Tinnitus After Migraine — Doctor Referred Me for an MRI to Rule Out Acoustic Neuroma

Hi,

I am a 33-year-old female and I started to have tinnitus back in December 2019, after a really bad migraine. Went to the hospital and everything was fine. Had an appointment with the ENT doctor and my hearing test was normal but he mentioned that the left ear is different how I received the sound, so on the Audiogram the lines for the left ear weren’t the same like in the right one, but the hearing is perfect.

Now he scared me so much with a referral for an MRI with contrast to rule out an acoustic neuroma.

Other than the tinnitus I don’t have any symptoms apart from my anxiety which is at least 200% worse than before.

This static sound, ringing sound depresses me and I have had suicidal thoughts, it’s unbearable, it doesn’t stop.

I am thinking, is this going to be my life from now on? How are you coping?

If I have acoustic neuroma, I am going to be much worse than now. I am also refusing the contrast substance as I read that could be harmful for your body and there is chance to still have it in your body for life.

Now I am wondering if there is a tumour could this be seen in an MRI without contrast?

Many thanks.

 

Very rare, most of us get tested for that... if it is that and they remove it you may see improvements.

Stay strong, you are still early days, it does get easier to filter it it for most. It will take time x

 

Would another type of scan work for this?

If someone mentioned “tinnitus” to a FAA flight surgeon they have to consider a brain tumor unless there is an obvious cause (like the rock concert the night prior).

Just learn from my mistakes... don’t trust the technician... search out a quiet model... bring your own non-metallic earplugs and buy some all plastic ear muffs.

Mine was a bunch of errors but you should have hearing protection, a “panic” call button, and no metal. Don’t let the technician rush the process because some of these places need to do scans to pay for their machines.

IF I had earplugs for what I thought was gong to be a gentle humming nap... I wouldn’t be on this forum.

Good luck.

 

Hi Susanna,

Your statement above is contradictory: the hearing can't be perfect if your "lines" aren't the same. If it were perfect, both of them would be somewhat matching with very little losses on either. Your left ear also begs to differ. Are you comfortable posting your audiogram here? (blank out any personal info)

The asymmetrical nature of your hearing is what is prompting your doctor to do an MRI. The odds of you having an AN is very low, but it still makes sense to rule it out.

When I did my MRI (for the same reasons), it was without contrast. Doctors prefer with contrast because "it's easier to see stuff", but you can challenge their requirements. Last time I had to do an MRI, they also wanted contrast, and I challenged it: the doctor went to the radiologist to ask if it was OK to do without contrast, and came back telling me that contrast wasn't required, so it pays to ask. It is possible that contrast helps detect "smaller things", so it's a bit of a trade-off that you have to think about.

Given that you don't have a diagnosis yet, the MRI seems like a reasonable course of action.

Good luck!

 

My avatar is from my first MRI in 2008. My latest MRIs can be done without contrast because it's pretty easy to see mine, obviously. At last scan mine was 37 mm.

What did your results discover?