About Eric P. Wilkinson, MD Expertise I am a board-certified otolaryngologist with additional subspecialty training in otology, neurotology, and skull base surgery. This is the subspecialty of otolaryngology that involves the ear, hearing, balance organs, the facial nerve, and surgery of the skull base including surgery for acoustic neuroma and other benign and malignant tumors of the base of the skull.
Experience Medical school, residency in otolaryngology, fellowship in otology/neurotology/skull base surgery
Organizations American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
North American Skull Base Society
American Neurotology Society
Publications Laryngoscope Otology and Neurotology
Education/Credentials MD Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 2001
Otolaryngology Residency, University of Iowa Department of Otolaryngology, Iowa City, IA
Otology/Neurotology Fellowship, House Ear Clinic, Los Angeles, CA
Expert: Eric P. Wilkinson, MD Date: 1/16/2007 Subject: maddening noise inner ear
Question I suffer almost 24/7 from the sound of my pulse in my right ear. This condition has seen me ready to jump to my demise off cliffs close to home but family constantly counsel me that soon someone will get a handle on it. can you??
Answer It sounds as though you have pulsatile tinnitus. This can be caused by a number of problems, including things as simple as fluid behind the eardrum to things as serious as middle ear vascular tumors to an arteriovenous dural malformation of the brain.
I would recommend that your ear be examined by an ear, nose and throat specialist and that you have an audiogram. If something is seen behind your eardrum, you should have a CT scan of your ear bones to evaluate the mass. If they don't see anything, they may want to order an MRI with MRA sequence (MR angiogram) to look for a malformed blood vessel mass or arteriovenous connection.
