Possible Acoustic Trauma After a "Quiet Suite" MRI Scan?

Happy new year everyone.

Two days ago I had an MRI scan because of my palatal myoclonus. The machine was Magnetom Skyra 3T which SAYS it has the Quiet Suite feature, but I didn't feel it at all. Now I'm feeling needle like pain in my ear and I'm trying to not freak out. My tinnitus hasn't spiked yet, but I'm not too optimistic.

Do you think I have had an acoustic trauma? Given that the myoclonus has already screwed my mental health, I don't think i would be able to handle this too.

Thank you.

 

What ear protection did you wear during the MRI?

 

The one they gave me, their "noise cancelling earmuffs". I can't say the sound was louder than a nightclub, but it was... louder than i would have liked it to be. I didn't get pain or anything during the scan itself.

 

Do you have ear fullness? The spike can still happen for some days after the noise exposure. Those noise cancelling headphones are inadequate protection for most MRI scanners, and most will benefit from both plugs and muffs.

 

I don't have ear fullness, and I don't experience hearing loss when I listen to music. What DOES bother me a lot is that I have pain in both ears like pins stabbing the eardrum. That can't be good. Seems like I'm going to the ENT next week.

 

The ENT won’t do anything because he/she can’t. They’ll dodge any blame for the MRI, if they’re who ordered it. You possibly should go and get prednisone ASAP. I think it is a situation that warrants it. Don’t be alarmed, but I don’t think they gave you adequate hearing protection. Unless you can find out what NRR rating was on the noise cancelling muffs they gave you and what kind noise exposure you got.

I had an MRI a few years ago and the ear pro wasn’t adequate and the technician was a dope with a cold. I was ignorant too. It was supposed to be one of the more quiet kind (ha!) I stupidly didn’t push the alert button to stop it. But immediately after I was fine. Next day I woke up to insane vertigo (couldn’t walk), and worse tinnitus. Then slowly the H developed, ear fullness, TTTS etc. it wasn’t immediate. I didn’t know about NAC, magnesium, prednisone, nicotinamide riboside etc back then.
Im sure one of my ears now after these years hears duller than the other and it was the side I feel wasn’t protected as much. I won’t get another hearing test since getting getting various acoustic shocks after the MRI left my ears in a weakened state.
I don’t mean to worry you. But something to consider.

 

Thanks for the response. But who will prescribe the prednisone? And how much do I need to take? I also know about prednisone and it preventing hearing damage, but I'm not sure I can buy it without a prescription.

I'm sorry about your MRI experience, do you remember the name of the machine?

 

Does not sound like a classic acoustic trauma.

 

This is good. Do you think I should take anything?

 

Neither did mine after my MRI. I felt absolutely fine, no spike, no diminished hearing or anything for the remainder of the day I had it. Even then, the other conditions took time to come into effect, over the following weeks and months. It can take time for noise induced excitoxicity effects or any hearing loss / subsequent increase in T to show up.

@Audiophile_bg With regards to prednisone, it depends on what country you're in and also the kind of physician you see. They're all different. It's up to you, but I would have tried in retrospect had I known. It's considered most effective if taken within 24 hours, but I've read that up to a week is within the window of opportunity. Whether or not it would've made a difference for me, who knows. But of course, I'm no expert and we all need to make our own decisions.

Taking NAC, magnesium, nicotinamide riboside, r lipoic acid and any other of the antioxidants and otoprotective supplements is also something that might be worth considering at least...? Anything that can potentially counter any release of glutamate and whatnot that causes the damage.

 

I will try to buy prednisone tomorrow. Thank you.

 

Hey you had an emergency button, stop complaining (j/k)... I was never given one, and I didn’t think about it or the noise. I didn’t have earplugs. I called for help... no one heard... 20 minutes later.. screwed for life.

My ears were buzzing immediately and I still have hyperacusis and pain 3 months or so later.
Could a stabbing pain be your defensive muscles spasming?

Prednisone didn’t help me, but call the d@mn ENT 3x a day to get in sooner or go to another one... you need it ASAP, there may be a 1% chance it will help. But even Prednisone is not effective for most.

Or go to a few minute clinics and get each of them to give you a 5 day prednisone dose pack... and do your own dosing (listed many places on this forum), use separate pharmacies, of course.

 

Not every acoustic trauma gets the classic symptoms. However, I would think that the majority do, and I certainly did with the ear fullness preceding the rage of T about 4 days later.

I take omega3 daily, about 500 mg.

 

I'm sorry you got it from the damn MRI. I didn't have problems coming out of the scan. When I came home I was surprised that I didnt have a spike in any sounds but I did notice a sharp pain in both of my ears and thats not a good thing.

 

I'm praying that I don't get permanent hearing loss.

 

Yep. They didn't want to give me prednisone in any of the pharmacies I went to.

 

Just wait it out at this point, and avoid any and all loud noise exposure for the time being.

 

The pain is gone, but now I have a low humming sound. I'm losing my mind.

 

A pharmacist wouldn’t give prednisone without a prescription...

I have a low humming too, that is often in sync with my pulse that developed several months after the MRI so wasn’t directly caused by it but it weakened my ears to be more susceptible to noise issues/sensitivities. As far as I’ve been able to determine it is autonomic trigeminal nerve activation. The humming has never gone away for me but does dininish and there are times when it’s hardly there. I felt panicked at first too but it’s something I got used to better than tinnitus. In fact, mine is louder than usual right now but my tinnitus is low.

If you wobble your head does it stop for a split second?

 

It doesn't stop, ever. It didn't when I got it from Zyprexa and it doesn't now.

 

I have an appointment with an otoneurologist next week.

I have a low pitch tinnitus now, similar to the one I had from Zyprexa.

Do you think the MRI has permanently damaged my ears?

 

And if you plug your ear?
And with external noise? I don't mean masking, I mean does it stop for a second?
http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/arti...de-also-known-as-the-hum-or-the-taos-hum.html

 

If I plug the ear that I mostly get it in, I don't hear it.
I hear it over external noise up to a particular volume, but usually noticeable only in quieter surroundings. When it's been bad I have heard it over everything.

It goes away sometimes at night when I've woken from sleep, but comes back in the morning mostly because of external sound.
The head wobble thing does make it cut out very momentarily. Which makes sense if there's vestibular involvement. I'm changing my view on it now, as I thought it has something to do with trigeminal nerve activation.

That article is very interesting. Thank you so much for sharing!

Acoustically responsive vestibular neurons with synapses on cochlear fibers may be an explanation for this [15], as it seems that the hearing of the Hum involves the semicircular canals and the cochlea.

 

My ears are finally back to normal. The low rumbling tinnitus is almost gone. But it was quite scary for a couple of days. I can't believe they set me back by so much with one freaking scan.

 

Called the hospital that I had the MRI in today to try and ask them if they DO use the so called Quiet Suite feature. They were extremely rude and told me "No, and quit wasting my time!" and hung up on me. Of course they denied that the MRI scan could have fucked my ears up.

 

Aaand the low humming is back. Lord help me.
I can't take this again. Do you think it will be permanent?
I was at the audiologist and she gave me an audiometry test and my hearing came back perfect. But the flipping low humming will be the death of me.

 

This is the tinnitus that many of us have. It takes months to reduce in volume. I have had mine since 1985, and it went out of control since Sept last year. I have accepted this is a problem to be managed, and not cured.

 

But I can't have permanent tinnitus from just one MRI scan. I can't .

 

I had one scan.

 

I think it's subsiding now. I will have to wait for a few days.