Pounding in One Ear

[jessejean]

Greetings...I haven't been on the board for two years...but I'm back - the passion can never die in a diver, it is always lurking in the heart, wether you are in the water or not.

My question: For about 6 months, I have had a pounding in my left ear that I can hear most of my waking days. It is my heart beat, and it sounds like rushing blood..."pssshhh" "pssshhh". It is enough to make anyone go insane. I can mostly hear it when I try to go to sleep (which is really hard when you have a pounding in your head). I talked to my general doctor and he said maybe fluid in the ear and use some hydrogen peroxide. Didn't work. When my heart is beating harder, it is louder, so it has to have something to do wtih my blood...maybe a vein that is close to my ear drum? I was diving a lot last summer/fall here in California, and at depth my ears would ache from the cold, but in 15 years of diving I have never had a problem equalizing. I don't even know if this is dive related.

Please help...I feel like a schitzo hearing voices all day that no one else can hear. Any one experinced this?

Thanks - Jessejean

 

[fisherdvm]

Get a second opinion. We don't want to miss an arteriovenous malformation or worse, a brain aneurysm.

 

[jessejean]

arteriovenous malformation?

 

[OHGoDive]

Google "pulsatile tinnitus". Go from there.

 

[Web Monkey]

arteriovenous malformation?

English translation: Go See a doctor.

Terry

 

[scarefaceDM]

Tell the wife to stop yelling at you for going diving..seems to work for many whom suffer the same...

Oh..Go see a doctor...you know someone whom is medically trained...

 

[erparamedic]

Sounds like you need to see a new doc, and possibly and ENT... and I would suggest a CT or an MRI. As far as specialists go, I would say ENT first, then if you haven't gotten a difinitive answer, try a neurologist. Some things that affect the ears are actually neurological in nature.

 

[jessejean]

Thanks everyone for your input...guess I need to get this checked out ASAP.

Oh...and I don't have a wife...I'm a chick

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi jessejean,

Pulsatile tinnitus, or the hearing of intermittent, continuous, or pulsating sounds in time with the heartbeat, can have a variety of causes. Not infrequently it is the result of an anatomical abnormality of the blood vessels. An arteriovenous malformation (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/avms/avms.htm#What_is) is an example.

Having an examination by an ENT is the correct course of action. In the interim, providing that one is otherwise symptom-free there is no reason for undue worry.

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual and should not be construed as such.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[gert7to3]

If your ears ache from cold water I would suggest trying Doc's Pro Plugs. They have a hole in them to permit pressurizaton of the outer ear canal, but limit the amount of water circulating into your ear. You also don't get that slpping sensation from waves hitting you on the surface.

http://www.proplugs.com/

Another suggestion is try a Pro Ear Mask. I have used both products and found they helped keep my ears more comfortable underwater. The Pro Ear Mask in particular, because you are breathing warm air into the ear cups and around your ears.

http://www.proear2000.com/

I have no financial interest in either product.