You also have certainly experienced what ear disturbances feel like when you leave a really loud concert: temporary and seemingly meaningless. But what if the noise isn't a maddening ringing, and more like steady thumping in synchronization with your heartbeat? This condition is called Pulsatile Tinnitus and is characterized by a rhythmic whooshing, thudding, or pulsing in one or both ears. Though at times frustrating, and even sometimes worrisome, it most often has a known cause, and is in fact, an early indicator of a significant disease process.

Depending on the presence of a vascular abnormality - such as an aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation-surgery or endovascular treatments may be necessary.

Pulsatile tinnitus can be temporary and harmless, but in some cases, it may be a warning sign of a serious condition. If the rhythmic pulsing in your ear persists, seek medical evaluation to rule out any underlying health issues. Identifying the root cause is the first step toward finding relief and protecting your long-term health.

What Is Pulsatile Tinnitus?

Pulsatile tinnitus is a rare form of tinnitus that occurs due to blood flow irregularities in the vessels near the ears. Unlike traditional tinnitus, which is often described as a constant ringing, buzzing, or hissing, pulsatile tinnitus is rhythmic and synchronized with your heartbeat.

Most people experience it in just one ear, but it can occur in both. While it's usually harmless, persistent pulsatile tinnitus should not be ignored as it may signal an underlying cardiovascular or neurological issue that requires medical attention.

Why Do You Hear Your Heartbeat in Your Ear?

Hearing your heartbeat in your ear can be unsettling. While occasional pulsatile tinnitus is generally harmless, frequent or persistent cases warrant a closer look. The sound results from turbulent blood flow in the vessels around the ear, which can be caused by various conditions, including high blood pressure, anemia, or even pregnancy. Some individuals may experience it only when lying down or in specific positions.

Common Symptoms of Pulsatile Tinnitus

While symptoms differ from individual to individual, the most common symptom of pulsatile tinnitus is the presence of a rhythmic sound in one or both ears that occurs in synchronization with the heartbeat. These sounds can be described as follows:

• Whooshing
• Grinding
• Hissing
• Thudding
• Whistling

The intensity of the sound may vary with physical activity, stress, or change in body position.

What Triggers Pulsatile Tinnitus?

1. An Intense Workout

Vigorous exercise increases blood flow and cardiac output, causing temporary pulsatile tinnitus. The extra blood circulating through your arteries near the ears can create a pounding sensation, which usually subsides after you cool down.

2. Anemia

When you have low red blood cell levels, your heart must pump harder to supply oxygen to your body, creating turbulent blood flow near the ear. This increased circulation can lead to pulsatile tinnitus.

3. Thyroid Disorders

Thyroid conditions, particularly hyperthyroidism, can alter blood composition and pressure, leading to fluctuations in venous return to the heart and causing pulsatile tinnitus.

4. Fluid in the Ear or an Ear Infection

When fluid builds up in the middle ear, either due to an infection or other causes, blood vessels around the ear may pulsate the trapped fluid. This can result in hearing a heartbeat-like thumping sound.

5. High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) forces blood to flow more aggressively through your arteries, increasing turbulence and leading to pulsatile tinnitus. If your systolic pressure is 120 or higher and/or your diastolic is above 80, your risk increases.

6. Atherosclerosis

A buildup of plaque in the arteries (atherosclerosis) can narrow blood vessels, reducing blood flow and causing pulsations that may be heard in the ear. This is more common in older adults.

7. Pregnancy

Pregnant individuals experience increased blood volume and pressure, which can affect major blood vessels near the inner ear, causing pulsatile tinnitus. Fluid retention during pregnancy may also amplify pulsations.

8. Other Underlying Conditions

While vascular issues are common causes, other conditions can also trigger pulsatile tinnitus, including:

• Head trauma
• Paget’s disease (a chronic bone disorder)
• Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)

When Should You See a Doctor?

While occasional pulsatile tinnitus isn’t necessarily a cause for alarm, persistent or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a healthcare professional. It may indicate a serious vascular, neurological, or cardiovascular issue that requires treatment.

Signs You Need Immediate Medical Attention:

• Prolonged tinnitus that lasts for more than a few weeks
• Sudden increase in loudness or pitch
• Associated symptoms such as headache, dizziness, or blurred vision
• Pulsatile tinnitus after head trauma

How Is Pulsatile Tinnitus Diagnosed?

