Regretting My MRI...

As with anyone who has this shitty condition, I've gone through my course of doctors, 3 ENTS, Internist, GP, Neurologist and even a physciatrist. The last one I saw was an Internist and he seemed like a pretty knowledgeable guy and recommended blood work and an MRI just to rule everything out and I was all up for it, I mean after all why not right?

So last saturday the day of the MRI came, I took my alpine hearing classic earplugs (only roughly 20db of filtering), I now wish I would of taken a pair of 33DB foam plugs. None the less, I hopped in the machine and with my plugs, they added some foam padding to the sides of my head which helped a little bit with noise as well. I had the whole contrast/no contrast thing. The process started and the thing was ridiculously loud, but my ears weren't hurting or anything, there was no pain it was loud, but not uncomfortably so (or atleast I thought)

I was in there for about 35 minutes total, hopped out began to drive home and it felt like T was the same, a headache did begin though ( i believe as a result of the contrast dye) by the time I got home my head was cracking apart so I laid down for a couple of hours. When I awoke, T was probably 2-3 times its volume on top of my head cracking, lets just say it was not a good day, I felt like shit pretty much the rest of the afternoon/night.

I awoke the next day feeling better, much better, my headache was gone and T seemed to be back to baseline, maybe a little bit louder. Toward the afternoon my T subsided significantly, I honestly don't know why but it was amazing. It was honestly a good 60-70% quieter than normal, almost non existent because I considered my T pretty mild originally.

This lasted up throughout Monday night, and thats when everything took a turn for the worst. I was watching tv with my family and noticed this painfully high pitched T beginning to roar over the TV, nothing like Ive experienced before. As I mentioned earlier my T was fairly mild before all of this, I was miserable for the first week, but honestly for the last month I returned to my complete normal self, it was fairly easily maskable and I didn't even notice it most days before going to bed and even then it wasn't that bothersome.

This new sound isn't particularly louder than my old T, maybe slightly but its pitch is SO much higher that it pretty much cuts through everything. My sound sensitivity which seemed to be slowly fading is now much worse. I can't even sit in my room anymore because there is something that gives off a high pitched whine, which in return just makes my T slowly increase to unbearable levels. When I wake up in the morning its as if my head does a hard reset, T is back down to its old quiet hiss, but as I expose myself to more and more noise the new high pitched T comes roaring, by 2 PM my head is cracking and my ears feel bruised is the best way I can describe it.

I honestly hate myself now for going through with an MRI, I didn't have unilateral T, I doubt the scan will reveal anything and now I'm back to step 1, with T which is in my honest opinion 30x worse than what I had before.. I was totally managing before this, it didn't bother me one bit and was masked by most everyday sounds. Tuesday I was having such a bad day that I had to go home from work, because its just impossible to focus with this new tone. God how I wish I would of never done the MRI, but too damn late now and I hate myself for it.. I would do anything to get my original T back, it was so bearable compared to this...

 

I didn't realize MRIs were that noisy? I was also told you can take a CD in and they will play music while the procedure is being done, to help relax you. I can't wear any ear protection it sets off my T worse and I have H so the contrast when I did wear ear protection made things worse.

 

I have an MRI upcoming some time....so sorry to hear of your experience, makes me wonder...

 

I would honestly re-evaluate if you really need it. They are INCREDIBLY loud. depending on what kind of machine it is they can reach up to 140DB at some moments..

 

Really? I will have to check it out with the hospital, I just had a CT Scan clear.

 

Yeah, it really is. CT Scans are silent I honestly would of rather sucked up all the radiation from the CT Scan than deal with what I have to deal with now.. The MRI scan is done in sections, you get about 10-15 seconds of silence in between each scan and they all last roughly 2-5 minutes long. Some aren't that loud (60ish DB) and others are just 5 minutes of pure 100+ DB madness.

I'm honestly still confused as to why the Sunday afterwards I had such a quiet day and then out of nowhere on Monday my life turned upside down all over again, but my only explanation is the MRI, since thats the only thing that could of possibly caused anything to get worse..

 

My T continues to incrementally rise, despite no anxiety, no fear, stress almost zero off work, diet staying away from all the stuff out there that is said to make your T worse, sleeping much better 6 1/2 - 7 hrs. Seem to be tolerating it better. CT Scan normal. Awaiting psychologist appt in early Nov. Depression still with me and on sleep med clonazepam trying to switch to melatonin, and on Celexa for a year Drs orders. I would expect it to be calming down, my T still continues to increase subtly. T is unpredictable I guess and H on top of it.

 

@AntonR an MRI machine can reach up to 115 decibels. Yes, that is very loud, but you had earplugs in that you said had 20db of protection and then foam on top of that - so at worst it was 95 db in there for 35 min, but probably a little less because of the foam on the side of your head and that particular MRI might not have been 115 db, anything around there feels loud - that's just how high it can get.

So sound-wise, yeah you were riding the line, but you can tolerate (if you must) 94 db for an hour and 97 for 30 minutes. I doubt you did any serious new damage to your hearing. I'm not a doctor, so I don't know how/if contrast dye would make any difference.

