Poll: What Impact Did Having an MRI Have on Your Tinnitus?

I wonder what fraction of tinnitus sufferers who get an MRI end up making their tinnitus worse.

 

Didn't have an impact on mine, however caloric/cVEMP test made it permanently worse. I still suffer with severe tinnitus and severe hyperacusis.

 

Four MRIs in less than six months, no impact on my tinnitus or hearing.

 

I might be about to be offered to have an MRI to screen for cancer. I am not sure whether or not to turn it down.

 

I had two MRIs, one with no impact, the other with disastrous consequences. Always research the model of the MRI and choose the quietest machine.

 

I refused to have an MRI, because they said that for the head MRI I would be able to wear only ear plugs, and no ear muffs. Maybe to screen for the cancer you can wear double ear protection?

 

There are a number of posts on this forum where people wrote that they wore double protection, had one of the quiet models of an MRI, and still got a significant increase in their T...

 

Either I will be laughed out of the specialist's office, or (eventually) the specialist will want to do a MRI. It will be one of the two...

 

When i would never do an MRI, if i were you.

 

Had an MRI done a few weeks after my tinnitus worsened considerably in 2015. The machine was actually kind of loud but not crazy loud. I wore only foam ear plugs (although good ones with -35dB SNR) and felt pretty comfortable. Didn't bother me at all, no spike or anything afterwards.

I tend to believe that it must have to do with the model and make of the MRI-machine since I find it hard to believe, that the sound "my" MRI machine made could aggravate tinnitus. But then again I would have never believed that 95dB for 0.5 seconds would screw up my tinnitus really bad...

 

I am leaning towards doing the above.

 

MRI didn’t have any effect on my tinnitus. At the time I wasn’t too worried about how it would affect my tinnitus, I was more worried about what they would find!

They didn’t find anything though, thank God!

 

None of the GE MRIs including the Silent Scan is going to be quiet for cancer screening as quoted. It depends on the type of cancer screening as to amount of time for scanning. Most scanning for cancer doesn't involve c dye, but some do.

There may be Cannon MRIs in your area where they are quiet. The Pianissimo is very quiet at 65 decibels with possible peaking at 78-82 for cancer screening. One site has listed 85 as highest peak. The Cannon Galan Vantage is also quiet. The only Pianissimo that's mentioned on the internet in your area is a private third party resource for corporate companies with a healthcare patient contract. You could call Canon Medical Systems Canada - 1 800 (668 9729) for complete locations.

 

Bill, if you do decide to have the mri, because it is a must, try the Open mri. It is not as loud as the close mri and if you can't tolerate it you just get up and run...

 

my mri did not affect my tinnitus because I've never had one.

 

Had two MRIs, one 3 years ago, the another 2 years ago, at the same hospital. I used wax earplugs. The experience resulted in no changes of my tinnitus.

However after reading the recent MRI posts I have serious reservations about ever going back into a MRI again. I got lucky twice; now that I'm aware of the danger I won't tempt fate for a third time, except if there's an acute health crisis that's worse than a permanent tinnitus spike would be. And there are not many of those. I think I'd prefer undiagnosed cancer to catastrophic T.

 

Bill, first off, sorry to hear the need for this.

If your doctor is recommending a MRI for cancer screening, I personally would not hesitate to have it done. The benefits outweigh the risks.

I had a MRI for my tinnitus. It's loud at times but quiet most of the time. And like others, it had no affect on my tinnitus whatsoever.

Good luck in any case.

 

Hello Bill,

The machine was Siemens Magnetom Avanto 1.5 T. Under 99 db. I used it a year ago without protection to do a chest MRI. I was fine. But I think it was a bit quieter than a brain MRI.

Brain MRI with double protection was manageable, however I would never expose myself to this level of noise voluntary. I've never went to concerts and nightclubs and I always used headphones at ~80% volume (around 80-85 db) when outside.

After about 5-7 minutes the machine started vibrating. A lot. I think it was very loud and the sound was travelling through bone conduction. I suspect this was the culprit. ~10 minutes of vibration and tinnitus jumped from 3-4/10 to 8-9/10.

From what I understand you took a really good care of your ears in the last two years and you had good improvements. Is there any way to do a blood test or biopsy instead of MRI?

 

I haven't actually been asked to have an MRI. My doctor's appointment is next week. I just want to be prepared for all eventualities.

 

It's very good that you are researching everything beforehand.
I had some done the research before the MRI, but doctors rushed me a lot and basically forced me into this machine. Nobody told me to wear earplugs or earmuffs. If I didn't think of it myself I don't even know what would have happened to my ears. I will never forgive the doctors who did this.
In the end I still have somatic pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear. What did the MRI show? Pretty much nothing that can have effect on tinnitus. They only ruled out high intracranial pressure which they could do without this MRI since I didn't show any significant symptoms. And the symptoms that I had were more related to neck problems.

I hope all goes well for you! Best of luck!

 

Thank you so much for this information, Greg!

 

Please people refrain from ear tests.

 

@Bill Bauer there are many other ways to screen for cancer outside of an MRI. I don’t know your situation but often a CT scan provides enough detail to rule something out. You could also try a PET scan. Also if they only allow MRI you can totally use muffs. Just make sure they have zero metal in them.

 

I had an MRI right at the beginning via my neurologist. She said get it done, so I went not knowing anything, well I had a closed headphones with light music on for about 30 minutes. After my neurologist read the report she said no cancer, but there was a little activity and I did have a concussion, I said no, but I said where was that activity coming from she did not say. My tinnitus was in the beginning stage so it was not good anyway, so I don't know if it caused damage. I would not have another one. I wasn't looking for cancer when I had tinnitus and I wanted her to tell me why I had tinnitus or what was causing it.

 

Do you know where to find quiet MRIs in the US? I called around the local hospitals near me and they all have the 1.5-3 Tesla torture devices. Tried calling Cannon Medical, but all I get is their generic voicemail box.

@Bill Bauer Did you ever get an MRI?

 

I had one about 4 years ago (about 2 years before the onset of my T). At the time, I don't remember noticing that it was too loud...

 

I had one on my head approximately 10 years ago, and I don't recall it being that loud, but I'm pretty sure a normal MRI would wreck me now even with hearing plugs. Unfortunately, most hospitals won't pay extra for the quieter MRI machines.

I'm assuming you never ended up getting one?

 

@Alue I will PM you the private Canon Medical contact number for all locations of Pianissimos and Galan Advantage MRIs. I don't have permission to give this this number out, but I will by PM request.

 

I had a MRI about three weeks into tinnitus. Used plugs and over ear protection. No perceived problems after. That being said, if I could go back and do do it over I wish I had avoided it. Had I known the risks at the time I wouldn’t have done it. Unfortunately, nobody I ever saw concerning this warned me about the risks. I was pretty naive in the beginning.

 

I've never had one after I got T.