A medical professional—preferably a neurotologist or otolaryngologist (ENT specialist)—can assess pulsatile tinnitus through:

• A physical exam to check for vascular abnormalities
• Hearing tests (audiometry) to evaluate sound perception
• Imaging scans (MRI, CT, or ultrasound) to detect blockages, tumors, or aneurysms
• Blood tests to detect anemia, thyroid disease, or cholesterol level

Treatment of Pulsatile Tinnitus

Treatment depends on the underlying cause. Some of the common methods include:

• Treatment of Hypertension
• Lifestyle modifications like reducing salt intake, managing stress, and exercising regularly can be helpful if hypertension is the causative agent.
• Medications are also given in some cases.

Treatment of Anemia or Thyroid Conditions

• Iron supplements are prescribed for anemia, while thyroid conditions require medication or hormone therapy.
• Treating Ear Infections or Fluid Buildup
• Doctors may prescribe antibiotics, antihistamines, or decongestants to clear fluid accumulation.
• Surgical or Interventional Procedures

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, over 1.2 billion people ages 30 to 79 have hypertension. The number has increased from 650 million in 1990 to 1.2 billion in 2021. This increase is attributed to many factors, including lifestyle factors, which include salty indulgence, stress, and screen time which has been increased. These three impact your blood pressure levels, know how.

What Are The Three S Worsening Your Blood Pressure?

Salt

As per the Harvard Heart Publishing, an average American consumes the equivalent of about 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt per day, which is 50% more than the recommended amount.

About a third of healthy people and about 60% of people with high blood pressure are salt sensitive.

How does salt affects blood pressure?

When you consume too much sodium, your body holds on to extra water to balance the sodium levels. This added fluid increases the volume of blood in your vessels, which in turn raises your blood pressure and forces your heart to work harder. High sodium intake can also reduce the effectiveness of certain blood pressure medications. For example, diuretics help eliminate excess sodium and water, while vasodilators work by relaxing the blood vessels. However, a high-sodium diet makes your body retain fluid again, refilling those relaxed vessels and undoing the medication's effects.

Stress

As per the official publication of State Medical Society of Wisconsin, stress can cause hypertension through repeated blood pressure elevations as well as by stimulation of the nervous system to produce large amounts of vasoconstricting hormones that increase blood pressure. Factors affecting blood pressure through stress include white coat hypertension, job strain, race, social environment, and emotional distress.

As per National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, around 50 million American adults live with hypertension, defined as a systolic blood pressure over 139 mm Hg or diastolic pressure over 89 mm Hg. In about 95% of these cases, the condition is classified as "essential" hypertension, meaning there’s no single identifiable cause. However, experts agree that multiple factors—including stress—can contribute to rising blood pressure in these individuals.

Screentime

As per a 2024 study published in Cureus, hypertension is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. The study links the increased accessibility of smartphones with the increasing hypertension.

This study explored the relationship between screen time and blood pressure (BP) among young adults.

The study also noted that higher screen time was more common among individuals using multiple devices. The prevalence of elevated BP in the sample was 35.8%, aligning with national data and raising concerns about the cardiovascular health of young adults.

Previous studies support these concerns. For instance, Nang et al. and Martinez-Gomez et al. linked prolonged TV viewing to higher BP and an adverse cardiovascular risk profile in adolescents. However, these relied on self-reported data. Other risk factors, such as age, gender, obesity, inactivity, and substance use, have also been linked to hypertension.

Women’s reproductive health is a sensitive subject. Even though there have been many advancements in women’s healthcare, large gaps in research and medical well-being of women have been observed. The general lack of information regarding women’s healthcare and education have also been highlighted in the recent years.

While you may think it is not a matter of urgency, a new report found a very concerning toxin in tampons, levels of which were higher than what is even allowed in drinking water.

A new report from two groups, the Women's Environmental Network (WEN) and Pesticide Action Network UK, has raised serious concerns. They found harmful chemicals in many of the menstrual products sold in regular stores across Britain. The study was particularly worried about finding pesticides, especially glyphosate, which is the most common weed killer used worldwide, in these products that women use in a very sensitive part of their bodies.

