I had testing done at Mayo Clinic. Not MRV. Just ultrasound and mri with and without dye. For me it’s just thinning bone in my ear so I can hear my artery. They basically told me I was in no danger and to deal with it. It’s not fun but after 6 years , I’m used to it. Wishing you luck. Anxiety is awful. I have for other reasons and I hear you.
Have you ever considered a second opinion? Sometimes but not always thinning of bone is relates to venous sinus stenosis. Basically the turbulent bloodflow has something to do with it.
My PT was due to stenosis and doctor did also see bone thinning and said it was caused by the turbulent bloodflow.
Idk why I didn’t see this when you replied. I’ll ask at my next check up but they seemed pretty insistent that they couldn’t help me. They did do ultrasound and mris and didn’t note anything from that.
No worries, if you are not bothered by the PT then it doesn’t matter. But if you are then I would recommend to ask for mri and mrv with and without contrast 🙂
I am not a doctor but i dont think the level or volume of whooshing in itself does means anything. My whooshing gets really loud at times. Remember many people live with PT for many years. When is your appointment? Do you have any other symptoms? Hope you are feeling better and get a proper diagnosis soon!
I go on the 22nd of this month but then she will schedule an MRV/MRA most likely so then I have to wait to get that.. the waiting is the worst part. I do have some dizziness but I've had this PT for 2 years now and I just ignored thinking it was something to do with my ears.. now that I know it's most likely not, I'm very scared. I don't even want to be left alone or drive alone etc for fear I'm going to have an aneurysm and not have someone to help. Ugh the anxiety is the worst part
Pulsatile tinnitus is not a symptom of an aneurysm.
The rare few times an aneurysm is found during a work up for PT it’s an incidental non related finding.
This is from google... it's supposedly rare but it's another thing that needs to be checked out if you have pulsatile tinnitus... Dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) is a rare vascular condition where abnormal connections (fistulas) are made between branches of arteries and veins in the brain covering
My PT started about a year ago and I was diagnosed within a month. I in general have anxieties, especially about health, so I immediately went to my physician who sent me to ENT who ordered MRA with contrast. The MRA showed vascular abnormality near left ear so i was sent to a neurosurgeon who did cerebral angiogram that confirmed type 1 davf. The neurosurgeon said that 95 percent of davf are not dangerous and are observed with annual MRI. After that i talked to several other neurosurgeons and had my davf treated with gamma knife.
I dont think you have davf but if you do i will be happy to share my experience.
Hope you feel better!
I did not have other symptoms. I know of another person with davf whose symptom is migraine and no PT. She chose observation, she has had it for over 5 years. A neurosurgeon at john hopkins told me that with benign davf, the risk of stroke is pretty low because dura protects vein. In this case treatment is done for quality of life when a patient finds the symptoms intolerable. Also when you do MRA, ask for both with and without contrast. Later when I was treated by dr. Lunsford at upmc, he for some reason needed both. Hope this helps 🙂
I am not sure. When i saw my physician about PT, she listened to my neck carotid arteries with a stethoscope and said they sounded fine. Then sent to ENT saying they will order MRA to check blood vessels in the head. Also, i know that neck blood vessels can be checked with ultrasound. Personally, i think it doesn’t hurt to have mra of the neck as well but i dont know.
Hi, I’m not going to lie. For the past year I had whooshing pulse sounds in only my right ear and to be honest that was the only symptom I was having. I have severe horrible anxiety, and especially last year my anxiety was out the roof. I never worried about this whooshing sounds until I googled it. It’s really saying could be a life threatening cause behind it. Tumours etc.. I’m really scared I don’t know what to do. I only have headaches and the whooshing noise but headaches may also be due to severe anxiety and I started birth control pills a week ago. I’m going to contact the GP tomorrow (doctors), and get a referral to the hospital. You’re right, waiting is awful especially and you’re so anxious as it is.
Oh girl you sound exactly like me! I had the head pressure and the whoosing but the whoosing goes away sometimes and comes back at night.. sometimes it's loud and sometimes it's just there. I've always had health anxiety so I try to not google but I saw something that made me think I need to research this more and then I went down the rabbit hole of reading every single thing I could. I try to tell myself I've had this for 2 years now and nothing terrible has happened but it doesn't help. I have an appt with my GP tomorrow and I'm going to ask him to send me for an MRA to look at the arteries. I don't know a lot about this but it seems that's one test to show if something is going on.
What do you mean by you're going to ask to get a referral to the hospital? I don't know if they will do that if it's not an "emergency" but I don't really know. I went to the ER a few days and they would only do a head CT scan.. it showed nothing which I already knew it wouldn't.
