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Suggest Treatment For Pulsatile Tinnitus
Question: I have had increasingly loud pulsatile tinnitus going for 7 yrs. Two events of hospitalization for events consisting of feeling like jelly, unable to make extremities go the way I wanted, and, violent vomiting and diarrhea. MRI shows "There is a vessel looping within the left internal auditory canal." and "There is minimal mastoid mucosal disease without a definate fluid air level. The paranasal sinuses are clear. I have a narrowed vertebral artery at 40%
What would be your diagnosis and advice?
What would be your diagnosis and advice?
Brief Answer:
It is the sound of turbulence of the blood flow that you are hearing.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
Before giving the diagnosis, let me explain to you what exactly is happening. During the normal hearing process, the sound hits the pinna (what we see outside as 'ear'), gets directed to the external auditory canal, hits and vibrates the ear drum, the vibration is passed into the small ossicles of the middle ear cavity, and then is transmitted to the cochlea which is the main organ of hearing. The cochlea is located lear the internal auditory canal of the mastoid bone. The cochlea converts the sound vibrations to the electrical impulses which are then converted into nerve impulses which are transmitted via the auditory nerve to the brain.
In your case, the narrowed vertebral artery has connections to the internal carotid artery and the hushing sound of the turbulent blood flow is transmitted to the blood vessel that loops around the left internal auditory canal and hence the sound is directly transmitted to the adjoining cochlea or the organ of hearing. This is the pulsatile sound of tinnitus that you have been hearing for the last 7 years. Since the vertebral artery narrowing has gradually progressed over these years, so has the tinnitus.
The simple solution would be to stent the vertebral artery by the process of angiography. This should take care of the tinnitus. You will have to talk to a cardiovascular interventionalist about this.
Hope that helped.
In case you found my answer to be helpful, I would request you to close the thread with a positive review and a 5 star rating. Feel free to ask me back if you ever have a health related query in the future.
Regards
It is the sound of turbulence of the blood flow that you are hearing.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
Before giving the diagnosis, let me explain to you what exactly is happening. During the normal hearing process, the sound hits the pinna (what we see outside as 'ear'), gets directed to the external auditory canal, hits and vibrates the ear drum, the vibration is passed into the small ossicles of the middle ear cavity, and then is transmitted to the cochlea which is the main organ of hearing. The cochlea is located lear the internal auditory canal of the mastoid bone. The cochlea converts the sound vibrations to the electrical impulses which are then converted into nerve impulses which are transmitted via the auditory nerve to the brain.
In your case, the narrowed vertebral artery has connections to the internal carotid artery and the hushing sound of the turbulent blood flow is transmitted to the blood vessel that loops around the left internal auditory canal and hence the sound is directly transmitted to the adjoining cochlea or the organ of hearing. This is the pulsatile sound of tinnitus that you have been hearing for the last 7 years. Since the vertebral artery narrowing has gradually progressed over these years, so has the tinnitus.
The simple solution would be to stent the vertebral artery by the process of angiography. This should take care of the tinnitus. You will have to talk to a cardiovascular interventionalist about this.
Hope that helped.
In case you found my answer to be helpful, I would request you to close the thread with a positive review and a 5 star rating. Feel free to ask me back if you ever have a health related query in the future.
Regards
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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