Rushing fluid sound in back of neck by base of skull

[supersketch]

I have a 7mm mca aneurysm and I am waiting for my second meeting with a neurosurgeon. Over the last six weeks I have had a fluid rushing sound in the back of my neck at the base of my skull. No vision changes, no headache at that time just a sound I hear that makes me nervous and lasts for between 1 and 3 seconds. I have also been getting headaches for about three weeks now and have never had headaches in my life but did recently start taking 10 mg of Lexapro. I am 26 years old and have no symptoms except for the headaches. They are sometimes extremely short and painfull and some are long and dull. Should I see someone before the 30th which is my next appt. or wait. The aneurysm was found after I had a splitting headache while at work that only lasted about 30 seconds and that was 2 days after I started the Lexapro so the aneurysm may not even be causing the symptoms. What questions should I ask this neurosurgeon that I am going to see. I was referred to him after another neurosurgeon said that coil embolization is something I should look into brfore a clipping. I would greatly appreciate any help you can give on this subject.

[J_C]

I have always had that too and was interested to see your description. It really is like a rushing sound/feeling at the back of the neck, unaccompanied by any other symptom. I would say it usually occurs when I am lying down. Anyone out there know something about this?

[misty1105]

I have that happen to me alot and is usually when Im laying down. I haven't really thought much about it untill lateley I have been having headaches alot, but I also have been taking prozac off and on so I always thought the headaches were related to the deppression. There is also days when I feel very dizzy and disoriented and extemely tired. Im not sure if the noise is related to any of my other problems, but it  good to know there are other people who have had this happen also. I thought i was crazy.

[brandx]

I'm 47, 6'5" and 250 lbs and I've had a headache going on two years.  

I have a similar problem....  when sleeping or laying flat, I sometimes hear fluid squirting noises at the base of my skull.  It last several seconds and doesn't hurt inmitially.  I typically get (hours later) a worsenening dull headache at the back of my skull that works its way down my neck to between my shoulder blades. My vision starts acting up and when it is real bad is accompanied by numbness on the left side of my face and slurred speech.  Seen several doctors, which diagnosed it from everything from ear infection (becaue of fluid sounds??) to parasites in my stool (test came back negative but the doctor saw several cases of parasites that day).  I've seen two neorologists.  The first one did a lumbar puncture and an MRI and diagnosed me with psuedo tumer cerebri.  He thought the fluid sounds were caused by CFS (??) fluid rushing past a narrow areas at the base of the skull.  The second one Dr. diagnosed it as depression and/or tension headaches--she told me a story about beating hooves, zebras, and horses..."always think horses" she said!!    In short, she thought the PTC diagnosis a long shot.  I told her that after working in the yard for an hour of so I would get the shakes/tremors and feel weak and have a bad headache.  She told me about the horses and zebras again and told me to drink more fluids.    

[beewilson]

I too have this noise in my neck but I now have what I can explain as a hollow sensation in my neck and back of skull.  I don’t know what to do as my health is dwindling.  I have been getting moving sensations under my skin, unable to walk for long periods of time without my muscles killing me.
Then I just happened to realise the soft cartilage in me right ear around my eardrum had totally gone. Also my lip has started to fade.  I am very stressed about this as nobody seems to think much of it but I feel really lousy. Also when I blow my nose in has blood in the content.

[ssar]

Wow. I have felt the sensation and heard the sound of fluid movement in my neck for several years. I usually happens soon after waking while I am still laying in bed. Then each time, a few moments later, I feel movement and hear gurgling in my stomach. When I shared this sensation with a doctor, he could barely hide his amusement.

I have experienced severe fatigue, usually following short bursts of moderate physical activity. I have experienced weakness and mild tremors in the extremities, side-to-side tremors of the eyes, aches in the neck, shoulders, and upper back, difficulty recalling nouns, and intermittent constipation.

A more sympathetic doctor has been helping me. We ruled out multiple sclerosis by MRI. We are now looking at hypothyroidism.

[elitetech]

Just curious, anyone with  the rushing fluid symptom... ever take the test for H. Pylori?