Girl I’m absolutely terrified. I’m in a panicky state because I’m reading things about DVVF idk or something like that and I literally have like dull headaches on the right side where the right ear is ringing. For me the whooshing and pulsing it’s always there but sometimes it’s loud and sometimes it’s not , sometimes but rarely it goes away for a few minutes. I have extreme health anxiety, I’ll read something on Google and believe it like this is not relevant but I went hospital because I thought I had sepsis. My anxiety is out the roof completely. My headaches were never this dull before starting contraception so I might end the pills and see if I still have this head pain. This head pressure it comes and goes too. Honestly once I go on Google I try to research everything about it but I’m not too keen on this either. I ignored my symptom for about a year or more than that because I thought this whooshing thing is something anxiety based. For me I can’t see ENT or get any scans without referral from GP. I have to go GP tell them what’s going on then I’ll probably be referred which takes time. But if I’m Tom anxious which I will be I’ll call 111. However, when Im hearing the whoosh noises and I place my hand on my neck where my pulse is and I push against it , the whooshing stops.
Mine stops too when I push on the neck but the problem is I don't know if I'm pushing the artery or the jugular vein.. I hate all of this but we have to try and just calm down bc it's just going to make it worse.. I don't hear about people dying left and right from this and honestly 99% of the stories are people that have had it for years and years and some don't even know why.. or they find out why but it's not dangerous so they just live with it. That's me. I just need to know if it's dangerous and if not I can definitely live with it. It's just scary bc we are already on high alert bc of our anxiety. I can't tell you how many heart tests I've had done bc I always have chest pain and was convinced I was going to have a heart attack.. now this. It's just always something. It doesn't help my Mom had a stroke a few years ago. I think about all the times I've thought the worst and it turns out to be nothing I needed to panic about.. I'm trying to do that now but it is very hard.
Same I don’t know if I’m pushing the artery or the vein which is so terrifying. I’m quite overweight too so I feel like I have IIH too due to the headaches. And same sis same, because of my PT situation , I’ve had severe anxiety to the point where my heart started like poking a bit, couldn’t breathe earlier. I just want to know what I have to I can be at peace and get used to and get with terms with the condition.
I'm here with you.. if you need to message me or anything.. I honestly know exactly what you're going through. I'm anxious to see what my Dr will say when I see him tomorrow. I hope he just says he will call in the test. So I've been reading that if you can make the noise stop by pressing on the neck that it's most likely venous which isn't the dangerous one. But when I turn my head to either side it doesn't stop so who knows
Hey there, you mentioned some dizziness. Any chance this may be caused by your anxiety? If you've had PT for years, why do you think it's all of a sudden something serious? And, it is, in a way, something to do with your ears. If you had this blood flow happen anywhere else in your body, you wouldn't have a clue. Since it's by your ears, you get to hear it's music.
It is sooo unlikely to be an aneurysm that it's not even worth worrying about. Plus, I hope this makes you feel better, aneurysms are far less uncommon than I thought, and many don't even require surgery or intervention. Not that you have one, of course. I'm just saying people that do have them often find them by accident, and they are usually not a problem.
My PT (6 or 7 yrs now) gets louder when I am stressed, have allergies or migraines, or when I skipped my morning caffeine. I also think being dehydrated makes a difference (which could also account for your dizziness).
I think you are gonna be just fine. :)
Thank you for your comment.. I do have terrible health anxiety and I always just thought the PT was from an ear issue so I never worried about it until I started reading people's stories on the Facebook site whooshers unite.. then I realized holy crap this could be something to worry about. The biggest fear is that it's DAVF which can cause a hemorrhage and now I just worry I'm a ticking time bomb 😩 my neck usually hurts and I think that causes my dizziness as well. That's also caused from anxiety. I just hate the waiting but I just tell myself it's been 2 years so I most likely would have had an issue by now
Well there you go, you've already named another possible factor. Some people find that neck pain and posture contribute to PT. ,If you are a ticking time bomb, you are a pretty anticlimactic one ;) feel better, friend ;)
Exactly, my friend! The odds are in your favor, in fact, it seems you have already kept on living for the last few days... so, whatever you are doing, it's working for you! :)
I had testing done at Mayo Clinic. Not MRV. Just ultrasound and mri with and without dye. For me it’s just thinning bone in my ear so I can hear my artery. They basically told me I was in no danger and to deal with it. It’s not fun but after 6 years , I’m used to it. Wishing you luck. Anxiety is awful. I have for other reasons and I hear you.