My point is, I wouldn't beat myself up if I were you. You have had T for a very, very short amount of time. I don't know if yours originally came from an auditory insult, but it isn't abnormal for T to fluctuate in the beginning months after loud-noise exposure with or without an MRI or any other treatment. In the first two months I went form one ear to both ears with T and I was no where near any loud sound. I went for a bike ride in the wind about three months into my T and when I came back my T was absolutely screaming. Did a bike ride cause it to scream, I kind of doubt it, but I blamed the exercise, the wind, the truck that drove past - all of it - at the time. Yes, it's easier to blame an MRI because it's a medical procedure, but when people have spikes, they jump to the most recent thing as the cause, but that doesn't mean its to blame, even if it really seems that way.

My feeling is that your T will calm down in time, but either way, it's not your "fault" it's loud in this case. You used protection, it wasn't dangerously loud in there. You did all the right things. Be good to yourself.

 

I'm hoping your right, my original T was not noise induced, atleast I dont believe it was, it came out of the blue..

Like I mentioned earlier, I do find it weird that the sunday after the MRI was one of my quietest T days that I've ever had, don't think that would be even possible if the MRI caused further damage..hopefully this is just a random temporary spike.

 

@AntonR

Just to say that my T does up and down. I currently am having 2 days high then one day when it is so quiet.
Went for my MRI about a week ago on Monday. Saturday before my T was really quiet. Sunday was really really loud (perhaps cos i was stressing out about the upcoming MRI on the following Monday morning). Monday it was screaming, did it all day. Had to get up extra early and leave for the hospital. Managed to register in and then spent an hour there where I fianlly bottled out of it. Couldn't get the foam ear plugs in to my ear without the bit hanging out of the ear so it was not properly plugged. Felt very unsafe to do the MRI after I read all the horror stories online, especially about the volume level. Also was anxious about the dye but not as much as about the volume doing damage if not sufficient hearing protection.
One of the things that freaked me out for the MRI is that apparently the ear canal fluid moves in waves when subjected to an MRI. At least that is what I read - kinda freaked me out that bit....
Anyway reorganised a new appt for 3 weeks time but think that I will bottle out again.
No other symptons apart from the T ones and the lack of sleep, nervousness, anxiety etc...
Anyhow to finish the story, my T stayed up all week until Friday when it went back down to the lowest it has ever been.
Was so happy, stayed up till 4.30 am enjoying the quiet. Managed about 5 hours sleep. I am beginning to look ravaged with deep lack of sleep bags and dark circles under my eyes. When I woke up, it was screaming again and has been all day.
So it may have been just the way it is going up and down and nothing to do with the MRI, or food or car journey or the ambulance siren that went past.
However I have been told that if it is going up and then down, this is a good sign cos it means that it is moving which means that it can / will move downwards to the point where it doesnt bother you much and can live with it. This is what I am hoping. It has consumed my life and is draining me of all energy. Tonight am going to try to get to bed earlier and therefore sleep more when the body understands that it is night time.

At least you had the balls to go thru with it - I didnt and really annoyed the hospital staff for wasting their time....! I meanwhile was trembling like a leaf, totally freaked out. Went to a supermarket with friend. He parked up and I went inside. When I came out I could not find the car - there are 3 car parks and entrances and I ended up wandering for ages until I found the car and him waiting for me. Shows how totally distressed I was by the thought of the MRI....

How are you now - has it subsided?
Please let me know how you are getting along now (if I am not being too intrusive, hope not).
amanda

 

You aren't being intrusive at all Amanda, I was actually going to post an update here but never got around to it. I'm doing a lot better. I've had a pretty quiet 2 days (friday and saturday), so it's definitely subsided, I believe I'm back to my baseline (maybe even a little bit lower these past two days, dont want to jinx it!). Could of been a random spike but I'm guessing it was more likely due to stressing after the MRI. I think you should go through with your MRI, its worth it in the end to rule out anything serious, just make sure to buy some nice polyurethane 33 DB + plugs, they are much easier to fit into your canals since they stay squished much longer before expanding back. I feel like the foam ones expand too fast and I can't get them into my ears fully.

The place I went to had foam plugs that I was going to use initially, but they expanded almost instantly and there was no way I was going to fit them into my ears. I was glad that I brought my alpine filter plugs since they always fit snugly with ease, but the downside to them is that they only filter 20DB versus the foam/polyeuro plugs that filter 33+. That's initially why I was stressing out, because I was worried that my 20 DB plugs weren't enough. As I mentioned in my original post they also added multiple pieces of thick foam to keep my head in place, which seemed to block out a decent amount of sound. If I had to guess I probably had roughly 30DB of protection (With plugs + their foam pushing against my ears). I think if you bring some nice 33 DB plugs, they'll likely throw the foam on the sides of your head or give you ear muffs you'll be more than safe.

