Hearing a heartbeat in the ear, is it normal?

Some people can feel a hum or even hear a heartbeat in the ear in silence. If you experience it, this could indicate that you have a condition known as pulsatile tinnitus. No need to panic, here are various causes and ways to deal with the sound of a heartbeat that is heard in your ears.

What is pulsatile tinnitus?

Pulsatile tinnitus is slightly different from a similar condition called tinnitus. Tinnitus is characterized by a buzzing, whistling, hissing, or clicking sound in the ear due to nerve cells picking up abnormal signals traveling from the ear to the brain.

Meanwhile, ear disease has distinctive characteristics such as hearing a rhythmic sound that still resembles the heartbeat from the body. This beating sound is the sound of blood circulating in the arteries around the ear area.

What causes pulsatile tinnitus?

The British Tinnitus Association said the cause of pulsatile tinnitus is easier to find than the cause of ordinary tinnitus. However, the exact cause is still difficult to determine.

Usually, pulsatile tinnitus occurs in one ear. This condition is caused by changes in blood flow in the vessels near the ear or changes in the size of the blood flow. These vessels include the large arteries and veins in the neck and base of the skull, as well as the small vessels in the ear itself.

The following conditions can cause pulsatile tinnitus:

1. Hyperthyroidism

Conditions, such as hyperthyroidism, thyrotoxicosis, or severe anemia can cause pulsatile tinnitus. This is because when experiencing this condition, the blood flows quickly, making it more sound than slow flowing blood.

2. Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) can cause the inside of the blood vessels to become irregular, resulting in turbulent (chaotic) blood flow. This flow then becomes noisy, just as a river becomes louder in a row of rapids or a waterfall.

3. Tumors on the head or neck

Tumors on the head or neck cause abnormal development of blood vessels and this can lead to this type of tinnitus. Most tumors associated with pulsatile tinnitus are benign.

4. Hypertension

A condition called benign or idiopathic intracranial hypertension can cause pulsatile tinnitus. Apart from pulsatile tinnitus, this condition can cause symptoms, from headaches to visual disturbances.

Hypertension that causes pulsatile tinnitus is most common in young or middle-aged women who are overweight. However, this condition can occur at any age and in both men and women.

5. Awareness

Apart from those mentioned above, this condition can also arise as a result of your increased awareness of sound. This can be affected by the following conditions:

• Conductive hearing loss, such as a ruptured eardrum, tends to make people more aware of the sound inside their body.
• The increased sensitivity in the auditory pathway can alert the brain to normal noise in the blood vessels.

If you think you hear a heartbeat in your ear continuously, try to see a doctor. Your doctor will help you find the cause by performing a series of tests, including an MRI, ultrasound, etc. to study the flow and pressure of blood in the blood vessels in your head.

How to stop this ticking sound?

When you hear a heartbeat in your ear, this indicates that there is another condition in your body. Therefore, pulsatile tinnitus needs to be treated according to the cause.

1. If the cause is impaired blood circulation

High blood pressure needs to be overcome by taking medication and improving your lifestyle. You need to avoid high sodium food intake, exercise regularly, quit smoking, and practice managing stress well.

However, if you have problems with your blood vessels (for example, due to atherosclerosis), you may need to undergo surgery or a catheter to improve blood flow.

2. Sound therapy

Sound therapy is commonly used to treat pulsatile tinnitus due to increased sensitivity of the ear. This is done by making you listen to environmental sounds, radio, special applications, or special sound generators. Certain devices can produce "white noise" which can reduce the interference caused by persistent ear sounds.

3. Behavioral cognitive therapy

Sometimes, the annoying voice in your head can come from your own psychological condition. Therefore, this method is used to treat pulsatile tinnitus from that side. Instead of trying to mute the beating sounds you keep hearing, a psychologist will help change the way you react to these sounds.

4. Relaxation

Relaxation therapy will help lower your heart rate, blood pressure, and brain activity that makes you hear the heartbeat in your ear continuously. This therapy generally involves breathing exercises, mindfulness, and meditation.

A number of causes of pulsatile tinnitus can be managed completely, provided you get the right diagnosis. Therefore, get your condition checked immediately if you feel you hear a heartbeat in the ear that goes on continuously. The earlier you start therapy, the better the results will be for your quality of life.