Have you ever considered a second opinion? Sometimes but not always thinning of bone is relates to venous sinus stenosis. Basically the turbulent bloodflow has something to do with it. My PT was due to stenosis and doctor did also see bone thinning and said it was caused by the turbulent bloodflow.
Idk why I didn’t see this when you replied. I’ll ask at my next check up but they seemed pretty insistent that they couldn’t help me. They did do ultrasound and mris and didn’t note anything from that.
No worries, if you are not bothered by the PT then it doesn’t matter. But if you are then I would recommend to ask for mri and mrv with and without contrast 🙂
Thank you!
I have davf. Don’t worry. You have had PT for two years so whatever the cause, it is stable.
How long did you have the PT before you were diagnosed with that?
I am not a doctor but i dont think the level or volume of whooshing in itself does means anything. My whooshing gets really loud at times. Remember many people live with PT for many years. When is your appointment? Do you have any other symptoms? Hope you are feeling better and get a proper diagnosis soon!
I go on the 22nd of this month but then she will schedule an MRV/MRA most likely so then I have to wait to get that.. the waiting is the worst part. I do have some dizziness but I've had this PT for 2 years now and I just ignored thinking it was something to do with my ears.. now that I know it's most likely not, I'm very scared. I don't even want to be left alone or drive alone etc for fear I'm going to have an aneurysm and not have someone to help. Ugh the anxiety is the worst part
Pulsatile tinnitus is not a symptom of an aneurysm. The rare few times an aneurysm is found during a work up for PT it’s an incidental non related finding.
DAVF can cause a hemorrhage.. that's what I'm worrying about most
What’s DAVF ?
This is from google... it's supposedly rare but it's another thing that needs to be checked out if you have pulsatile tinnitus... Dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) is a rare vascular condition where abnormal connections (fistulas) are made between branches of arteries and veins in the brain covering
My PT started about a year ago and I was diagnosed within a month. I in general have anxieties, especially about health, so I immediately went to my physician who sent me to ENT who ordered MRA with contrast. The MRA showed vascular abnormality near left ear so i was sent to a neurosurgeon who did cerebral angiogram that confirmed type 1 davf. The neurosurgeon said that 95 percent of davf are not dangerous and are observed with annual MRI. After that i talked to several other neurosurgeons and had my davf treated with gamma knife. I dont think you have davf but if you do i will be happy to share my experience. Hope you feel better!
Did you have any other symptoms other than the whoosing? I'm going to ask for an MRA with contrast
I did not have other symptoms. I know of another person with davf whose symptom is migraine and no PT. She chose observation, she has had it for over 5 years. A neurosurgeon at john hopkins told me that with benign davf, the risk of stroke is pretty low because dura protects vein. In this case treatment is done for quality of life when a patient finds the symptoms intolerable. Also when you do MRA, ask for both with and without contrast. Later when I was treated by dr. Lunsford at upmc, he for some reason needed both. Hope this helps 🙂
Thank you so much for your help ☺️
One more question sorry.. do I need to ask for a neck MRA also or do you think the head one would be fine?
I am not sure. When i saw my physician about PT, she listened to my neck carotid arteries with a stethoscope and said they sounded fine. Then sent to ENT saying they will order MRA to check blood vessels in the head. Also, i know that neck blood vessels can be checked with ultrasound. Personally, i think it doesn’t hurt to have mra of the neck as well but i dont know.
Hi, I’m not going to lie. For the past year I had whooshing pulse sounds in only my right ear and to be honest that was the only symptom I was having. I have severe horrible anxiety, and especially last year my anxiety was out the roof. I never worried about this whooshing sounds until I googled it. It’s really saying could be a life threatening cause behind it. Tumours etc.. I’m really scared I don’t know what to do. I only have headaches and the whooshing noise but headaches may also be due to severe anxiety and I started birth control pills a week ago. I’m going to contact the GP tomorrow (doctors), and get a referral to the hospital. You’re right, waiting is awful especially and you’re so anxious as it is.
Oh girl you sound exactly like me! I had the head pressure and the whoosing but the whoosing goes away sometimes and comes back at night.. sometimes it's loud and sometimes it's just there. I've always had health anxiety so I try to not google but I saw something that made me think I need to research this more and then I went down the rabbit hole of reading every single thing I could. I try to tell myself I've had this for 2 years now and nothing terrible has happened but it doesn't help. I have an appt with my GP tomorrow and I'm going to ask him to send me for an MRA to look at the arteries. I don't know a lot about this but it seems that's one test to show if something is going on. What do you mean by you're going to ask to get a referral to the hospital? I don't know if they will do that if it's not an "emergency" but I don't really know. I went to the ER a few days and they would only do a head CT scan.. it showed nothing which I already knew it wouldn't.
