Due to a fairly sudden loss of hearing in my left ear with very bad tinnitus, and examinations giving no outward cause. My consultant has requested i go for a full head MRI scan.
To say i am apprehensive is an understatement but just wondered if anyone has first hand knowledge or had a similar proceedure
They may even find a few grey cells in there..

Rich

Totally painless, VERY NOISY, and a nightmare if you're claustrophobic...

Save yourself a hassle and leave every non-essential metal item at home, unless you really need it - you can't take them into the MRI room.

As David says, very noisy, I was offered a choice of music or you can even take your own CD with you and they play it for you as you go through the process, I have a few chunks of metal in my ankle and they couldnt do a full body scan because of that, I think the metal heats up ferrous only as fillings are no problem.

Regards

Bob

as above had one recently for nasal related and a full body one years ago. Very claustraphobic and noisy IMO

i had an MRI back in December on my right shoulder. it was my second one. its a little bit noisy (even with the headphones on)

there is no need to feel apprehensive though, if they are only scanning your head then your head is the only thing that has to go into the scanner. (Its like a long dounut) you shouldn't have any feeling of claustrophobia as you'll only have your head in it. They even give you a set of headphones to put on, i requested radio 1 which they managed to get it (it was a big crackly though)

Honestly mate is not something to get worked up about, obviously you can't wear anything metal, but you'll more than likely be asked to wear a bath robe provided by the hospital

HTH's

Alex

[Edited on 9/6/11 by omega0684]

Nothing to worry about, seen hundreds. Very noisy as said (but no more than the average Locost) and after a while a bit boring as you just have to stay still.
Try and see if they'll let you do some passive flux experiments whilst you're there to keep yourself amused

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxC-AEC0ROk

As above. Very noisey and a nightmare if you are claustraphpbic. Just shut your eyes and stay still....it'll be fine.

As above, it'll be fine if it's only your head...

I went for my second one just recently for my back and had just been cutting metal in the day, so had to go for a head ct (?) first and there were fragments in my eye, so had to be watched by a neurologist and opthalmic surgery on my way in! It hurt quite a bit, it's an odd feeling having to shut your eyelids to keep your eyes being ripped out... Was quite unpleasant...

I'm afraid that I can suffer from claustrophobia, so I need to do the old classic things like prepare myself mentally and calm myself down, get my breathing right etc.

The MRI at leighton, crewe, isn't the biggest machine and you know the size you and I are, well I fit in, but with my arms pressed in toward my stomach and chest which obv makes the claustrophobia seem worse!

I also couldn't fit the speakers in the headset on and they had no earphones... (before anyone says anything, my motorbike helmet size is only a M!)

Basically mate, you'll be absolutely fine!

When i had one they asked me to go early to have my eyes x-rayed as i couldnt garantee not having any ferrous particles in my eyes due to my job (engineering) and i wasnt taking any risks, so you may want to mention that if they dont ask, but i presume they will. Otherwise just close your eyes and relax, i managed to nod off despite the noise!

Hi Bigrich

I had one a couple of weeks ago for tendon problems in my wrist. I know its not my head but my experience with it was ok.

The biggest thing I wasnt expecting was the noise, it is very loud. I was provided with a choice of foam earplugs or special eardefenders they can plumb music to. I chose the plugs.

The process was very simple, stay still until they pull you out. I had an emergency buzzer in my free hand just in case I wasnt comfortable and was inserted into the machine face down head first with my hand clamped in what I can only describe as a glorified sandwhich toaster, I guess to stop me moving it.

As Ive said, they instructed me to stay VERY still during the scan as this affects the quality of the images, I think I had 6 scans which took about 25 minutes to complete.

Not bad really, just not looking forward to surgery

I got my 3rd Mri scan soon and they are nowt to worry about, the worry is why you are having to have one in the first place

good to know chaps, suppose i have a bit of "fear of the unknown".

Thanks chaps for the reassurances, fortunately I'm not claustraphobic so it should be fine.

Rich



[Edited on 9/6/11 by bigrich]

quote:

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Originally posted by Triton
the worry is why you are having to have one in the first place

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Mrs Guinness has had a few MRI's for her hearing loss / tinutus, which turned out to be Menieres disease.

She says they are OK, noisy, but they give you headphones.

You'll be fine!

when i had mine the scans were not clear so they had tu put a needle in my arm and pump in some kind of red fluid. i remember it bieng quite a large needle and it hurt a bit. i was olny about 12 though. all in all i actually found it interesting!

