Tinnitus and Suspected Acoustic Neuroma

[Dunia]

Hello! I am new to the forum, so hopefully I am not repeating a question and following the etiquette.

• Noticed ringing & static in my ears about a year ago
• Started to pay more attention to it about 6 months ago as it got louder and thought it was in both ears or left ear if I had to pick one
• Recently went to ENT and they detected hearing loss between 6 kHz-8 kHz in my left ear
• Given the issue is in just left ear, ENT said there is a chance it is acoustic neuroma (tumor)
• Have an MRI scheduled this week to detect any tumor.

My questions are:

1) Doctor's report says follow up plan is "Brain and IAC MRI scan". But his prescription for the radiologist has "IAC" checked but "Brain" unchecked. I realize IAC is in the brain, but why are there two options in the prescription and why was "Brain" not checked when report has "Brain and IAC MRI" as next steps? Can I ask for a comprehensive scan of both IAC and other areas of the brain?

2) The MRI scan is with contrast (gadolinium). I have read recent (2017 and onwards) reports from credible sources that some amount of gadolinium can get accumulated in the brain and other parts of the body, even in patients that have healthy kidneys. Is an MRI scan w/ contrast absolutely necessary? Can they first do the MRI scan w/o contrast and then do MRI w/ contrast if and only if nothing was detected with former? I am willing to take the risk if MRI w/o contrast has even a small chance or not being able to spot a tumor especially when it is too small.

3) I am worried about the difficult nature of addressing the tumor, but I guess I have to pause on that worry until after MRI, but would love to hear any data around that or just some support

Please let me know.

 

[GregCA]

2) The MRI scan is with contrast (gadolinium). I have read recent (2017 and onwards) reports from credible sources that some amount of gadolinium can get accumulated in the brain and other parts of the body, even in patients that have healthy kidneys. Is an MRI scan w/ contrast absolutely necessary? Can they first do the MRI scan w/o contrast and then do MRI w/ contrast if and only if nothing was detected with former? I am willing to take the risk if MRI w/o contrast has even a small chance or not being able to spot a tumor especially when it is too small.

I did the MRI to rule out an Acoustic Neuroma, and it was without contrast.

3) I am worried about the difficult nature of addressing the tumor, but I guess I have to pause on that worry until after MRI, but would love to hear any data around that or just some support

The odds of your T being due to an AN are very small. No use worrying for something that has the largest probability (by a huge margin) of not existing.

Good luck!