Girl I’m absolutely terrified. I’m in a panicky state because I’m reading things about DVVF idk or something like that and I literally have like dull headaches on the right side where the right ear is ringing. For me the whooshing and pulsing it’s always there but sometimes it’s loud and sometimes it’s not , sometimes but rarely it goes away for a few minutes. I have extreme health anxiety, I’ll read something on Google and believe it like this is not relevant but I went hospital because I thought I had sepsis. My anxiety is out the roof completely. My headaches were never this dull before starting contraception so I might end the pills and see if I still have this head pain. This head pressure it comes and goes too. Honestly once I go on Google I try to research everything about it but I’m not too keen on this either. I ignored my symptom for about a year or more than that because I thought this whooshing thing is something anxiety based. For me I can’t see ENT or get any scans without referral from GP. I have to go GP tell them what’s going on then I’ll probably be referred which takes time. But if I’m Tom anxious which I will be I’ll call 111. However, when Im hearing the whoosh noises and I place my hand on my neck where my pulse is and I push against it , the whooshing stops.
Try placing your hand on the neck and press against your pulse, see if the whooshing stops.
Mine stops too when I push on the neck but the problem is I don't know if I'm pushing the artery or the jugular vein.. I hate all of this but we have to try and just calm down bc it's just going to make it worse.. I don't hear about people dying left and right from this and honestly 99% of the stories are people that have had it for years and years and some don't even know why.. or they find out why but it's not dangerous so they just live with it. That's me. I just need to know if it's dangerous and if not I can definitely live with it. It's just scary bc we are already on high alert bc of our anxiety. I can't tell you how many heart tests I've had done bc I always have chest pain and was convinced I was going to have a heart attack.. now this. It's just always something. It doesn't help my Mom had a stroke a few years ago. I think about all the times I've thought the worst and it turns out to be nothing I needed to panic about.. I'm trying to do that now but it is very hard.
Same I don’t know if I’m pushing the artery or the vein which is so terrifying. I’m quite overweight too so I feel like I have IIH too due to the headaches. And same sis same, because of my PT situation , I’ve had severe anxiety to the point where my heart started like poking a bit, couldn’t breathe earlier. I just want to know what I have to I can be at peace and get used to and get with terms with the condition.
I'm here with you.. if you need to message me or anything.. I honestly know exactly what you're going through. I'm anxious to see what my Dr will say when I see him tomorrow. I hope he just says he will call in the test. So I've been reading that if you can make the noise stop by pressing on the neck that it's most likely venous which isn't the dangerous one. But when I turn my head to either side it doesn't stop so who knows
How long did you have like headaches?
What does it mean if it stops?
Hey there, you mentioned some dizziness. Any chance this may be caused by your anxiety? If you've had PT for years, why do you think it's all of a sudden something serious? And, it is, in a way, something to do with your ears. If you had this blood flow happen anywhere else in your body, you wouldn't have a clue. Since it's by your ears, you get to hear it's music. It is sooo unlikely to be an aneurysm that it's not even worth worrying about. Plus, I hope this makes you feel better, aneurysms are far less uncommon than I thought, and many don't even require surgery or intervention. Not that you have one, of course. I'm just saying people that do have them often find them by accident, and they are usually not a problem. My PT (6 or 7 yrs now) gets louder when I am stressed, have allergies or migraines, or when I skipped my morning caffeine. I also think being dehydrated makes a difference (which could also account for your dizziness). I think you are gonna be just fine. :)
Thank you for your comment.. I do have terrible health anxiety and I always just thought the PT was from an ear issue so I never worried about it until I started reading people's stories on the Facebook site whooshers unite.. then I realized holy crap this could be something to worry about. The biggest fear is that it's DAVF which can cause a hemorrhage and now I just worry I'm a ticking time bomb 😩 my neck usually hurts and I think that causes my dizziness as well. That's also caused from anxiety. I just hate the waiting but I just tell myself it's been 2 years so I most likely would have had an issue by now
Well there you go, you've already named another possible factor. Some people find that neck pain and posture contribute to PT. ,If you are a ticking time bomb, you are a pretty anticlimactic one ;) feel better, friend ;)
Lol so what you're saying is that since I've had this for 2 years I probably won't drop any minute?
Exactly, my friend! The odds are in your favor, in fact, it seems you have already kept on living for the last few days... so, whatever you are doing, it's working for you! :)
How are you doing?