When the ins. co. changed my HRT to a generic I started having trouble with my heart racing and hearing my heart beat in my ears. I saw a PC and he told me to get off the patches. I did that 3 weeks ago but I still keep having trouble hearing my heart beating in my ears. I can feel it beating. Sort of like listening to a seashell but hearing my heart beating instead.
I just took my bp and pulse with a wrist cuff and bp was 123/78 and pulse 105. I have not been active, just watching TV. This is really driving me nuts. Any ideas what could be causing it?
Hi Sassie,
I am one without medical expertise, like most on this site. I also have the problem of my heart "beating in my ears." That's why I'm writing. I don't know how you can be so sure it's the HRT causing this, generic or not. Your BP seems really high. I do not have high blood pressure and never have, but I do have tachycardia and take atenol to control it. I've been on that pill for 20 years.
I took HRT for 20 years also, but had to stop cold turkey two years ago because of breast cancer. So, I know my problem has nothing to do with HRT. I know it's very annoying and can cause even more stress listening to this thump, thump, thump. Please see your doc about this and your high BP. Let us know what you find out. lucy
Most of the time, this phenomenon is caused by the proximity of the various blood vessels in the ear to the auditory nerve or some structure that touches the nerve, it's simply a matter of conduction of vibration. Any swelling in the ear or throat can cause these structures to come into contact. If your sensations are caused by that, there could have been some "fluid shifting" with the different hormones, and it simply hasn't resolved yet.
Normal BP is 110-130/60-90, so your's is perfect, but your heart rate is a bit elevated. Anything 60 to 100 is considered "within normal range" but even 100 at rest is worth watching, 105 should be evaluated. Sometimes the simple act of taking one's BP and heart rate can cause it to be elevated, as can eating or drinking anything with caffeine, spices, excessive heat, or a particularly large meal. certain drugs cause increased heart rate, and it may vary depending on how long ago you had your meds. Some people even react to watching something on TV (the news does it for me).
My son complains of hearing and feeling his heartbeat in his ears when he has a ear infection. Hope you feel better.
Linda,
The news does it for me too.
Janna
Sassie: are you on Pred? I get that when I'm on pred. It's annoying, but I take it as a side-effect I have to accept if I'm going to be on it.
Hi :)
I was going to say the same as Linda - that to me your BP looks fine but that your heart is going a bit fast - certainly at rest. It would be worth asking about.
My daughter got evaluated because she has a high resting heart rate. She had tests - nothing was found untoward and she was just told that it was the she she was. They had wanted to check it out though.
Take care - Scottie :)
The reason I blamed the HRT was because that is what my PC doc told me. But it has been over 3 weeks (I believe) since I have been off of the HRT.
Last year they tried to take me off of my normal HRT and this did not happen, just had the sweats and it was uncomfortable working in the public. I could even feel my heart beating in my hands today as I was taking a rest. It is most unnerving. I take Lisinopril and Coreg for the BP so it shouldn't be too high. But I have no idea why my heart rate is up. Once as high as 125.
No caffeen, spices, large meals, or other changes in meds. I took pred a few months ago when I pinched my sciatic nerve. I guess I have to give in and see the doc again. Thanks!
Sassie honey,
I'm sorry for this...and especially for another darn trip to the doctor!
Please let us know what you find out. I have the pounding heart too but not fast pulse although when I start pounding, my heart rate increases about 20 beats per minute. My blood pressure is always very low.
Janna
Well I saw the cardiologist today. All was fine. Of course my heart rate was "NOT" acting up at the time. It was suggested that I hear my heart beating because I am listening for it. I told them NO. I don't listen for it, but I sure can hear it when it happens. Added to this now are headaches, dizzy feeling and chest pressure when my heart rate goes up.
She checked and it was 88 and not acting up. She changed my blood pressure meds and I go back in three weeks for a follow up visit. If it is still acting up they will do a doplar check on my neck arteries and see if there is anything happening there.
Don't you just hate it when something is making your life feel so miserable and when you finally break down and see a health care specialist, it quits acting up and you look and feel like a fool?
I cannot tell you how irritated I was to read the cardiologist suggested you are LISTENING FOR YOUR HEART BEAT!!!
For Pete's sake!!! And I'm sure this guy got paid a couple hundred dollars for that bright remark!
Sassiecat,
I developed pulsatile tinnitus (the technical name for hearing your heart beat in your ear) a year and 4 months ago. I still have it. VERY ANNOYING. I originally thought it was meds. Every doctor said no. So I went to An ENT. They did CT scans, MRI's hearing tests... etc. Found nothing. After 9 months of seeing doctors and having tests, the ENT told me that I have autoimmune problems and there was nothing more he could do for me. He wouldn't admit that there was such a thing as autoimmune inner disease though. Anyway, I wish I had good news for you but I still have it. I find it fascinating that someone else with sjs has this. I searched the Internet for so long looking for answers.
I do believe it has something to do with the auditory nerve. I also think it might have something to do with vasculitis near that nerve. It is more in my right ear than my left.
I have the same swishing seashell sound that is in sync with my heart beat.
It started with irregular heart rate also. I was put on a few different heart meds to help the heart racing.
