By Dawn Noble, Tend Customer & Pulsatile Tinnitus Advocate
When you first hear a sound in your ears that no one else can hear, you brush it off. Maybe it's wax. Maybe it's stress. It'll pass.
But what if it doesn’t?
That was my experience in late 2019. It started as a low, pulsing whoosh—like the sea trapped in a shell—echoing in both ears. Not just occasionally. Every second. Every day. Every night.
I thought I had tinnitus. But the sound didn’t just ring—it pulsed with my heartbeat. That’s when I learned about pulsatile tinnitus, a rare and poorly understood condition that very few people—even doctors—seem to know much about.
What Is Pulsatile Tinnitus?
Pulsatile tinnitus isn’t your typical ringing in the ears. It’s a rhythmic pulsing or whooshing that matches your heartbeat, often caused by changes in blood flow near the ear. It can be linked to a wide range of underlying factors: vascular abnormalities, high blood pressure, and in some cases, no obvious cause at all.
In my case, multiple scans showed everything was "normal." I was told—like many others—“you just have to live with it.”
But if you’ve ever experienced it, you’ll understand why that’s not good enough.
Living in a Loop of Noise
The hardest part isn’t even the sound itself. It’s the silence around it—the lack of answers, the dismissal, the endless Googling that only fuels more fear.
Lockdown made everything worse. There were no appointments, no specialists to see, no easy ways to even talk about it. At night, when the world quiets down, my symptoms roar back. Sleep—one of the most crucial things for health—became one of the hardest to hold onto.
I tried everything I could to calm it. Soundscapes through the Calm app. Meditation with Jay Shetty in the mornings. A huge focus on mindfulness, breathwork, and staying grounded when I felt overwhelmed.
Managing the Condition: What Actually Helped
There’s no “cure,” at least not for me. But what helped was piecing together small, meaningful practices that collectively made a difference:
🧘 Mindfulness & Meditation – Slowing my mind helped slow the symptoms. I learned to become present with the noise instead of fighting it.
🎧 Sleep Support – Calm app soundscapes and sleep stories now help me drift off more peacefully. I never go to bed in silence.
🚶 Slower, Calmer Living – I shifted my lifestyle. Less stress, more walking, more time doing things I love. That made everything feel more manageable.
🥦 Diet – I’ve been mindful of what I eat for decades: no processed food, home cooking, minimal sugar, lots of whole foods. I believe strongly that what we eat shapes how we feel. I use the Yuka app to scan food and check the ingredients and health score.
Where Tend Came In
I wasn’t looking for a new device. But when my therapist, Barbara, used Tend during a treatment session—something clicked.
I had ongoing pain in my shoulder from an old surgery, and Tend’s focused vibration helped release deep tension in the neck and upper back. It felt like relief I hadn’t experienced in a long time. But more importantly, it brought calm.
I now use Tend around the base of my neck and shoulders, where stress and tension build up most. I don’t use it too close to the ears (everyone’s sensitivity is different), but this small, gentle tool has become a big part of how I manage the stress that fuels my condition.
It’s not a “cure,” but it helps me create space. Space to rest. Space to feel in control again. And when you’re dealing with something 24/7, that space matters more than you can imagine.
For Anyone Just Starting Their Journey
If you’re just discovering pulsatile tinnitus, here’s what I wish someone told me:
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You’re not imagining it.
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You are not alone.
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You do not have to simply “get on with it.”
Start small. Create calm. Ask questions. Try things. And remember—healing doesn’t always mean curing. Sometimes it means learning how to live better, even with the noise.
Final Thoughts
Pulsatile tinnitus is still in the shadows. Too few people understand it. But by talking about it—honestly, openly—we can make others feel seen. We can open up conversations, shift perspectives, and build better tools for support.
Tend became part of my routine not because it “fixed” me, but because it supported me. It helped me relax, ease muscle tension, and reclaim a sense of peace in my body.
If that’s something you’re looking for, I hope this helps.