Fear of MRI

Julie123

Member
Author
Jan 13, 2017
2
Tinnitus Since
2014.
Cause of Tinnitus
Don't know.
Hi everyone, tinnitus started right after an MRI in 2014, now doc wants to do another MRI to rule out a blood clot (nothing to do with T).

I am scared beyond words.....Should I refuse???
 
Hi there! My new ENT ordered a MRI for me at the end of the month. For unrelated reasons, I had a MRI in both 2014 and early 2016. I don't think the MRIs had any effect on my T, but I get insanely claustrophobic and anxious. I would say have the MRI for sure (knowing whether you have a blood clot is very important), but try to relax because spazzing during the MRI will definitely spike T. I know some places offer Xanax/Valium, but if that's not an option for you (like me who has to go to work after the MRI), I would try keeping a song or mantra in your head to focus on if you get spooked.
 
You could ask your doctor for a one off dose of diazepam to relax you first.
I know it's a worry so do everything you can to protect your hearing with the above advice....lots of love glynis
 
There are newer MRI machines that are much quieter than the old ones. It is no wonder for a person to get T or even hearing loss from the loudest ones, since the decibels can climb up to 110! It is well and truly crazy, since it means they are damaging patient's health.

Nonetheless, you obviously need to be examined and I suppose not being able to detect a possible blood clot would have dire consequences. I would research which machines are the safest (i.e. quietest) and request to have the scan in one of those. GE Silent Scan and Siemens Quiet Suite are actually claiming to be quite revolutionary when it comes to truly silent MRI scans. However, I do not know how widely those type of machines are yet available, but it's worth looking into. When you get the scan, make sure to have both earplugs and earmuffs - even better if they can offer you a pair of active noise-cancelling earmuffs.

When you got T after your last MRI, did they offer you double-protection (plugs & muffs) for the procedure? Do you have any info on which type of a machine it was, perhaps a loud older model?
 

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