[ssar]

Update: thyroid levels ok. Blood pressure high. Started on an ACE inhibitor. Eight hours later, symptoms of weakness, mild tremors in the extremities, aches in the neck, shoulders, and upper back disappeared. I feel like I got my strength. I have been self-checking blood pressure with an Omron monitor and I average 160/105 since starting on the ACE inhibitor. The sensation and sound of fluid movement in my neck has recurred twice since then as well.

elitetech: I never got checked for H. Pylori. If I do have it, it hasn't developed into an ulcer. What kind of connection do you suppose?

[murseindallas]

ssar,

What was your BP before beginning the ACE and which one are you on?  Your BP shoud be lower than 160/105.  That is still in the Stage II HTN range.  It's great that the other symptoms have subsided, but what about your BP?

[singdontswing]

I experience the same thing. It doesn't hurt a bit. It is like I have pop-rocks lodged in the base of my skull at the connection of my spine and someone is simply pouring soda internally while it travels down it sizzles or crackels, it doesn't hurt in the least bit, but sounds far from healthy...I am very worried. I am only 20 years old, but I have a friend of 40 who has M.S. and told me of a similar experience when he was my age. I also get a very tight pain in my right arm occasionally.
Any information please e-mail me: ***@****

[jonesy78]

quick survey -- how many of you have gone in the past or presently go to a chiropractor or osteopathic physician for cervical (neck) spinal manipulation?  if so, did your symptoms begin then or shortly thereafter? if you had both of these experiences i do believe it might be a minor CSF leak after a dural tear from a cervical spinal manipulation...

[Wanjo]

I am a 57 yr. old female and about 50 pounds overweight. I was just diagnosed with a 3mm aneurysm in the central cerebral artery. I have only seen my primary care doctor and he has told me we should watch it and follow-up every 3-4 months with a CT Brain Scan.
Recently I have noticed at night my limbs, (arms and legs) feel very heavy and sluggish when I try to move them. It seems to get better if I get up. Does anyone know if this could be another symptom of my aneurysm. Also, do I need to see a neurosurgeon even though my aneurysm is small?

[sarahin]

Supersketch
I have two aneursyms and had no symptoms. There is normally a wet whoosing sound for a couple months after getting an aneursym clipped, but haven't heard of an aneursym itself causing a problem. Of course there can be different symptoms depending on what area of the brain is affected. Best of luck with getting it taken care of. I recommend writing down any questions you have for your surgeon because it is easy to get "brain freeze" when your discussing brain surgery  and forgeting what you wanted to ask.
Wanjo
I have two aneursyms- one treated and one not. From my understanding cerebal aneursyms usually aren't treated until they are slightly larger- 5 to 6 mm. I would make sure they monitor yours and look in to finding a good neurosurgeon now. There's no huge hurry, but even a year from now it might be larger. A neurosurgeon will be able to tell you at what point the aneursym should be treated and explain your options for treatment. I had one clipped and the surgery wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but recovery is slow.      

[liv9x]

I've had this whooshing/pop rock noise like many of you described in my neck since I can remember. It seems to happen when I get too hungry. I'm getting worried about it because its worse now that I'm pregnant. I'm not even sure how to bring it up to a doctor to find out what's wrong.

[DCW66]

I've had this rushing sound in the back of my neck for as long as I can remember.  I really want to get to the bottom of it and find out what it is.  I've consulted a Chiropractor and a Doctor and I get the same sideways look!

It usually happens when I'm lying in bed hungry first thing in the morning.  The best news is that my partner can hear it too!  Up till now I thought no one could hear it other than me.  

I've had the test H. Pylori and it was negative although I have previously had a stomach ulcer (now gone).

So, anyone with any information would be appreciated!

[Cath278]

Hi everyone.I really hope most of you have got the correct help by now! i have been sick over a yr now but have finally got to the bottom of it. I have IIH or Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertention.or Pseudo Tumor Cerebri. ( nothing to  do with blood pressure.)It is a very rare illness and drs really dont know a lot about it. Some of the symptems are very bad headache and the "popping sound you have discribed. You will have to see a neurologist and have a lumber puncture to confirm and some other tests to rule out. I was misdiagnoised for 9 mths and I would hate to see any body go thru that. Im just a person who has this illness not an expert. Here s hoping you are all better by now! Cath278

[Zestabelle]

I have to say that I am relieved that this is somethat that other's are experiencing, not just me. I am 24 years old.  I just decided the search for it today on the computer because because I asked other's if they hear it and they had no idea what I was talking about, so I got a little scared until I found all of this!  When I hear it, often it is when I am lying down.  It sounds like something is fizzing or flowing in the back of my neck, at the bottom of my skull.  I do not have any other symptoms that I find related to it.  It just happens, then goes away after about 5 seconds. It just feels awkward and uncomfortable because I don't know what it is.  I wish there was more of a clear answer on what exactly it is, because everyone seem's to have slightly different reasons or explanations.

