Blood makes noise

So, early last week while I was off work I came down with a headcold. It has mostly gone away and now I just have a little congestion and light coughing, but I think its just moved into my throat which has been experiencing on-and-off-but-increasing pain. Anyway, a few days ago I was trying to blow my nose and the pressure … I don’t know … it clogged my left ear, I guess. Now I have that feeling that I need to “pop” my ear, like from a change in air pressure, but … even in the rare instance that I can successfully “pop” it open, it closes back up again pretty quickly. While it is “closed”, I can still hear, but mostly just internal sounds. like, my own talking is amplified in the left side of my head, and I know what my chewing sounds like, and … I can ignore most of that.

What’s getting to me is the blood. I can hear the blood pumping through my ear. Blood makes noise. It’s not incredibly loud, but it’s always there, off to the side. About as loud as if you had your head pressed to someone’s chest, I think. Except, it’s my own heartbeat, and it’s coming from my ear.