My tinnitus has nothing to do with HRT. I have never been on it.
I will be anxious to see what the doctors at UCLA say about it when/if I get there. The doctors here just think it is all "in my head".... I guess it is.
They have recently found white matter lesions in my brain that they think might be caused by some kind of vasculitis. I don't have any medical expertise so I can't say for sure but I think this somehow relates to the tinnitus also.
I have learned to ignore the tinnitus at times but it is always there and drives me nuts. It seems to get louder during the evening as the day wears on. Does yours do the same?
Lindar,
Yes, yes and yes. I have the ringing on and off. Was tested for Minear's years ago and they said it could have been borderline but they favored the cause to be some virus. One day (years ago) I got up and started bouncing off walls like a pinball machine because I was so dizzy. After a month or two it subsided.
Last year I spend 8 hours in Cleveland Clinic for chronic pain. The head of the clinic even checked me out. He said that I my central nervous system isn't working properly (can't remember name he called it). That my nerves send the wrong messages to my brain. That is why I have tingling, burning, crawling, and pain sensations everywhere. My rheumy believes that the SJS has affected my nerves and joints.
Yes, this happens mostly in the evenings. Doc implied that she thought I was only 'listening' for my heart beat and thus I heard it. She said she does that too sometimes. I told her "NO" that this is more than listening. I was more like a pulsating sensation. Also stated that it may have to do with stress or anxiety. Again I said "NO". I'm not stress when I get my email, take a bath, watch TV or read a book. I know what feeling stressed is like and how I feel when I have anxiety.
I would like to hear more about what you find out. I didn't think to link this with SJS but it makes sense because my CNS is impaired. And "OH YEAH" it is most annoying. Feels like my head is a water balloon and someone keeps squishing it till it bulges. Once it even woke me up from sleep. Felt like I had a big dog panting beside me vibrating the bed. No dogs here though!
Sassie,
I've had that off and on for a few years. Usually it lasts a day or so and just comes and goes. Last year it wouldn't go away so I went to the doc and he wanted to rule out an infection so put me on some antibiodics which cleared it up and has not returned. It definitely is annoying and silence just seems to make it worse. good luck with it.
Dave
I haven't felt my pulse in my ears but I can feel it in my fingers. I can just sit there and count the beats per minute by my finger tips without trying to find a pulse on my wrist or neck. It bugs me major!! But it really bugs me that they would tell you that you are listening for it!! That is rediculous. I can't spell that right this time but in real life I can spell. brain fog I guess.
I would also be angry that the dr said it was there because you were listening for it. NO.... that is not how this is. I really try to tune it out but at times it is so "loud" that it can't be ignored. In the evenings I hear it over the TV. The ENT said that since he couldn't hear it that it probably wasn't caused by a "real" problem. For those of us who have this it is a REAL problem. It is a quality of life issue. Anyway. In the beginning my tinnitus started out after I got up in the morning. Then got louder in the evening. When I went to sleep it almost completely went away. It was that way for several months. Gradually though it began to continue during the night also and yes, on occasion it has woken me up. My tinnitus is now 24/7. I would love to find a solution to this. I tell myself that there are much worse things that could happen to me but then again, I would love to live in a quiet world again. I can count out my pulse rate by listening to it in my ear.....
Hang in there. I'll let you know if I get any answers.
IF, I were to want to imagine something for my life, it would not involve visiting physicians who place the blame on their patients becasuse they don't know or understand. There are many things in this world that I will never know nor understand. But it would not make me lesser a person because of it. I know doctors don't know many things and cures for many ailments simply just don't exist. This I do understand and accept the limitations of their knowledge. I wish that the medical professionals could learn to accept their limitations too. A simple, "I don't know the answer" is much better than placing blame or cause on another becasue they can't accept their lack of understanding.
I called my ENT and made an appointment with them Monday. I don't believe that it is related to my heart and that they found nothing abnormal is really all the confirmation I needed. If the ENT can find nothing wrong, I will accept this with all the other incurable things wrong with me.
I guess what I am trying to say is this: That the doctor may not be a hero today but they should not forget that they are human like me.
Hi,
I was so "happy" (you know what I mean, I'm hoping :)) to read your posts and to see that I am not alone in dealing with this. I have also experienced the brush off by my GP. I'm sorry you are also having to go through that--it's maddening, I know. SassieCat, I don't have medical training, but it sure sounds like pulsatile tinnitus, which is my dx, too. Mine's unilateral. I nearly fell out of my seat when I read the descriptions of it being kind of like listening to a seashell ("whooshing"). That's one of the exact ways I tried to describe it to my docs as well. Also--like a kite fluttering in a strong wind or feeling as if there's a winged bug in my ear flapping furiously to get out. It can be pretty turbulent. Many times the sound is with my heartbeat, other times not.
