Does MRI Create or Exacerbate Tinnitus Due to Nerve Resonance?

Hello,

I am wondering if MRI's could create tinnitus or exacerbate tinnitus due to the magnetic resonance of the nerves in the ear - not due to the decibel level. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

Keith

 

I doubt it.

 

I did the MRI and it did not affect my tinnitus.

 

Just wondering. I have heard that tinnitus can be caused by damage of the auditory nerves that are "hair-like". Loud noise can damage the configuration of these hair-like structures. And so I wonder if Magnetic Resonance can do the same thing.

 

We know that the strong magnetic fields created in an MRI test cause all of the protons in the hydrogen atoms of the patient's body to spin into and then out of magnetic alignment. So I'm wondering if this action could somehow disrupt the auditory nerves in such a way as to cause tinnitus. Any thoughts?

 

MRI's are quite loud, so the tinnitus would be from that, and not magnetic damage to anything.

https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-09/silent-mri

 

Legit question, but I don't think so.

I've never heard of MRIs affecting cells that way...
What I'd be more concerned about is damaging your hair cells due to the sound of the MRI machine. Some can be pretty loud.

I've had one a couple of years ago and it didn't seem to have affected my hearing or T. And that was without any ear protection. But YMMV, as there is a large variation of devices and individuals.

 

I guess that if the magnetic resonance affected the hair structures in that way we'd be hearing about this all the time. So the biggest risk is probably from the noise. Thanks for the thoughts!

 

https://www.healthimaging.com/topic...ary-hearing-impairment-despite-ear-protection

https://radiology.duke.edu/wp-conte...aring-Protection-During-MRI-Exams-2.12.15.pdf

Yes, the risk of an MRI is from the noise. If you need an MRI, inquire- in advance- about the hearing protection setup, and if you can bring your own earplugs, and ear muffs, or what they provide. Use both if at all possible, and don't rely just on their headphones which can be inadequate as some users found out the hard way.

 

I have wondered this. rTMS "repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation" was seen as a possibility for tinnitus treatment, and there was a member here who got catastrophic tinnitus from rTMS. I bet it's more likely the noise level than anything else.

 

Thank you.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4540251/

 

I have an MRI next Thursday and was planning on bringing foam earplugs and earmuffs. The earmuffs I have are noise-cancelling 23 dB. Should that suffice?

My tinnitus is already screaming so don't want to make it worse and have some hyperacusis I believe too. So a bit nervous about it but needs to be done. It will be a wide bore MRI since I am a bit claustrophobic.

 

MRI scans are loud, so they can cause or worsen tinnitus. Make sure your foam earplugs are well inserted and make sure the earmuffs is a model that is allowed. Metal parts is a no-no, so you may have to buy special ones. If so, I would advise to postpone the scan until you have bought an allowed model. You may also want to postpone the scan until you have found a way to get it done with one of the more quiet MRI scanners. (Do a search here on Tinnitus Talk for more info.)

Whatever the reason for your MRI is, it better not be your tinnitus and hyperacusis.