I've had a two, the most recent one for extremely similar symptoms to yourself.

Really no big deal for me, especially when it's only a head scan, they gave me a panic button, so if you're going to freak they can get you out swift style, though for the head one you could wriggle out unaided. As others have said, they're noisy but they give you protection. They couldn't find anything in my head so result!

The hardest part for me is staying still. Had a few of them and every time I get in the machine I start to feel itchy!

MRI is a piece of cake.


I work with MRI and have probably had between 500 and 1000 scans over the last 20 years. I go in all the time as we are a research site and often have to set things up (programming new methods, optimising protocols). You can image bottles of water but why not image people when they are so cheaply available, especially as what mostly we do is cardiac MRI. The whole process is painless and something I like to volunteer for after a big lunch.

So, if they are looking at your ears it will be head coil. You will lie on a bed and you will lie on the back bit and clamp the front part over your face. You can see out, they should put a mirror onto it (it allows you to see out, which helps with the confined spaces). If they don't have a mirror then mention it, some sites are too lazy to bother. I didn't like the confined spaces the first time, but after the 2nd I have been fine. Be brave, much more space than when lying under the car, you will be fine. They can give you a sedative but that would mean you couldn't drive home.

Normally you will have headphones or earplugs because the scanners are noisy. But not as loud as an angle grinder.

If they are decent then they will talk to you about how long each scan will take. You need to stay still during the scans, but don't stress about it. If the radiographers are good you will be comfortable so as long as you don't mess about they will get good images.


The whole thing is totally painless. Avoid wearing metal (underwired bras do an amusing flip trick) and take out any embarrassing piercings before you arrive. They will do a safety form with you, if you have had metal in your eyes then you will want to provide evidence that it isn't mobile (otherwise you will get an additional x-ray).

Matt

What happens if you need to cough or sneeze during the scan? Presumably it would mess it up and they'd have to start again?

quote:

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Originally posted by MikeRJ
What happens if you need to cough or sneeze during the scan? Presumably it would mess it up and they'd have to start again?

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i have another one next week. this is the noise you can hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CWpZKuy-NE&feature=related

If you *THINK* you've got a piece of metal in your eye - they'll ask - make it quite clear.

Don't panic.

They'll do a quick CAT scan (again, don't panic) to see if there's a bit of metal in the eye. Again, nothing to worry about at all. I had a few angle grinder particles in there, so MRI was a non-starter.

quote:

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Originally posted by scootz
The hardest part for me is staying still. Had a few of them and every time I get in the machine I start to feel itchy!

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Echoing the above comments really, I've had a number of MRI scans for knee and ankle related injuries/problems. Nothing at all to be concerned about, noisey and boring in reality. Take a good CD for them to play you through the headphones and you'll be good to go.

Hope the results identify the problem and a quick resolution for you!

i had one a few years ago, very claustrophobic. nothing to be worries about though might want to keep your eyes closed.

one of the lads in the office fell asleep during his last week.

ditch

I didn't find it too claustrophobic at all. Noisy and headset (one of those plastic ones like s plastic stethoscope) didn't drown out the noise. Closed my eyes through most of it though and tried to have a mini kip!

Honestly you'll be 100% fine

quote:

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Originally posted by matt_gsxr

quote:

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Originally posted by MikeRJ
What happens if you need to cough or sneeze during the scan? Presumably it would mess it up and they'd have to start again?

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Try not to, but if you do, then you do.

The MRI exam is split into different bits. Initially they run localisers, these are so that they can look at the relevant bits, so those images are pretty quick and don't need to be high quality.

If you move during a scan then it might pick up some image "artefacts", its no different to when you take photos with a camera, some pictures are good and some are not. If the images are not good then they will reacquire, but they don't have to start again, only need to collect the ones that got messed up. Most images will require about 3minutes. Often images are collected as a stack of 2D slices, and in that case motion might only mess up one image, or sometimes all of them.

It is totally non-invasive (no x-rays, nothing dangerous) so if they have to collect images more than once then its only annoying for you and for whoever does their scheduling, but they plan for this stuff and you guys are going to be very easy customers compared to some folk (very old, or non-english speakers, or people who can't lie flat, for example).


Its an ongoing area of research to make scanners quieter, more open (newer scanners are shorter with a wider hole down the middle), and less sensitive to motion. But at the moment that is what you get. The alternatives are a decent dose of radiation, or a sharp knife, so I know which I would prefer.


