Why you hear your heartbeat when you lie on your pillow at night and when to be concerned

Have you ever jumped into bed after a long day, rolled onto your side and noticed rhythmic thudding noise as you're trying to drift off?

Well you wouldn't be the only one - but why does this noise happen and is it anything to be concerned about?

Why can you hear your heartbeat when lying on your side?

The first thing to note about hearing your pulse while lying on your side is that it's totally normal.

Explaining the phenomena in a recent TikTok video is US surgeon Dr Anthony Youn, who likened the noise to the bass being turned up 'too loud' in your pillow, he said: "If, every once in a while, you're lying on your side and you hear your heart beating, it's most likely your carotid artery basically sitting against your pillow."

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The carotid arteries are one of the heart's major blood vessels which sit on either side of our neck and pass by the inside of our ears. They are responsible for supplying blood to our head, face and neck.

When you lie on your side the carotid artery is basically against your pillow, meaning the thudding noise is just your body doing its job in keeping you alive and well.

So completely normal and nothing to worry about, right?

Should I be concerned about hearing my heartbeat in my ears?

Dr Youn goes on to explain that being able to hear your heartbeat all the time while lying on your side or when standing up could be a sign of a condition called pulsatile tinnitus.

According to Tinnitus UK, pulsatile tinnitus is a when a 'rhythmical noise' can be heard in either the head, ears or both regions which typically matches your heartbeat.

Dr Youn adds that pulsatile tinnitus is 'usually benign, there are some potentially concerning causes, so it’s best to see your doctor'.

The charity states that pulsatile tinnitus can be caused by a number of things, typically a change of blood flow in the vessels surrounding the ears. This can be caused by anything from tumours of the head and neck, elevated blood pressure as well as pregnancy, anaemia and hyperthyroidism.

Harvard Health states that 'most of the time, pulsatile tinnitus is nothing to worry about'. However if you find yourself particularly concerned about your symptoms there's nothing wrong in getting checked out by your GP.