Author Topic: Heartbeat  (Read 6431 times)

Rivergirl

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Heartbeat
« on: September 21, 2008, 07:10:31 pm »
I was wondering if this symptom of hearing my heart in my AN side is common to ANer's? It drives me crazy when I lay down and now I hear it during the day.  I always have pressure and a swish in the AN side but the heartbeat is annoying. I also think along with this my hearing is getting worse in the AN side.  Anyone know anything about this symptom? If it is a symptom? Thanks
Diagnosed 6/2008
Right AN 2cmx8x9
Sub-Occipital at Mass General with Martusa and McKenna on 5/31/11
Right SSD, very little taste
I think I will make it!

yardtick

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2008, 08:45:00 pm »
Bingo, I too hear my heartbeat and I do agree at times it can really drive me nuts.  I have to flip over on my good ear.  If I've been really busy and I'm exhausted it seems worse.  Should be interesting to see how many of us experience this symptom.

Anne Marie
Sept 8/06 Translab
Post surgical headaches, hemifacial spasms and a scar neuroma. 
Our we having fun YET!!! 
Watch & Wait for more fun & games

thornapple

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2008, 08:21:38 pm »
I do...only everything I hear also goes "wow wow wow wow wow wow" ad nauseum. When not wearing a hearing aid, I wear an earplug.

GRACE1

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2008, 11:16:04 am »
I have a good friend who has had tinnitus for years.  She also hears her heartbeat.  This is called pulsatile tinnitus .  She said she had been tested for an AN and that she does not have one, but I am afraid that she does have an AN.   

I hear low-souding hissing-type noises, but I am not aware of them very often - or either I have had them so long I can tune them out. 
Diagnosed 7/06: AN - right side: 1.3cm in transverse dimension, 6mm in AP dimension, and 6mm in cephalocaudal dimension.
GK 12/06- Wake Forest Univ Baptist Med Ctr
MRI 5/07- Some necrosis;  Now SSD
MRI 12/08- AN size has reduced 50%
MRI 12/11- AN stable (unchanged from 12/08)
Next MRI: 12/16

tenai98

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2008, 11:30:06 am »
Mine sound like the rush of a stream which is pretty calming.....the odd time I will get a loud ring but only for a few seconds at best.

JO
14mmX11mmX11mm left ear
TRANSLAB 04/07/09 2cms at time of surgery
Dr. Benoit and Schramm, Ottawa Civic Campus
SSD ,some facial numbness
Baha surgery sept 22/09
residual tumor 13mmX7mmX8mm
2016 new growth.  25mmX21mmX22mm
cyberknife on June 7

ppearl214

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2008, 11:47:22 am »
Have had pulsative tinnitus for many years... I notice it when I'm highly stressed and at night.  For me, doesn't happen too often, but as noted..... it is a very weird feeling.

Most of mine is monotone, high pitched. Have had the "crickets" once (Captn Deb told me about the "crickets") and that was very weird.

Phyl
"Gentlemen, I wash my hands of this weirdness", Capt Jack Sparrow - Davy Jones Locker, "Pirates of the Carribbean - At World's End"

kenneth_k

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #6 on: September 24, 2008, 12:10:37 pm »
I can relate to the feeling that any strange or unexpected sound is annoying. I can also hear my heartbeat, but that is in the good ear during physical exercises. I still try to take a run once in a while to exercise my balance, eventhough it is not as good as it used to be. Makes me wonder if there is a problem with the blood supply in the AN affected ear, or simply because the hearing is getting worse. Well, if you think it is a symptom, it might be so. I think if you ask 10 doctors, at least 9 of them won't be able to explain your symptom. ;)

Best regards, Kenneth

mimoore

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2008, 06:56:32 am »
I hear yah, well only in one ear. hehe Tinnitus, heartbeat yep I got it too. It hardly seems fair I am SSD. When I get a hearing aid does it drown out some of the unwanted noises?
Michelle  ;D
Retrosigmond surgery on June 4th, 2008 for an AN. 100% hearing loss and facial paralysis (was not prepared for facial paralysis). Size: 2.3 cm, 2.1 cm, 1.8 cm. some tumour remains along facial nerve. Pray for no regrowth. Misdiagnosed for 10 yrs.

Mickey

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2008, 10:40:41 am »
Yea!  I`ve had tinnitus for half my life 30 years. This neuromonics thing that I`ve been doing lately has proved to be comforting. Although not a cure just seems to tone it down some and is available when the noise gets out of control. It`s just a part of me I guess, Mickey

Rivergirl

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2008, 07:13:37 pm »
Thanks for the feedback on the pulsative tinnitus at least it is common in Aners and has a name too.  I am getting tired of watching and waiting and feeling, 4 more weeks till the next MRI, it sure feels like something more is brewing, time will tell. thanks all.
Diagnosed 6/2008
Right AN 2cmx8x9
Sub-Occipital at Mass General with Martusa and McKenna on 5/31/11
Right SSD, very little taste
I think I will make it!

mema

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2008, 03:40:25 pm »
Rivergirl,


When I lie on my left side(AN side) at night I feel my heart beat.  Its drives me crazy,  but the feeling is like my heartbeat is pulsating.  I don't see anything, just feel it.  Its very weird.  So I have to turn on my good side and you guessed it, now I can't hear the TV.
6mm x 8mm left AN FSR 26 treatments Nov.-Dec.2005
MD Anderson Orlando, Fl.