Matt

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quote:

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Originally posted by matt_gsxr
MRI is a piece of cake.


I work with MRI and have probably had between 500 and 1000 scans over the last 20 years. I go in all the time as we are a research site and often have to set things up (programming new methods, optimising protocols). You can image bottles of water but why not image people when they are so cheaply available, especially as what mostly we do is cardiac MRI. The whole process is painless and something I like to volunteer for after a big lunch.

So, if they are looking at your ears it will be head coil. You will lie on a bed and you will lie on the back bit and clamp the front part over your face. You can see out, they should put a mirror onto it (it allows you to see out, which helps with the confined spaces). If they don't have a mirror then mention it, some sites are too lazy to bother. I didn't like the confined spaces the first time, but after the 2nd I have been fine. Be brave, much more space than when lying under the car, you will be fine. They can give you a sedative but that would mean you couldn't drive home.

Normally you will have headphones or earplugs because the scanners are noisy. But not as loud as an angle grinder.

If they are decent then they will talk to you about how long each scan will take. You need to stay still during the scans, but don't stress about it. If the radiographers are good you will be comfortable so as long as you don't mess about they will get good images.


The whole thing is totally painless. Avoid wearing metal (underwired bras do an amusing flip trick) and take out any embarrassing piercings before you arrive. They will do a safety form with you, if you have had metal in your eyes then you will want to provide evidence that it isn't mobile (otherwise you will get an additional x-ray).

Matt

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quote:

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Originally posted by ashg


Who do you work for matt? i spend a lot of time configuring linac's, mri's, ct's to work together. i dont know why hospitals think its a good idea to have them in the same building as magnetic field compensation between the different machines is a complete bitch.

BTW mri is a walk in the park its ct's and xrays that you want to worry about in terms of radiation and even then most doses are about the same as a long haul flight.

the simplest way i can describe the thing is that its a big super conductive magnet. all it does is magnetise the hydrogen atoms that are already in your body (water & Fat mainly) to produce an image.

[Edited on 9/6/2011 by ashg]

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Funnily enough, I actually quite like the noise the MRI scanners make - perhaps a cd will be available

Just about fell asleep during mine, and they hauled me out. Almost disappointed

ATB

Simon

I also went for a MRI due to Tinnatus.

I was so up in the air the night before that i could'nt sleep, went into the machine and was fighting hard not to nod off as it's nothing to worry about.

it was around five year's since i had mine as i was getting scanned to see if i had nerve end damage which they thought was causing my Tinatus. My result's came back incunclusive.I have 30% hearing loss in my left ear along with the ringing.

At the time i was diagnosed only in my 20's working in construction thinking that when i was young not wearing ear protection would'nt affect me and my advise is alway's wear at least ear plug's when using anything noisy.

quote:

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Originally posted by graememk
i have another one next week. this is the noise you can hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CWpZKuy-NE&feature=related

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quote:

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Originally posted by MikeRJ

quote:

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Originally posted by graememk
i have another one next week. this is the noise you can hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CWpZKuy-NE&feature=related

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Wow, that's an impressively large and heavy bit of equipment rotating very quickly inches from the patient! I don't think an MRI scanner has moving parts though does it?

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I had one on my knee after a snowboarding accident.

Had been warned about the noise by a colleague so was expecting something medieval.

Lay down, stuck my leg in the hole and I.... fell asleep! 20 minutes or so later in came the Dr and I woke up. Easy! And a nice nap too. So it really can't be that loud. Dont think I had headphones or anything either.

Cheers,
James

I was a volunteer for a tinnitus research project and had 3 MRI scan, each lasting about 45 minutes (normal ones don't take that long). I struggled to stay awake, which was unfortunate as I was supposed to be watching images to see my brains reaction to images and sounds.
I'm also an NHS audiologist so hopefully know a little bit about tinnitus

quote:

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Originally posted by bigrich

I just thought it was wax and a quick swill out with a syringe would sort it, how wrong was i. i'm sure the cause will be found soon enough.

Rich

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quote:

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Originally posted by 02GF74

quote:

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Originally posted by bigrich

I just thought it was wax and a quick swill out with a syringe would sort it, how wrong was i. i'm sure the cause will be found soon enough.

Rich

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Remember when you were under the car trying to fit the speedo sensor and that little M6 spring washer went missing ..........

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