Mysterious Whooshing in Left Ear?

Hello, Thal Pals!

I'm a newbie, with a question and a hypothesis. The question is this: Has anyone experienced a whooshing noise in one or both ears that seems to be in rhythm with your heartbeat? 

Since 2006, I've experienced a whooshing noise in my left ear, especially noticable when I'm meditating, and at night when all is quiet.  Despite my doctor's diagnosis of "pulsatile tinnitus," I believe that what I've been hearing is my actual pulse, and not a noise fabricated by my brain.

Now, for my hypothesis:  I believe this whooshing may be caused by intermittent high blood pressure, caused in turn by the hypoxia of anemia, combined with effects of mild hyperventilation, or too much carbon dioxide in the blood, from inadvertent shallow breathing. 

I say this because I noticed that, after awakening at 2 a.m. this morning, deep breathing through my diaphragm made the whooshing noise disappear.  And as long as I continued to breathe deeply, allowing my abdomen to rise and fall, my pulse was silent.  When I experimented by purposely holding my breath, the whooshing noise returned.

So I meditated for a couple of hours on the great compassion mantra, while using this deep breathing technique, before falling back to sleep.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? 

Looking forward to your thoughts,
--Clare MacQueen  :-)

Dear Clare,

I have struggled with the same problem since December.  I hear a whooshing sound in my ear that coincides with my pulse -and it is also more prominent in my left ear. I am also a thal minor and my hemoglobin is usually between 105 - 116. 

I find that neck massage does help and that drinking caffeine makes it worse.

Sharmin

I hear it sometimes.

I have often suggested breathing techniques be used by thals to help optimize their oxygen intake. Learning to breathe deeply and slowly as Clare describes can also help to deal with anxiety.
So, when you breathe very deeply through the nose, you can observe that air is filling your sinuses. So, is the relief from the whooshing (listed as a symptom of tinnitus) from the opposing pressure the air causes in the sinuses, the increase in oxygen locally, or a combination of the two?

I had the exact same thing happen to me too. My doctor said that low hemoglobing or iron can cause that whooshing sound in the ear. After my levels came up, the sound went away. I feel relieved knowing I am not the only one that has happened to.

i have it as well. it get's worse after a large meal or heavy sodium intake (more volume of blood), or when blood pressure goes up. it is the sound of blood rushing after each hearbeat and my theory is that it's a combination of the expanded facial bones/blood volume/hypoxia/etc that causes the sound to be picked up by the ear.

I've had this too periodically. Never considered it to be related to thal. I'll take notice of my state of being.