Rivergirl

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2008, 09:01:19 pm »
Mema, that is exactly it, for the longest time I thought I had something wrong with my heart, the doctor even gave me Ativan cause I said I couldn't stand hearing my heart at night, all before my diagnosis when I was still in abyss and still the Dr. never tried to find out what was up, just gave me a pill.
Diagnosed 6/2008
Right AN 2cmx8x9
Sub-Occipital at Mass General with Martusa and McKenna on 5/31/11
Right SSD, very little taste
I think I will make it!

Tumbleweed

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2008, 02:20:16 am »
In the two weeks leading up to the onset of severe, initial AN-related symptoms (horrible vertigo, nausea, oscillopsia, etc.) 8 years ago, I heard my heartbeat in the ear on my AN side, increasingly loudly with each passing day. This was actually a whooshing sound -- like pulsing water in a pipe -- but was synchronous with my pulse rate and timing. It was obviously my hearing my heartbeat in the affected ear. This symptom went away after a few weeks, but came back again in the six-month period leading up to my CK treatment 2-1/2 months ago. As the scheduled time for my treatment approached, it got louder and became more frequent.

In my research, I've learned that some doctors theorize this form of pulsatile tinnitus is caused by the tumor pressing up against an artery in the internal auditory canal.

Interestingly (and thankfully), I very rarely hear my heartbeat in my ear anymore since receiving CK treatment. I have heard it at very low volume a few times late at night when I'm lying down and very tired. But my pulsatile tinnitus (as well as my high-pitched tinnitus) have improved quite dramatically since getting CK. It's my understanding that this is not a usual outcome or to be expected. I guess I'm lucky in this regard.

Best wishes,
Tumbleweed
L. AN 18x12x9 mm @ diagnosis, 11/07
21x13x11 mm @ CK treatment 7/11/08 (Drs. Chang & Gibbs, Stanford)
21x15x13 mm in 12/08 (5 months post-CK), widespread necrosis, swelling
12x9x6 mm, Nov. 2017; shrank ~78% since treatment!
W&W on stable 6mm hypoglossal tumor found 12/08

Rivergirl

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2008, 07:28:00 pm »
Very interesting Tumbleweed, I also have an unusually low pulse around 46 for which the MD's cannot figure, I wonder if somehow it is all inter-related.  Maybe I just need it to be gone so I can figure what is left to figure what is normal. Thanks for your comments.
Diagnosed 6/2008
Right AN 2cmx8x9
Sub-Occipital at Mass General with Martusa and McKenna on 5/31/11
Right SSD, very little taste
I think I will make it!

Tumbleweed

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Re: Heartbeat
« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2008, 11:39:13 pm »
I also have an unusually low pulse around 46 for which the MD's cannot figure

Many years ago, I had a very slow pulse in the 40s, too. Doctors couldn't figure out the cause. It took me awhile to solve the mystery, but I finally did. The slow pulse rate was caused by a calcium defiency -- but that wasn't the root cause of the problem.

The root cause of the problem was that my diet was deficient in vitamin B6, pyridoxine hydrochloride. Pyridoxine hydrochloride is the building block of hydrochloric acid. Because I was low in pyridoxine hydrochloride, my stomach wasn't producing enough hydrochloric acid to digest calcium (which requires an acid stomach environment to be digested and assimilated). Therefore, even though my diet had sufficient calcium, I wasn't absorbing it and developed a secondary calcium deficiency. One of the symptoms of calcium deficiency is slow pulse rate, although obviously there can be other causes.

I would get a blood test to see if you are low in calcium, especially if other symptoms support a possible calcium deficiency. For example, you may find that your muscles tend to cramp easily. Other symptoms of calcium deficiency are joint pains, heart palpitations,insomnia, and accelerated tooth decay.

One other thing: eating a lot of sweets (even natural sweets like honey) and carbs increases your need for B vitamins, including B6. So your diet may have sufficient amounts of B complex vitamins for someone who eats a balanced diet, but if you're a sweetaholic you are automatically increasing the amount of B6 (and the other B vitamins) you need to eat beyond the norm in order to avoid developing a deficiency.

Being super-athletic also lowers the pulse rate, but 46 seems abnormally low.

Best wishes,
Tumbleweed
L. AN 18x12x9 mm @ diagnosis, 11/07
21x13x11 mm @ CK treatment 7/11/08 (Drs. Chang & Gibbs, Stanford)
21x15x13 mm in 12/08 (5 months post-CK), widespread necrosis, swelling
12x9x6 mm, Nov. 2017; shrank ~78% since treatment!
W&W on stable 6mm hypoglossal tumor found 12/08