Rapid blood pulsing in ear

Hi,
I have been viewing this forum for years, but have never posted until now. My current flare-up is the most concerning symptom I have dealt with, and I am having trouble coping with it. For over a decade, I've periodically had this rapid pulsing sensation in my right ear, where I can feel the blood flowing through the blood vessels. It's much more rapid that a heartbeat, and I feel it, not hear it, so I don't think it would be considered Pulsatile Tinnitus. When it flares up, I can sometimes do deep breathes to calm it down or can press my finger into my neck to briefly to stop it. However, it's now been continually happening for 2 straight days, and I am not able to sleep because of it, so I am feeling desperate.

I am fairly certain it's TMS, and I am certainly dealing with an overall increase of TMS symptoms this month (frequent urination, frozen shoulder, Tinnitus spike), but this symptom is the most difficult. One reason it's difficult for me is because I can't find anyone else mentioning this specific issue. I'm not even sure what to search for or how to phrase it.
I assume it's TMS since it's blood flow related and happens only sometimes. I figured my brain must be purposely narrowing a blood vessel near me ear just to drive me crazy. Yet, without seeing others mention it, I am lacking confidence of it being purely TMS. The other challenging thing is that it does not give me a break. Most symptoms are fine in certain scenarios, so I can get a breather, but not this one lately, it is bothering me all day, driving up my anxiety and fear and causing me to not be able to sleep.

I would appreciate any advice on this

Thanks,
Tim

 

Hi,
Not to scare you but you might want to get that checked out just to set your mind at ease that it is TMS.

I’ve had tinnitus off and on for a few years but the last 9 months have been non stop and louder than it ever was before. Sometimes I get a feeling like water is in my ear but it doesn’t last. I’m not sure if that is the feeling you are describing.

 

I saw my ENT yesterday, and they said it is Pulsatile Tinnitus. While that is the closest match I have found online, I am still not sure about that diagnosis, as every article I've seen mentions how this is something that you only hear, like a whoosh sound and it's in time with the heartbeat. For my issue, I feel it, not hear it, and it's much faster and more irregular than the heartbeat. I think it's more likely to be TMS that Pulsatile Tinnitus would be, though I'm sure either could be.

 

Well, they have to come up with a name for it, don’t they? It sure sounds like TMS to me. I’ve found it to be a challenging symptom, but I know there’s a cure for it with the TMS methods.

 

Well, it's happening less and less these last few days, so that is helping to give me more confidence that it's TMS again, and helping me stay calmer when it does reoccur.

 

That's great! Keep up the good work.

 

Hi Tim, I also suffer from something like this. Rapid drumming/thudding in my ear which I can both hear and feel. It first started during the pandemic era. Only in my right ear starting early evening then carrying on for the rest of the night. It went on for several months and I nearly lost my mind. I found sleeping with BOSSE earbuds helped block the sound/sensation. It eventually just stopped and I thought I was rid of it, but this past week I begun experiencing it every evening again, this time in the left ear.
I’ve scoured the internet but can find almost no information. I strongly suspect anxiety/TMS but my brain is refusing to believe it

 

Hello,
I just joined this forum. I have been having the same exact type of almost throbbing blood flow that is not rhythmic in my left ear. That’s the side I get tms. It’s so bothersome most times that I have to stop what I’m doing until it passes. I have mentioned it to my tms team and they tried to adjust the dose. But that hasn’t helped. Sorry you are going thru this. I can completely relate to this odd disturbing sound/sensation/feeling.

 

If this helps you, I have this symptom from time to time. First time was really frightening, cannot describe the horror and madness. Gradually, as I got familiar with the method of ignoring the symptoms and made changes generally in life - and exercise - it would come rarely. I have noticed that it comes after days ( or hours..) of tension and pressure.
Don't have a remedy. Try to relax and if lying in bed, I try not to have the ears on the pillow, because it gets more annoying.
Good luck!