# Why do I feel and hear my heart pounding in my \*left\* ear? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188 "2004-12-05T06:46:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188/1 "2004-12-05T06:46:34Z")
There’s nothing much wrong with my heart. I’ve had check-ups. Just some irregularities. How come my heart makes so much noise, particulary in my left ear? Nothing in the other ear. Not a _fast_ heartbeat. Just LOUD. I’ve googled for it, can’t find it and it drives me bonkers. Especially when it’s quiet around. [like in the middle of the night] Thankee. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188/2 "2004-12-05T06:49:56Z")
> [@gum](#): > > There’s nothing much wrong with my heart. I’ve had check-ups. Just some irregularities. > > How come my heart makes so much noise, particulary in my left ear? Nothing in the other ear. > > Not a _fast_ heartbeat. Just LOUD. > > I’ve googled for it, can’t find it and it drives me bonkers. Especially when it’s quiet around. [like in the middle of the night] > > Thankee. Blood flows past the eardrum. It picks up the vibrations as sound and you hear this. This is quite normal for many. While during the day I am usually don’t notice the sound of my heartbeat in my ears, when I go to bed if I pay attention it is obvious. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188/3 "2004-12-05T07:06:30Z")
For some reason, this happens to me only after I’ve eaten food containing a lot of salt and msg. Could it be related to blood pressure? ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188/4 "2004-12-05T07:26:37Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > For some reason, this happens to me only after I’ve eaten food containing a lot of salt and msg. Could it be related to blood pressure? Yes. Ask a doctor about this. ---
**Author:** ![J\_Kallick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c4cdca/32.png) [@J\_Kallick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Kallick)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188/5 "2004-12-05T07:54:02Z")
My brother had this problem for a while, when he was around 15 or so. It started out of the blue, and it drove him nuts-- he had trouble concentrating on schoolwork and his grades dropped, he had to listen to the radio to fall asleep, etc. He went to a few doctors and they told him that there’s a natural insulation in the ears to block your heartbeat and other “body function” sounds. His blood pressure, cholesterol, salt, etc. were all normal, and they couldn’t really do anything for it. AFAIK, it eventually went away by itself. I know that’s not helpful, but it’s not necessarily permanent anyway. I think they referred to it as a form of tinnitus (sp?) but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188/6 "2004-12-05T15:56:36Z")
**rfgdxm** , You mean to say my blood \*doesn’t \* flow past my _right_ eardrum? :eek: 😉 **panache45** , AFAIK my bloodpressure is okay, but I’ll watch what happens when I eat salty foods. **J\_Kallick** , I’ve heard of tinnitus. It’s a pain in the …ahem…ear. What I find baffling is that it’s just in ONE ear. You think I ought to do the van Gogh thing? 😉 Thanks all. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188/7 "2004-12-06T22:34:31Z")
Hydrops. Check out hydrops. Maybe you have that. It’s specific to one or the other or both ears, and it gets worse with more salt intake. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-feel-and-hear-my-heart-pounding-in-my-left-ear/278188/8 "2004-12-06T22:41:17Z")
> [@gum](#): > > **rfgdxm** , You mean to say my blood \*doesn’t \* flow past my _right_ eardrum? :eek: > 😉 It does, but maybe not in a way that would be audible like in your left ear.