Hi Kim,
  Yes, I can feel the surge you are talking about.  But of course since I am unilateral I only feel it on the left side!  Actually what I really feel is when my heart is beating fast and hard.  I HEAR it very loudly in my left ear. 
   But I've also found that I can hear it as if the volume has been turned up, and not always when I'm excited or when the adrenalin is rushing.  I will hear it when I am calm.  While still calm, in fact I won't move at all, I can concentrate and within a few second the drumming will subside. 
   I recently had a bout of vertigo that lasted about two weeks.  By the time I went to the specialist the dizziness was gone, but they did all the tests anyway, including a series of hearing tests.  When I told the specialist about the surgery and the hearing of my heart beat.  She said it was amazing we all didn't hear it on a regular basis.  Since the temporal artery is so close to the ear canal.  I figure since the artery has probably grown to meet the larger blood flow requirements feeding the MCA it is simply larger, louder and closer to my ear. 
    Carol