- Sep 12, 2016
- 12
- Tinnitus Since
- 2014
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Loud noise/ Unknown
So yesterday I went in for a routine MRI to look at my neck for a possible compression of one of the nerves in there.
I've always been terrified of loud MRI's, but the previous two I had caused no hearing damage or T spikes whatsoever, and they were done just last spring.
This time I wore the earplugs they gave me, which are actually very high quality foam earplugs and averaged about 30 db in reduction. They offered to let me wear the headphones (not earmuffs, just regular old music playing headphones), but they only seemed to amplify the low frequency noises in the machine so I declined. They did put foam padding along the side though. I'm wondering if I must have made a mistake?
It was horrendously loud regardless; I would guess there was a period of about 4 minutes when the sound level was at least 90 decibels or certainly above 85. I was crying and miserable so they had to stop mid way through. I also found out it was a 3T machine, which are said to be much louder than 1.5 T machines that are more commonly in use.
After the procedure I got home seemingly fine, but then I realized there was a low rumbling kind of tinnitus that had never been there before, and my low frequencies had dropped. Nothing happened with the highs however, and I did not have a screeching kind of tinnitus. That droning noise is still there.
Is this permanent hearing damage? I am scared to death and am beating myself up for ever deciding to go into one of those machines again.
I've always been terrified of loud MRI's, but the previous two I had caused no hearing damage or T spikes whatsoever, and they were done just last spring.
This time I wore the earplugs they gave me, which are actually very high quality foam earplugs and averaged about 30 db in reduction. They offered to let me wear the headphones (not earmuffs, just regular old music playing headphones), but they only seemed to amplify the low frequency noises in the machine so I declined. They did put foam padding along the side though. I'm wondering if I must have made a mistake?
It was horrendously loud regardless; I would guess there was a period of about 4 minutes when the sound level was at least 90 decibels or certainly above 85. I was crying and miserable so they had to stop mid way through. I also found out it was a 3T machine, which are said to be much louder than 1.5 T machines that are more commonly in use.
After the procedure I got home seemingly fine, but then I realized there was a low rumbling kind of tinnitus that had never been there before, and my low frequencies had dropped. Nothing happened with the highs however, and I did not have a screeching kind of tinnitus. That droning noise is still there.
Is this permanent hearing damage? I am scared to death and am beating myself up for ever deciding to go into one of those machines again.
