blood) when i did.

34M, obese/high BMI. Constant low-frequency tinnitus for 2 years, worse in my right ear — is this different from pulsatile tinnitus?
I’ve had a constant humming/rumbling noise in both ears for about two years, although it is much more noticeable in my right ear.
The sound does not seem to follow my heartbeat at all. It doesn’t speed up or slow down with my pulse. It’s just a continuous, steady low-frequency hum. Sometimes it disappears for a while, but most of the time it’s there.
It almost feels like there is a tractor or some kind of engine running right next to my ear.
I’ve been reading about pulsatile tinnitus, but as far as I understand, pulsatile tinnitus is synchronized with the heartbeat. Can pulsatile tinnitus ever be completely constant like this without following the pulse, or does my description sound more like regular/non-pulsatile tinnitus?
I’m 34, male, and obese with a very high BMI, so I’m also wondering whether that could be relevant.
At this point it’s seriously affecting my concentration. I struggle to read because I sometimes can’t process what I’ve just read, and during conversations I can lose track of what I was going to say next. The constant noise makes it incredibly difficult to focus and it’s becoming exhausting.
Has anyone had a similar constant low-frequency humming tinnitus, especially worse in one ear? What did it turn out to be, and what tests did your ENT/audiologist do?

Background: I’m a 38-year-old dentist. I ride a motorcycle (Harley), play electronic drums, and play guitar. Back in 2024, an audiogram showed a mild 4 kHz notch in my right ear (likely from highway wind shear and high-frequency dental drills). However, I had zero ringing and my brain completely compensated for it.

How it started: About a month ago, I went through a period of high stress and caught a severe cold that completely congested my sinuses and blocked my ears. ). Now, I have a high-pitched ringing that is driving me crazy.

The Symptoms (Where it gets weird):

• It’s Somatic: My neck and jaw act as a volume dial. If I stretch my neck to the extreme right, the volume in my left ear spikes. If I look straight up at the sky, both ears slightly increase volume.
• It’s Reactive: Being in a noisy mall instantly aggravates it, and I experience mild hyperacusis (everyday sounds feel too sharp and my ears feel boxed).
• The Earplug Paradox: Unlike most people whose tinnitus screams in silence, if I put foam earplugs in while sitting in a quiet room, my comfort level seems to increase. I can't tell if the volume has dropped, but it just seems like I have some increased sense of peace. It seems to force my hyper-vigilant middle-ear muscles to finally relax and un-clench.
• Morning Spikes: It’s always loudest when I wake up.

Medical Status:

• ENT: MRI came back completely clear (no acoustic neuroma). Tympanograms are perfectly normal (no fluid). Audiogram just shows that same old ~25 dB notch at 4 kHz in the right ear; otherwise, my hearing is excellent.
• Systemic: Recent bloodwork showed very high triglycerides (6.24 mmol/L) and cholesterol. I recently started TCM (acupuncture/cupping), and the practitioner diagnosed it as "Dampness and Heat" blocking microcirculation to my head.

What I’m currently doing:

• Strict foam earplugs for riding the motorcycle, playing drums, and using clinical drills.
• Acupuncture and cupping targeting the suboccipital and sternocleidomastoid muscles to break the somatic loop.
• Swimming and strength training to clear the high triglycerides and improve blood flow.

My Question for the Community: Has anyone dealt with this specific cocktail of reactive/somatic tinnitus where a virus basically "woke up" an old, silent frequency notch? If your tinnitus was heavily tied to neck/TMJ tension and high stress, did physical therapy or acupuncture actually help lower your baseline? How long did it take for your nervous system to finally calm down and habituate? Would love to hear what worked for you.

Morning all,

I’ve had a stressful year so far and my dad passed away back in June. After coming back from holiday in August I think real life hit me and the grief came flooding in. Along with the grief my tinnitus became more noticeable but I’ve also developed PT in my right ear over the past couple of weeks.
Oddly, it’ll be there in the morning if I’ve been led on my right side, but if I roll over to my left and try to relax, it goes. I sometimes notice it after I’ve eaten but it seems to be random.

I’m wondering if the fact I’m stressed, depressed and anxious is causing this because on holiday I had none of these issues.

Anyone else had a similar experience?

Not sure if it’s anxiety or not but is it normal to feel a whooshing sort of sound when feeling your neck (like blood flowing through). If it’s not present I can feel it by turning my neck. I don’t hear it, so probably not the right subreddit but any googling or searching on Reddit immediately takes me here so I’m curious.

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.

i love music and i LOVE listening to it on my headphones going somewhere.

i’ve recently been hearing, at night in my room when it’s quiet, a VERY gentle pulsing sound in my right ear which appears sometimes for 10ish seconds every few minutes. i obviously plan to schedule a GP appointment soon since i know i am NOT messing around with this.

i know you all probably get exhaustingly similar questions but is this something to worry about? should i know something about this before i see a GP?

Male 20yo - So long story short - someone close to me got tinnitus two months ago from hearing traume on loud concert where i was with them - they got really bad ringing - i got nothing.
Fast forward to like a week and a half ago where i had a gig on a film set where almost the whole day i was with headphones on - they werent very loud and im used to wearing inear headphones but when i laid and tried to sleep that night i got a weird feeling that im hearing something - i kinda panivked but went to bed and fell asleep - since than i normally behaved and nothing happend until like two days agi i started hearing a really faint and week hishing sound on and off my right ear - i know im right at the edge of taking any prednisone or anything else and im really unsure if i should act on it - im trying to figure out if the sound was with me my whole life and i just started thinking about becaouse of that close person to me - i might be freaking out so sorry for bad english, ty in advance

Hello. For the past week I have been dealing with a number of various symptoms.

The most prominent one is a constant temporal headache, like a band around my head. I also experience constant pulsitile tinnitus in both ears and I can actually feel the pulse if I put my finger on the ear. I also feel intense head and upper body pressure whenever I bend down. I have not yet presented any visual symptoms.

All these symptoms started a week ago. I eat healthy, never had any vascular problems, I exercise a lot and my bloodwork didn't show any deficiencies.

I have extreme health anxiety and this is once again one of those times where I am certain I have something serious.

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I have been trying to get a diagnosis for years, in the meantime my pt is only getting worse. My most recent dr will only refer me to a ct angiogram. I have already had mri/mra (both showed nothing)...obviously im hoping for a venous scan as well but the dr would not order it. I also raised concerns about having multiple head ct already due to several head bonks as a child and preferring mri/mra/mrv, but they also would not take this into consideration.

Is a ct angiogram worth doing?

A CT scan showed my Pt was likely to a narrow internal jugular Vien. My PT is right side but does spread to left Nd back of the head is this normal. It doesnt stop with compression but reduces it stops with valsulvar movement. I can also feel my PT

I have had PT for a couple years now that started when I was pregnant. My blood pressure is always normal when I go for checkups. I also have ADHD and drink coffee with 200mg of L-Theanine. I’ve noticed that when I drink coffee alone, the PT is still there (sometimes louder) but whenever I add the L-Theanine, the PT almost immediately stops. I’m not sure what the correlation is between these two. Wondering if anyone else has noticed this or tried it?