Experts warn if you can hear 'heartbeat' in your ear it could be sign of deadly condition
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
An expert has issued a stark warning about a certain symptom you might experience if you have potentially life-threatening condition.
At some point in your life, it's likely you'll have experienced ringing ears. Whether that's from the aftermath of listening to loud music at rock concert or because your sibling slapped you across the side of the face again, it's a fairly common thing to experience.
But there could be more sinister causes for the funny noise in your ear that you should be aware of.
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On TikTok, a woman shared a video where she discussed experiencing a 'whooshing' noise in her ear and her doctor suggested it could be an aneurysm.
Stitching the video, Dr Ahmed Abd Elbary weighed in on the matter.
"If you have got this, it is something you should definitely bring up with your doctor," he warned.
Defining what he condition is if you hear a pulsing sound in your ear, he said it's something known as Pulsatile Tinnitus (PT).
As per PennMedicine, people with this 'often hear rhythmic thumping, whooshing or throbbing in one or both ears'.
It goes on to explain: "Pulsatile tinnitus differs from the more common, constant form of tinnitus. While even pulsatile tinnitus is often benign, it is more likely to have an identifiable source and may be the first sign of a more serious underlying condition."
Elsewhere, Dr Ahmed said the pulsing is 'usually from a change in blood flow or a change in awareness of the blood flow of the small blood vessels inside your ear'.
Things that might cause a change in blood flow include severe exercise, pregnancy, overactive thyroid, or anaemia.
It could be something more serious, however.
"Sometimes, your blood flow can become more turbulent, and the most common causes for this are things like aneurysms and atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries)," he shared.
But it could also be down to a tumour. Dr Ahmed said: "You can also get something called localised increased blood flow which means a particular blood vessel has an increased supply to it. This most often is down to a tumour."
While tumours can be cancerous, Dr Ahmed said that most tumours associated with PT are benign.
Apparently, PT will often go away on its own, but people with it are urged to seek medical attention so that a doctor can try and determine its cause and whether further investigation is needed.