What does pulsatile tinnitus sound like?
This form of tinnitus can be heard as several characteristic sounds including a lower pitched thumping or booming, as well as a rougher blowing sound which is coincidental with respiration, or as a clicking, higher pitched rhythmic sensation. Finally there may be single, rhythmic beats, or multiple biphasic beats (like the clip-clop of the horse), or a swishing, swooshing sound. A rapid clicking sensation may be due to the contractions of the middle ear and palatal muscles. Low humming tinnitus that is inaudible to the examiner may be due to venous blood flow or associated with Meniere’s disease when accompanied by vertigo and fluctuating hearing loss. Objective tinnitus that is strongly associated with the timing of the heart beat is most likely the product of a blood vessel malformation of the arteries and veins of the head or neck area. These blood vessels are located adjacent to the ear on the surface of the head or just inside the head. These cases require special imaging techniqu