Disturbing Levels of Pesticides Detected

The findings are quite shocking. Tampons are a largely used menstruation product, which soaks the menstrual blood by insertion in the vaginal canal. The World Health Organization, a global health authority, has said that glyphosate probably causes cancer. Even more alarmingly, one box of tampons had levels of glyphosate that were 40 times higher than what's legally allowed in drinking water!

It's thought this happens because the pesticide might be sprayed on the cotton crops that are used to make tampons. The report also found another dangerous chemical called chlorpyrifos in some tampons. This is an insecticide that's actually banned in the UK because it can harm the brain and nervous system.

The report was very clear about how serious this is: they said that for some chemicals, there's no safe amount, so any trace found in period products should be less than what can even be detected.

Direct Threat to Health

There's worry about how these chemicals might affect health. This is because a part of the body that absorbs things very easily, the vagina, lets chemicals skip the body's natural cleaning systems and go straight into the blood. People are saying this isn't just careless, it's actually dangerous. They also feel it's wrong that these kinds of chemicals are still in period products today.

Lack of Regulation and Impact on Farmers

The report pointed out a major problem: there are no specific rules in the UK for these products. Manufacturers don't have to tell you what's in their products, and there are no laws to stop pesticide residue from ending up in the final product you buy.

The issue also affects cotton farmers. The report highlighted that "cotton farmers are being exposed to toxic pesticides at concerning levels." Many of these farmers are women, and they face health risks every day from working with these dangerous pesticides both on their farms and even in their homes.

Demands for Clearer Information and Change

People are strongly demanding that the industry be more open. It's simply not okay that users don't know what's in products they use on such private parts of their bodies. There's an urgent need for companies to be transparent (show all ingredients), take accountability (be responsible for their products), and make real changes in how things are done. This is because everyone who has a period deserves better and safer products.

The report asks the government to act quickly:

• Test period products very strictly.
• Make it a legal rule for companies to list every ingredient and extra chemical.
• Include organic, disposable period products in free school programs.

Concern regarding pollution and how it affects our health is a worry that affects many of us worldwide. As years pass on by, the pollution levels are also increasing, and so is our mortality risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that exposure to air pollution is strongly linked with stroke, ischaemic heart disease, lung diseases etc. However, these are not the only things you must worry about when it comes to air pollution exposure. A new study shows that it could also affect the way our brain functions.

A study from Italy, published in a science journal called iScience, found a really important clue in our genes. It seems that when we breathe in polluted air, it can actually change how our genes work in the brain. Think of it like flipping a switch that creates the perfect conditions for diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to start growing.

Early Warning Signs and High-Risk Groups

The researchers saw some worrying changes even in young adults. Their brain tissue showed signs of DNA damage that looked a lot like what you'd see in someone with Alzheimer's – but decades before they would normally be diagnosed. This is a huge red flag.

Certain jobs also put people at a higher risk. If you're a miner, factory worker, or driver, you're exposed to more polluted air. Even people who work with plastics face a hidden danger from tiny particles called nanoparticles that can get into their brains.

But here's some good news: this discovery could mean doctors can check for these changes without needing to do anything invasive, like surgery. They might be able to test for something called extracellular vesicles. These are like tiny packages that carry material from damaged brain cells. So, if we can test for these packages, it could give us an early warning sign from the brain itself.

Understanding the Complexities and Taking Precautions

It's clear that being generally unhealthy and breathing polluted air from a young age can increase your risk of these brain conditions. However, we still need a lot more research to fully understand how everything is connected. Experts from News Medical have pointed out that studying air pollution is tricky because the air we breathe in the real world is a mix of many different pollutants.

To help protect yourself on days when pollution levels are high, organizations like Asthma + Lung UK suggest some simple steps:

• Stay indoors as much as possible.
• Avoid exercising outside, especially vigorous activity.
• If you're walking, try to stay away from busy roads with heavy traffic.
• Keep your car windows closed when driving in traffic.
• If you do want to be active outdoors, try to do it earlier in the day, as the air tends to be cleaner then.

Looking Ahead: Prevention and Policy

There's a big call for more research to understand how air pollution affects younger people and other parts of our brain's thinking abilities. The results of this research could lead to exciting new ways to prevent these diseases. It could also push for better safety rules in workplaces, stricter environmental standards to clean up our air, and even new laws to protect public health from air pollution.