Are You Hearing Your Heartbeat in Your Ear?

If you notice that you’re hearing a whooshing or thumping sound coinciding with your heartbeat, you may be suffering from “pulsatile tinnitus.”

A couple common causes of pulsatile tinnitus, or hearing your heartbeat in your ear, include:

Conductive Hearing Loss
This type of hearing loss happens when there is a problem conducting sound waves along the route through the outer ear, eardrum or middle ear. A reduction in sound level or ability to hear faint sounds is also apparent. This type of hearing loss differs from Sensorineural Hearing Loss in that the generation and/or transmission of nerve impulses from the inner ear to the brain aren’t damaged.

High Blood Pressure
If your blood pressure is too high, blood flow through the carotid artery is more likely to be turbulent. The turbulence will generate the pulsing you’re hearing in your ear.

Ear Muscle Disorders
There are tiny little muscles that are attached to the bones inside the ear that can sometimes go into spasms and create a whooshing sound.

While there is no cure for tinnitus, a simple hearing test conducted by your Hearing Care Practitioner will help diagnose a corresponding hearing loss. Ask your Beltone Hearing Care Practitioner to recommend a hearing aid that will help mask your tinnitus.

If you find yourself experiencing any of these symptoms, call 1-800-Beltone today to schedule an appointment with your nearest Beltone location.