[Carol in PA]

I have had fizzing at the back of my neck since I was a child.
I later developed migraines and joint pain, and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
My symptoms were consistent with Lyme Disease, and the Western Blot test showed an active infection.
Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss further.

Carol

[BackOut]

It is extremely uncommon, but for those with aneurysms, there is a phenomenon called a "Bruit" where you hear a whooshing sound.  This is typically caused by an AVM, which are usually harmless, but may be worth investigating, especially if the sound is accompanied by other symptoms.  Having had an AVM in my spinal cord, I did not experience it but have come accross this in my own research.  But, I do know firsthand how seemingly mundane symptoms can be the warning signs of something much bigger.

[Maxine326]

how many people have been in a car accident and these symptoms started after therapy?  

[ssar]

Never had neck trauma or car accident. I still get the sensation in my neck when I am lying flat on my back in bed shortly after waking. Then my stomach gurgles a bit and I start to feel hungry. This sequence is very consistent.

[sally1990]

I too hear the sound. Mine is like the sound of soda fizzing only I hear it more in my head {center ] above the eyes.Ionly seem to hear it when laying down and not consistently.I think my doctor will tell me I'm crazy. Anyone else hear it there? It scares me.

[lkcty873]

finally! I'm not the only one. I have held a stethascope to the back of my neck and made my husband sit and wait until he finally heard it. Mostly I have had the noise at night, but I found it actually gets better for a while if I go to the chiropractor. I do get bad headaches sometimes, but they don't necessarily seem related. I do get kinda quizy sometimes when I hear the noise, but I think it's just couse it freaks me out. I have alway told people that I can hear my spinal fluid moving in my neck, but I get the same stange look, especially from doctors, when I have told then. One told me "i guess your just really in tune with your body" What? I have had an MRI/CT and they say everything is normal, except my neck was straight were it should be bent. That's when I started seeing the chiropractor.

[ctak]

I have had the same sensation (sound of fluid moving in the back of my neck) for at least 2 or 3 years now. It is becoming much more frequent. It used to be once a month or so and now it is like almost every morning when I'm lying flat on my stomach shortly after waking up. The only other symptoms that I have are generally mild but increasingly frequent heartburn and occasionally the inability to burp (like some sort of blockage in my sternum area) which both probably have nothing to do with the sound in the back of my neck. I to have not gone to the doctor about the sound in my neck because it sounds crazy and I am free of any pain or other symptoms. If anyone else has any insight as to what might be causing the sound in the back of the neck I'll check this post in the future but after reading all the other comments, it doesn't sound like a doctor's visit will do much good and lacking any other symptoms, I'm not going to worry too much about it for now.

[Weaver394]

I have had the same thing for probably 5 years, it used to be very infrequent, but recently, with coupled with my diagnosis of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction (had EDT for a year), it seems to have increased.  I talked to my doctor about it, and she talked to several of her colleges, none of them ever heard about it, and my doctor said so long as there are no other symptoms it's probably not bad to just leave it.  She also mentioned the possibility that perhaps my blood vessels are just formed in such a way I can hear them.

I have a question for everyone here though, and PLEASE answer. Do you spend a lot of time on the computer or have a job which would crane your neck?  I have HORRIBLE posture and have spent probably half the waking hours of my life on a computer (that really isn't an exaggeration), so my neck is a bit weird.  Also, such rigorous computer usage has only been prevalent since the early 90s.  If my conjecture holds any ground, that would be why doctors are so puzzled about this; it could be a new condition result from our modern lives which they don't know anything about.

Please respond, I will check back frequently.

-Weaver

[Samb62]

Software engineer so yea bad posture is certainly part of my daily life, quite surprised by the amount of people with the same simptoms. Just anoyed by the lack of professional knowledge or help.  Google seems to be more help than most doctor you find around.