Anyway, my ENT and neuro agreed it is pulsatile tinnitus. There are many causes, from benign to potentially quite serious, so SassieCat, it's good that your doc has suggested following up with the Doppler studies if it doesn't resolve. Mine started very abruptly, and weird head/neckaches on that side soon followed. I told my GP and was pretty much blown off. It's all in your head, yada, yada. No kidding, it's "in my head", and it's really bothersome, thank you very much. :P But, I kind of tried to ignore it, hoping it would go away. I first developed the ringing sounds about a year ago, they drove me crazy for awhile, and then I just kind of got used to them. I figured I would try to do the same with the new "flavor of the month" sound in my ear. Interestingly, mine is also worse in the evening, usually around dinnertime, though I haven't been able to associate it with food.
I mentioned it to my ENT during a routine follow-up visit, and he scheduled me for further testing including an audiogram and an MRA, also checked thyroid and some other blood work. I shared with him that my GP said not to worry about it. His response and encouragement were fantastic, and he let me know I did absolutely the right thing by mentioning it to him and having it further evaluated. I've had some screwy symptoms in the past year and a half (they are primarily neurological at this point), and I am wondering if this is related. No Sjogren's or other AI dx at this point, though Sjogren's fits a number of my symptoms.
I wanted to ask, do any of you experience headaches that you can associate with this? My neuro thinks they may be migraines and has scheduled me for a sleep study. I have been told by my hubby that my snoring is getting out of control, so I guess it's good to go ahead and do this since apnea can cause so many other problems.
SassieCat, I hope your appt with the ENT goes well and that your doc is able to shed some light and help you figure out the cause, or at least give you some reassurance if your testing comes back normal. Keep us posted.
Take care,
Shell
Shell,
Thanks for responding. I do have headaches and neck pain with this. But there again, I've had headaches and migraines since I was 17. I also have thyroid problems and take Levoxyl for it daily. Hashimoto's Disease is the AI that killed my thyroid and I have bloodwork done about every 3 months for it. I have had the ringing on and off in the past years and just lived with it. The whooshing sound is an annoyance all it's own.
Many of my problems center around disfunction of my central nervous system. Rheumy dx me with SjS last December and she believes that SjS is responsible for my defunct CNS, joint pain and possibly my cardiomyapathy. I had an MRI done several years back because of the severe migraines and I don't remember if they found any lesions or not. I am thinking that he did but I can't be sure. I know that I have lesions in my lungs and they did MRI on it either last year or the year before.
Flavor of the month - funny you should mention this. I have described my symptoms like this several times. Before I have a time to adjust to one new symptom another one shows up. Like the energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going and going.
Do you get dizzy too? I have noticed that I can become dizzy when the whooshing starts. Also present is the neck pain and headaches. Sometimes I have trouble with my eyes, they feel strained more than usual.
I will post Monday after the ENT visit for sure.
Oh my goodness! I get a fluttering noise (sounds like a moth flew in my left ear) from time to time, and it is usually when I am resting or watching tv in the evening. I never considered it might be SJS?
Sassie, I would tend to agree with what Linda said about the blood vessels being a strong possibility. But I hope you can get some definite answers from the ENT.
jaygee, I have the fluttering too and my doc said its inner ear muscle twitching/spasms. Sounds about right since they are usually temporary and follow a similar pattern to all my other muscle spasms. :)
**I meant to say middle ear, not inner***
:-[ I feel so miserable right now. My oldest son caused some upset and the stress has got my head in a hurt. I feel like the pounding in my ears is going to split my head open at any minute. The pulse is 118 and my whole body is starting to react to the pain.
Sassie
Kids can be a pain in the butt, can't they? I feel for you.
Hugs
Kathyx
Isn't that the truth. It was easier when they were young. Now at ages 34,30,25 all they want to do is argue and play mind games.
I find that when I get more stressed, the pulsitile tinnitus gets louder. Sassiecat.... try not to let things stress you too much. (I know... easier said than done). The wings fluttering sound description is interesting. The first time I went to the ENT I told him that it sounded like I had thousands of locusts in my ear all beating their wings or what ever they do to the same rhythm. I think you would have to have been in the mid west on a summer night when the locusts arrive to know the sound. Keep me posted about what your ENT's say. I know there has to be a good one somewhere that would be willing to investigate this. I also have had pain in my neck. For many years I had headaches on that side of my head and face. I was always told it was sinuses.
I also have thyroid problems. Hashimoto's. I have wondered if this tinnitus was connected with that problem also. I don't have an answer. I do believe it is connected to either sjs or hashimoto's. I think it must be autoimmune related. There is such a thing as autoimmune inner ear disease. My ENT didn't recognize that as a "real" condition. Anyone else been diagnosed with that?
Check out Pseudotumor Cerebri...You described my EXACT symptoms, and it is what my Neuro dx me with (unfortunatly, it took a spinal tap) :(
I will look into it and read up on it. I thank you for the information. The heart doctor changed my Coreg CR (one pill per day) to Carvedilol (twice daily) and this has been helping. I still get the sensation of hearing my heartbeat in my ears but not nearly as strong nor as frequent.
I even cancelled the appointment with the ENT because the problem seems to be getting better.
Thanks again!!!
Sassie
I had the same thing happen last year and had a tone of test done including a MRI and nothing was out of the normal. The pulsing sound lasted for about two months and then went away as quickly as it came. No one could ever figure out what caused this to happen. It will aggravate the daylights out of you though!!