Question: Hi. I am 47 years old and had my thyroid removed nearly 10 years ago due to a Hurthle Cell Neoplasm and am currently on Synthroid. In my twenties I suffered from PCOS and endometriosis. I have many siblings, all of whom are thin. I have handled stress throughout my life with food, so I am the only person in my large family who is not thin. I weigh 198 lbs but my percentage of body fat is very high, I carry my weight around my middle, I have a fatty liver and because I am a graphic designer, work for long hours in a seated position. I have a pretty sedentary lifestyle. I also have high cholesterol. All that being said, I have excellent blood pressure... often 90/60 and a low resting pulse rate that people often ask if I'm an athlete (which I most definitely am not), my heart has checked out perfectly, I have had cardiac scoring done with a score of 0, I have had clear cardiac stress tests and have had clear carotid ultrasounds. I was diagnosed with cervical spinal degenerative changes last year. All sinus cavities were completely occluded severely four years ago and I had successful sinus surgery. In XXXXXXX of 2015, I started experiencing a whooshing in both ears upon standing from a seated position or upon getting out of my car from driving. It does not occur when I get up from laying down. The whooshing starts about 15-30 seconds after standing, intensifies over the next minute or two and then disappears. It sounds like the whooshing sound of putting a seashell to your ear or cupping your ear and uncupping over and over again to the beat of my pulse. There is no pain associated with this at all, but I stop moving and stand still until the whooshing or whirring stops. It actually feels like my head is suddenly fuller when this occurs, which made me think possibly of sinuses. It scares me and makes me think I am going to have a stroke. Years ago, I had numbness and tingling in my hands and had successful carpal tunnel surgery in my right hand. My left was not as severe and eventually disappeared on its own. I have started noticing tingling in my left hand off and on and am wondering if the carpal tunnel has returned or if it is something more. The tingling does seem slightly different than that I felt with carpal tunnel. Also, my vision has been a bit blurrier, but after seeing an optometrist, he did extensive testing and didn't see anything concerning and said if was just age related and was even significant enough to require glasses although I would benefit from them. I recently had a massage and the therapist said my back was twisted with the left side being slightly higher than the right carrying tension in my neck and that twisting was also contributing to some numbness in my outside upper left thigh that comes and goes if I'm standing too long. Your thoughts on all of this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for your thorough reply. I do have a couple of additional questions based on your answers. My whooshing does match my heartbeat and only occurs when I stand after sitting or driving, never after laying down, and only lasts a minute or two with no pain but with what feels like increased pressure in my head. Is Pulsatile or Vascular tinnitus concerning? Is it ever dangerous or associated with stroke? (stroke just scares me especially with my excess weight primarily in my abdomen, high cholesterol that is not currently being treated with medication and that I have gained at least 20 additional pounds in the past year, tingling in my left hand and occasional numbness in left thigh). In fact, I also thought maybe all of this might be the beginning stages of type II diabetes and was thinking of seeing if they could test for that. What causes pulsatile or vascular tinnitus and how is it treated and can it be cured? Is it something typically progressive or worsening? Does any of this seem to be of immediate critical concern to you?