Here’s what hearing a ‘heartbeat’ in your ears at night could mean for your health

It could mean something “sinister”

While you might find it easy to brush off, it could be a serious health warning that needs medical attention as soon as possible, doctors say.

If you hear a certain sound in your ear, this could mean a “sinister” condition that needs fixing.

Some people can experience a whooshing sound in their ears because of pulsatile tinnitus (PT), which is a rare condition. And this sound often matches up with their heartbeat.

And PT sufferers, just like the more common form of tinnitus, can vary in how severe the problem is.

For some, it’s mildly annoying whilst others find it so “intense and debilitating” they cannot sleep or concentrate on daily tasks.

People who suffer from it often report the sound getting faster when their heart rate increases or quietening down when their heart is pumping slower, which means it’s linked to your heartbeat.

However, keep in mind that it can often be the small but clear alarm for more serious medical issues like aneurysms and tumours.

The condition was explained by Dr Ahmed, a British GP, who says that “something you definitely need to bring up with your doctor”.

Most medics will carry out tests to determine what's causing the issue, the doctor added.

“It's down to a changing blood flow in the small blood vessels inside your ear. We may also refer you for a hearing test, and most people will also need some further investigations”, Dr Ahmed said.

PT is just a symptom of another related medical problem, more often than not.

It can often be explained by activities or conditions that directly impact your blood flow, such as exercise, high blood pressure, pregnancy, an overactive thyroid or anaemia.

However, it can warn about more serious conditions.

Dr Ahmed added: “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). 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.”

But before you start to panic, Dr Ahmed says it is important to note that “most tumours associated with PT are benign.”

“Most of the time, [these causes are] benign and nothing to worry about, but it's definitely something you want to get checked out - especially if it is something new or is getting worse”, he added.

Other factors that can cause Pulsatile tinnitus include: venous sinus stenosis, dural arteriovenous fistula, heart disease, diseases that affect your veins and arteries, local tumors, non-closure of fetal stapedial artery, atherosclerosis, idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Treatment typically involves medication or surgery to repair a blood vessel.

But according to doctors, playing white noise can help make the sound less noticeable.

You can also wear sound generators to create a constant background noise to distract you. Tinnitus retraining is how you can also find help in tuning out the tinnitus.