What Can MRI Exactly Find for Tinnitus?

Just curious what an MRI for tinnitus can actually show. Like, if you do have jaw problems and it pinches the nerve... Or if there is genuine hearing damage... I know it can show tumors... Or ETD... Just wondering if it's worth my time...

 

You've had a head injury and Tinnitus of an unknown exact source since then, so an MRI seems reasonable to see if anything abnormal stands out.

 

@GregCA I'm starting to wonder if mine is even induced from my head injury. I hit my head back in January it wasn't even that hard. I hate tinnitus.

 

An MRI can show you tumors, but not much else. Perhaps fluid in the areas that are supposed to be hollow (mastoid, sinuses). For TMJ, there has to be a specific sequence run. It can't show the inner ear, except for the outer structure of the cochlea and semicircular canals. Even then, it's like looking at Venus or Mars with the naked eye. You can see it, but it's not helpful. For blood vessels you'd need an MRA or CTA.

 

Thank you @The Red Viper

 

@RonnieCarzatto have you seen an orthopedic doctor or a neurologist for your mild head injury?

 

Nope. My GP/family doctor back in January didn't think it was necessary. Kept telling me I was fine and that the tinnitus was temporary. It took me three visits to even get an ENT referral after a month straight, which is the best I have, set for May. I have the option to go the USA for an out of pocket MRI but I can't afford it (I'm in Canada). @The Red Viper

 

Hey Ronnie. As far as I know, a CT scan uses X-ray technology, whilst an MRI uses radio frequency pulses. I've read that tissue scanning can be clearer with an MRI but both show up if there is anything untoward going on with your brain and give a very detailed view of what is being looked at. MRI's are quiet loud and longer than CTs. Basically, if there's anything obviously "physical" going on, a trained eye will be able to spot it.

 

@Paul10 Appreciate that, thank you for the insight! I will be getting it done, if at the very least to rule out anything scary.

 

@RonnieCarzatto I hear you on wait times. I like "free" health care but it definitely comes with it's disadvantages as well. I had to wait two months for my ENT appointment. It's now only 2 weeks away lol. I know the ENT is likely just going to tell me that there is nothing they can do but at least I can say I saw one. She's apparently the best one in the hospital that I work in so that's a plus.

The next problem is if I get referred for an MRI. The wait time would be something like 6 months I'm sure but now that I'm pregnant it will be even longer.

I wouldn't advise going to the states for the MRI. Like some others have mentioned, the MRI doesn't show much. It sucks that you have to repeatedly request things from your doctor. I'm lucky that mine referred me to one right after I got my hearing test done.

As for the tinnitus, I'm going to be the annoying person that tells you to just try to ignore it. That's really what works best for me. I even try to avoid coming on this forum because it obviously forces me to think about my tinnitus.

 

@devonlee I'm actually in the Oakville area, but used to live near Alliston funny enough. Yeah, the wait times are awful and you pretty much summed up everything I am expecting. I'm trying my absolute hardest to habituate/ignore it. I'll admit, perhaps I am not trying hard enough. Some weeks I sleep like a baby and then others, the tinnitus keeps me up and it's all derailed again. I appreciate the kind words. And yeah, I was, to put it mildly, not fond of my family doctor the first three visits, but then again, most doctors from what I gather appear either clueless or ignorant to tinnitus, and it's not like they have treatment options barring if it's an acoustic neuroma.

Thank you again for the words.

 

@RonnieCarzatto That's awesome! I grew up in Burlington, lived in Mississauga for a couple years and moved to Alliston (Loretto) last July. My boyfriend and I have four acres up here, it's amazing. Tinnitus likes to rob a bit of the peace and quiet from it though

I don't think anyone really understands tinnitus until they have it. I'm a nurse and I'll admit that prior to having tinnitus I was like "why is that even listed under the diagnoses?" but now I completely understand.

 

@RonnieCarzatto I think you have received good input from the forum. I would add that most often an accident involving the head/neck/jaw causes muscle injury, inflammation, and related nerve irritation, as opposed to bleeding or dislodging something in the cranium. In some folks this nerve irritation causes headache and in others, tinnitus.
The irritation often takes a bit (days or weeks) to develop its referral patterns; so the referred symptoms aren't there for a while.
The ENT visit will give you some more insight, and the MRI would complete the picture in ruling out the scary stuff.

 

I appreciate the insight @Dr. Jay Hobbs ! That explanation makes a lot of sense. My tinnitus came on almost two weeks after I hit my head. And I kept telling myself, how could such a small hit cause this? But that would make sense.

 

Who knows. But there aren't many downsides to an MRI (no ionizing radiation like a CT), so if it were me I'd do it.