Pulse in the ear

Medical: Pulse-synchronous tinnitus

The "ringing of the ears", as tinnitus aurium is translated from Latin, describes the perception of a noise that arises in the ear of the affected person. The patients experience a humming, whistling, hissing, sometimes also a cracking or knocking. If the described noises occur in time with one's own heartbeat, doctors call it pulse-synchronous tinnitus. Ten percent of tinnitus patients suffer from this heartbeat in the ear, which usually occurs on one side. The hearing of these patients is intact: They hear a sound that actually originates near the inner ear.

Doctors usually find a cause for the pulse in the ear

The pulse in the ear massively limits the quality of life of those affected. Depending on the intensity of the noise, patients have trouble sleeping and concentrating, and some become depressed. In 70 percent of cases, however, there is a clear cause, which is often treatable.

What the patient perceives as a regular throbbing noise in the ear is a flow noise of the blood. The flow velocity of the blood increases or the blood flows in such a way that turbulence occurs. This leads to eddies that become audible in the ear. This can be caused by vascular changes, tumours, anaemia, increased blood pressure in the skull or hyperthyroidism. However, a craniocerebral trauma can also be the cause. In addition, some medications cause pulse-synchronous tinnitus as a side effect.

In order to find the cause of the ringing in the ears, a thorough physical examination by the doctor is necessary first of all. The doctor will probably also order a blood test, a Doppler sonography of the head vessels and so-called imaging procedures. These are, for example, a computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head. Since in most cases a cause for the pulse in the ear can be found, it can also be treated. The treatment of pulse tinnitus depends on the cause. It ranges from medicinal measures to surgical interventions on the head.