Pulsatile Tinnitus – Identify the Causes and the Remedies

Many a time we come across suspense thrillers, when someone claps a revolver on the head of another person and the author to express the mental excitement writes… “He could hear his own heartbeat”. Now, while there is no doubting as to what the metaphorical essence of this expression means, taken literally, this statement is absurd. The fact is, no one can listen to the heartbeat, no matter how sensitive he/she is. However, the statement does achieve some literary credence for people who are suffering from Pulsatile Tinnitus. People affected by this get to hear disturbing sounds that seem to be in rhythm with their own heartbeats. The noises heard in these cases are generally in the nature of a thump or a whoosh. The medical condition of Pulsatile Tinnitus is also known as Vascular Tinnitus.

Pulsatile Tinnitus – Did You Know It Is Caused By Several Factors?

If the head or the neck does not receive adequate supplies of blood, Pulsatile Tinnitus can happen. In fact, this form of tinnitus can be a product of several reasons and they include smoking, blood vessels of the head or neck becoming narrower than usual, rise in the supply of blood and instability of blood pressure, among others. While these factors will be dealt with later, we need to realize that patients of Pulsatile Tinnitus do not make up the sounds that they seem to hear. Rather, these noises have a very real existence. Also, Pulsatile Tinnitus is an entirely different ailment to Continuous Tinnitus. In the latter form of tinnitus, the problems actually stem from a disintegrated state of the inner ear (Cochlear) nerves, and other auditory nerves. It is also deemed to be less troublesome than Pulsatile Tinnitus. However, simultaneous existence of both Pulsatile as well as Continuous Tinnitus in the same person is possible.

Pulsatile Tinnitus: What Causes This Medical Situation? What Are The Remedies?

• Maladies afflicting the Atherosclerotic Carotid Artery – When cholesterol builds up on the walls of the arteries, this blocks the normal passage of blood. As a result, the arteries themselves become too narrow and strange sounds can be heard in the ear. This situation is called Pulsatile Tinnitus. Patients who are old, and have previously had problems with diabetes, angina, anxiety attacks, or are heavy smokers are more prone to this. Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can treat the symptoms, but they come with harmful side effects,

• Intracranial Benign Hypertension problems – This causes Pulsatile Tinnitus by considerably raising the pressure exerted by the existing fluid that surrounds the brain (the cerebrospinal fluid). Doctors have identified young overweight ladies as the most likely victims. Difficulties in hearing as well as seeing result from Pulsatile tinnitus, and a giddy feeling, coupled with headaches is common too. These symptoms can be removed if the person goes for weight reduction,

• Benign Glomus Tumor and problems caused by it – Pulsatile Tinnitus can also be a direct result of an intertwined deposit of tissues and blood vessels (clinically termed as Glomus Tumor). These benign tumors usually form in or just below the ear. If the affected person is a senior, there is no particular urgency for this treatment since these tumors never develop quickly. However, if the person is young, he/she can think of surgery. It has to be kept in mind in this context that, all surgeries from the neck up are risky in nature. Hence, before actually deciding this, a complete medical look-up including MRI scans is needed,

• Effusion problems in the mid-area of ears – These effusions result in the middle regions of the ear (which, under normal circumstances, remain filled by air) getting occupied by a fluid. This can bring with it Tinnitus problems, as a result of which the affected person hears weird noises. It is brought about by improper functioning of the Eustachian tube, which might develop some inflammation or get infected. Experts generally prescribe nose sprays, decongesting drugs and antibiotics to tackle these problems,

• Intracranial lesions in the vascular regions – If the connection between the veins and arteries are not properly formed, Pulsatile Tinnitus problems can erupt. These problems caused by arteriovenous malformation and/or aneurism can even lead to potentially fatal bleeding within the brain. In a healthy person, blood has a fixed mechanism of movement – it flows from a high pressure vein to a lower pressure one, and avoiding the capillaries. The affected blood vessels are wherever possible, embolzed by medical practitioners to solve this. Surgery can also be a solution. However, surgical solutions should be opted for only after expert consultation,

• Bent-shaped arteries – The arteries in the head and neck regions may have a twisted structure. If such is indeed the case, the usual supply of blood to these parts gets disturbed, and Pulsatile Tinnitus happens. The affected person finds the ailment to be acutely agonizing, irrespective of whether the sounds (s)he gets to hear matches his/her own heartbeat or not,

• Highly Tensed Nature – If a person suffers from hypertension, Pulsatile Tinnitus is a likely outcome. Such situations can be brought under control by reducing the mental strains that the patients are exposed to.

However, none of the remedial measures and therapies we have described here are particularly effective in curing tinnitus. In fact, conventional treatments have a tendency to bring along with it several side effects, which eventually cause more damage than good. Herbal treatments, home remedies or even homeopathic medicines are rendered ineffective as well. There is a common cause for the failure of all these types of treatments – all of them try to reduce only the symptoms of tinnitus, and do not try to treat the ailment per se. There are a large number of tinnitus-causing factors in the body, and each of them has to be detected and brought out from within. Once all these causative factors are treated properly, which is what holistic remedies does, a permanent relief from tinnitus becomes possible.