Its true what they say, these machines do peak at 120ish+ DB, but the key word there is "PEAK" its not going to be a constant 120DB's for the whole time your in there, so you should be A-Okay as long as you have some earplugs. When I was in there I didn't find anything painfully loud, I mean sure it was LOUD but my ears weren't sore, my hearing wasn't muffled afterwards so I doubt my spike had anything to do with the actual noise of the MRI, but more so me stressing out after it, especially after I noticed my spike 2 days later. I blamed it all on the MRI and I was just in a really shitty mood and that probably didn't make it any better. Sound sensitivity seems to be quickly going back to its norm, likely was related to the spike/stress. Long story short I've been feeling a lot better these past 2 days and I'm almost kind of glad the MRI is out of the way, nothing to dread in the future and I'll get to check another thing off my list.. Or you know.. find something (lets hope not). I actually managed to sleep for 8 hours straight last night, its the first night I've slept that long without waking up throughout the night these past two months and it felt fucking great, excuse the french.

Note on the contrast dye, I believe it had a negative effect on me, not on the tinnitus, but it definitely gave me a killer tension headache. That saturday/sunday, it was just a sharp pulsating pain that only got worse when I stood up, I ended up taking some vicodin I had left over from my wisdom teeth and even that didn't fully mask the pain it did subside by Sunday night though.

Sorry for the long reply, I tend to ramble sometimes

 

@AntonR
I underwent the similar experience as described by you on the MRI ,
My MRI with contrast was done on Friday evening , the tinitus noise in my left ear was moderate and remained so till the process got over , the noise level inside the MRI machine was loud but not painfully loud , they had provided with ear muffs as a standard equipment , I had placed cotton on my both ears as extra protection ,
I slept very well on Friday night at woke up at 5 wit much milder hiss than what I went to bed with , could go back to sleep and woke up at 8 with the most quiet morning I ever had since my tinnitus got aggravated about a year back . Great day , noise remained low to moderate till late evening , I could go to sleep without any issues , this was Saturday night
I woke up on Sunday morning with the high tinnitus noise never experienced like before , heavy buzzing and sizzling, the heavy noise has continued for the full day on Sunday .
On search I could find your post with similerexperience ,
It was a mistake to undertake MRI test at the first step and that too without appropriate ear protection as described by you .
I am now praying God that my tinnitus goes back to pre - MRI levels.
I am now so much scared and worried that I will not be cope with this high level and new tone of tinnitus noise. I have unilateral tinntus in my left ear since December 2011 , this has been continuously worsening , more so over last12 months
I am keen to know How many days it took yours to normalise after your tinnitus spiked after MRI was done .
Please help and guide ,

 

I regretted mine as well so you are not alone. Also I'm not 100% certain but I dont think mine was noise induced either

I think my GP sent me as he had run out of ideas as to what yo do with me. I'm sure it did more harm than good with my T & H. Also the brain ins was Ok I, but because I cried all the way through the Ear one they didn't get any good imaging. The brain one was clear.

I shouldn't have botherd as my T moves from ear to ear and is in my head as well, so I guess the chances of me having an acoustic neuroma were low anyway as you need one ear tinnitus for that I beleiive, plus they are. Incredibly rare

 

@ Evian
Thanks for your reply, today is second day my tinnitus is at its worst after MRI, can you please advise what I should do now , I am so worried and scared with this high level of non stop buzzing going on in my left ear .
Please help

 

I'm really not an expert on this, but I think you will have to wait it out, as it's happened now, it will probably calm back down soon.

I know it's going to be real difficult but try and forget about the fact you had it and don't stress, drink camomile tea or something else that you find calming, distract yourself with whatever you normally like doing. I know it's hard when you have a lot of noise going on in your head.

 

Thank you very much Evian
I am praying to God to bring my tinnitus back to pre-MRI levels , they were high and bothering me but not to the level I am experiencing post MRI.
You are right, I will need to wait for it to calm down .
Hope it happens soon ,
Hope you are doing well

 

Fingers crossed for you, stay calm and wait it out.

Not having a great day myself but then I know managed an hours sleep last night so I am hoping that is affecting me. I tried to use only half a sleeping tablet last night I need to go back to my regular dose

 

But Anton, did you get a result from the MRI?

 

Sorry think this is posted in the wrong thread.


Had an MRI scan 8 months ago and was as noisy as hell. My tinnitus is 24/7 for 16 months so far in my left ear, lucky if I get 4 hours sleep a night. Doesn't look like going away any time soon. I also have perfect hearing in both ears so am a bit of a freak.

 

My tinnitus started the week after I'd taken naproxen tablets, that's 16 months ago now and is now starting to get to me, I'm not a fan of anti depressants or sleeping tabs all of which have been prescribed.

I am new to this forum and very interesting reading through how others are coping with this hell.

 

@AntonR How long did it take for your T to return to its baseline level after your MRI scan?

 

An MRI of my ears / head is what triggered my hyperacusis. The next morning my wife was emptying the dishwasher and then I noticed how senstive my ears were to the sound. This was new to me. It took me ages to put the experience behind me.
All we can do is take one day at a time and evetually put the bad experiences behind us. Difficult I know. My hyperacusis is so much better overall these days. I dont think the MRI had too much impact on my tinnitus at the time. I dont think I would go through with another MRI unless it was absolutely essential.