Scared About MRI

I suffer from Tinnitus and Hyperacusis...

I'm 13 and when I went to an ENT they said I should get an MRI.

So I looked up how loud MRI's are and heard they can be up to 110 dB!!! There have been stories of MRI's ruining people's lives and I don't know what to do... Many people said that earplugs didn't even help!

What do I do!

 

I got an MRI last month to investigate my T. To be safe, I wore both a headset and in-ear plugs. It took an hour. 95% of the time I was completely comfortable. For about 5 minutes I thought it was perhaps a little loud... but in the end everything was fine. My T did not react.

 

They give you a set of earphones and play music down them. You are free to bring your own earplugs as well. It is a bit loud but nothing to be afraid of.

 

I would personally make sure you wear earplugs. I spoke to a few people that had previously had MRIs before I had mine and a couple thought it wasn't even loud. I wore earplugs and am extremely pleased I did. I thought it was really loud, but tolerable thanks to the earplugs - I suspect I would have been unable to cope if I had not been wearing them. I did not suffer any long term adverse effects.

 

Had a few done not long ago.
Ask for earplugs and headphones and do have a quieter setting used for children they can set ....lots of love glynis

 

when I had mine it wasn't loud if you are that concerned about having this done just plug your ears and I'm sure you will be fine.

 

Should I bring earplugs? or can I just plug my ears with my hands? idk

 

You can bring ear plugs, but when I had my MRI they had some. You can not move, you need to be perfectly still, so using your hands to plug your ears is not an option.

Also, they give you ear muffs with speakers inside of them so that the MRI operator can talk to you. The noise of the machine also depends on its age. Ask the hospital if its a newer machine, and how loud it is.

I would say dont worry about it, its not bad at all. My T was just fine.

 

I never found it loud. They have ear muffs like ecip said. It was a bit scary at first but after it started it really was nothing more than road noise with a few clinks and clanks. The magnets move around in the machine and make noises but it's cool. Just do it!

 

What is getting an MRI like?

she says its very loud many times

 

Bring a set of ear plugs. Make sure there is no metal clasps holding the earplug strings together or they won't allow you to wear them. No metal objects are allowed around the machine.

Let them know your hearing is very sensitive and you suffer tinnitus and need the extra protection. There a few clunks and bangs every so often but not terribly bad. The kids that say it's like a spaceship blasting off have never heard a real rocket being fired. Imagination!!

The technicians are usually well trained and will make you very comfortable. If you find it unbearable, there is a mic inside the machine that they can hear your voice. Just ask them to stop if it's hard on yea.

Where people go wrong after this scan is they concentrate on the tinnitus more to see if maybe it went up. This awareness or hyper-awareness is typically a false indicator. You trick yourself into believing the sounds did you harm.

Just let them know everything before the scan begins. It will be over quickly enough. Much love!!

 

Thank you, the reason I believed the space ship thing is because of this quote I found "According to GE, the typical MRI scanner generates 110 decibels of noise when it's hard at work, which is about the same noise level as a rock concert or a steel mill. One study found that certain MRI scanners could get up to 118 decibels at their loudest point." 120 decibals is the loudness of a rocket.. so yeah haha.. Hope all goes well

 

I'm sure they can be loud with no hearing protection. You must remember, they do put on ear muffs with speakers in them that drown out a lot of noise........ and if you have ear plugs too then you're fine.

 

just had one few days ago. I used ear plugs and the headphones. No problem . tell them not to play music through the headphone, just adds to the noise. You can't hear it anyway. Make sure you have no metal on you

 

What I can tell is only my personal experience. 2 weeks ago I had a fMRT for a tinnitus research study here at University Hospital. It took about one hour! Not only the MRT but they also gave me sound over headphones to measure brain activity. Was it loud and unpleasant? Yes.
Did it alter my tinnitus? No.

Btw the ENT supervising the study has tinnitus himself and he participated as well. He told me that he was afraid too.

Anyway. Common MRTs are much much shorter and less loud.