Community Chat

[sfnative]

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@jo555 wrote:

Hi,

I was wondering what happened with your hearing loss.  I had an MRI of the cervical spine and MRI of the brain yesterday as well.  I felt like I could not hear well and by the end of the day, I noticed that the hearing in my left ear was deminished.  I did some research and there is info that MRI can cause damage to the ears.  So, I went to my ENT today and he did confirm that I have aucoustic trauma from the MRI!!  I am so upset.  Can you tell me how you feel now or if you were given any meds, etc.  I was not given meds, just told that it may be permanent.  I did wear plugs for the cervical MRI and I did wear the ear muffs for the brain MRI.  Thanks!

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Hi Jo,

I hope you've come back to this thread, as I just noticed that you're brand new with your first post and wanted to welcome you and say "Hi."  There are many wonderful folks here, so hope you will return and share information or ask questions.  We try to feed off of eachother in a positive way.

God Bless ~ Rebecca

[ROMARY]

I'm shocked.  One would think that they could supply some type of ear mufflers.  The industrial type.  In this day and age, loss of hearing shouldn't be a problem at all. JMO  And, thanks for the warning.  We should all have on hand the very best of earplugs that we can find, just in case.  Again, thanks for this very important alert.  Knowledge is everything.

[June222]

I had both a shoulder and a cervical spine MRI done within a week of each other this year. It was very loud. I had both the ear plugs and the ear muffs. Did not have any problems with my hearing afterward. I have very very sensitive hearing. So perhaps it is a condition that affects just a few people. I suppose there is risk in any procedure.

[VAbelle]

I had my MRI in March for cervical area, and also wore earplugs and an ear muff .... the noise was still horrendous since I'm sensitive.   I also had an MRI in 2006 and a technician did offer me earplugs alone, but that was not sufficient .... today my ears are so sensitive that I cannot stand to hear certain noises that would not bother the general population.

MRI technicians should make patients aware of this danger!

[LTT1]

The last time I had an MRI performed, I was given headphones that had music piped in.  This seemed to do the trick for me.

[Shorty2U]

Sorry to read you are having hearing issues. I never heard of this until now. I have had 10 MRIs of various parts of my spine since 2001 on up to months ago due to chronic back problems, spine surgery, and chronic pain. I have never experienced hearing issues.

[Suziepeach]

Let me think back, I had a brain and cervical spine done via MRI with and without contrast 2 years ago.  The technologist gave me those ear plus and before I laid down, I closed my eyes (which I didn't allow myself to reopen until after the study was done due to claustrophobia), after I was in the prone position I remember her positioning my head and putting thickness over each ear.  I could still hear sounds but muffled, even when she tried to talk to me, I'd yell back, "For the umpteenth time I told you I CAN'T MAKE OUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.  So I meditated, maybe that's a reason so many of the sounds were further muffled- I went to happy places and could hear the ocean..   Anywho, I am so, so sorry to those that are having hearing issues to the MRI sounds, I'd of never thought about that.  And here I a former registered radiology technologist but my specialty was mammography...  Now I am having CT's, of my concerned issue, and there's still noise but again I went to that happy place..

Oh yes, if you have another MRI please mention this to the technologist or if there's a radiologist on site, speak with him if you can..  These aren't trivial concerns...

I wish everyone well!

[FlowershopGirl]

Tell them you are sensitive to sound BEFORE you consent to do the MRI.  Mine provide me with sound reducing headphones.  If they don't have them, exit the building and reschedule with a place that your insurance accepts and does have headphones. 

[ROMARY]

Wow, are we lucky to have such nice posters who are alerting us.  Hopefully, we won't need this info, but, in case we do, when we phone for an appointment, make sure we request ear plugs/muffs ahead of time.  In fact, maybe the doc can write it in his report and authorization request.  That way, it's on the patient's chart.  In fact, I'd probably tell them that my ENT doc said that I HAVE to have ear protection, due to previous ear problems.  Just 'make something up' when nothing else works.

[LTT1]

@FlowershopGirl Yes, I agree.  In fact, I now remember that I was asked if I have claustrophobic issues.  Once, a long time ago, (closed MRI back in the day) I said yes and they may have given me something to relax me.  But with the advent of the open MRI, I still close my eyes -- not willing to chance it.  Also, I still need to will myself to calm down sometimes.

The ear muffs with music allowed me to concentrate on the music... the tech interrupted when instruction was needed and the voice thru the ear muff system was very clear.

I wish anybody the best of luck and hope they can endure this procedure without discomfort.