That’s how my husband described the MRI he had done yesterday. I’m sure this won’t be his last so, I thought I’d check with the hive mind here to see if anyone has any tricks for lessening the extreme noise while remaining completely still for the duration. He said the earplugs they provided weren’t much help at all.
P.S. MRI was done to check to see if bone lesions in spine could be cause of right knee/leg collapsing causing him to fall.
Seems the earclips did not work for him. I always get special earphones and ask for music, this helps to pass the time you spend in the MRI.
Thanks, I’ll pass on that info 👍🏽
In addition to classic rock music a couple of muscle relaxers will help. Hopefully he won't pass out in the waiting room like me. I used to think you can't relax too much.
I’ll have him ask for that the next time 👍🏽 Thanks!
I waited on this, seeing if the "gotta know" urge passed. It didn't. What's the story, GoBucks?
😆 Yeah, GoBucks…..inquiring minds want to know what happened after you passed out in the waiting area?
My wife worked in that hospital and heard a call over the loudspeaker for the rapid response team. She knew it was for me. 😁 I spent the afternoon in the ER getting a big workup. Bottom line: don't take 2 muscle relaxers on an empty stomach and expect to stay upright.
😳
I’ve had many MRIs and the noise is no big deal, not particularly uncomfortable.
Apparently it was a big deal for him. I tell him he has “dog” hearing. Seriously, his hearing is way more sensitive than mine.
Music can help relax but it is not going to mask the noise. A lot of it i very low frequency pounding type noises and nothing blocks that, it travel right through your body. Take your favorite relaxing drug in advance. Nothing is going to block that horrendous noise.
You’re absolutely right. Thanks for understanding 👍🏽
Strange: after a few minutes it tends to put me to sleep.
it can be terribly uncomfortable for some people. I insert earplugs before putting on their headphones, and ask them to turn the music up way loud. My mind them strives to hear the music, so focuses less on the sounds from the machine.
Thanks, I’ll see if next time they’ll supply some headphones but if you read my replies to others in this thread, he had a tight plastic shield clamped over his head so headphones were not an option.
Gitmo torture sums up a whole lot of the living-with-PCa-treatment experience. MRI noise. Enemas before scans. Very full bladder before each RT session, with the last 50-75% being excruciatingly uncomfortable. Losing body hair. Gaining fat. Losing muscle. Losing bone mass. Hot flashes. Fatigue. Biopsies. Last not least, the endless paperwork and paying co-pays for the privilege of being tormented. I wouldn't have it any other way. PCa is a fiendish adversary.
You hit the proverbial nail on the head!
Yesterday was a not good, very bad day for him. He got not one but two shots in his eye for macular degeneration, then came the gitmo torture of the MRI on top of an already painful day for him. All you fighting the good fight have my deepest empathy
As a claustrophobic, I loathe MRI’s. The only way I beat it was 1) using a low-dose Valium, like Lorazapan to lower anxiety, and 2) actually practice a few days before the MRI by creating my own MRI tunnel at home from four chairs lined up in a row with cardboard on the sides— this actually helped me get used to being in a confined space for 30 mins. Extreme measures I know, but I didn’t want to mess it up. MRI’s are hard to reschedule. Make sure you always ask for the newer “Open MRI”, which is a 70cm bore. The older ones feel like a torpedo tube. Note, there are some other drugs with shorter half-life than Lorazepam, which is about four hours.
Innovative! 👏🏽
He doesn’t seem have a problem with the enclosed space, only the extreme noise and holding still for close to an hour, said it became very painful for him.
Butt hurt....very difficult to be still for almost an hour....noise was definitely irritating, but the least of my bothers. One reason I'm wary of MRI Viewray radiation treatment...5 sessions of one hour in MRI machine???
Everyone is different, but my ViewRay experience was really easy IMO. I was never in the machine a full hour. It’s completely different from a diagnostic MRI.
They take a scout scan, machine stops, a few minutes later, they let me know the Dr. approved and treatment begins. Id say treatment was 15 minutes or so in total for myself. The one time it was delayed was for a few minutes to let my bladder finish filling.
I know another patient was unable to be treated due to bad bowel prep which set everything back an hour.
That actually sounds like something totally different than what he had. His was a diagnostic MRI, not for any kind of radiation treatment. In fact, they asked him multiple times to make sure to empty his bladder and had already had a bowel movement
I've had to ask to interrupt the MRI so I could empty my bladder. There seemed to be no problem with that. I got back in the machine and they continued where they left off.
I would need to do an enema evry day.....very irregular, even with soft stools...something is wrong with my system, and apparently no fix.
It was a diagnostic MRI, no treatment involved. They found a fatty growth on his spine. Have appointment with neurosurgeon day after tomorrow 👍🏽
Fatty growth on spine sounds unusual. I’ve been working in spine surgery(not a dr) for over 20yrs and can’t say I’ve heard anything like that.
Sure it wasn’t a herniated disc?
I honestly don’t know, it was my husband that spoke to the oncology NP and said she said it was a fatty growth and something else that he couldn’t remember so it’s possible the something else is a herniated disc. They changed his appointment from Friday to next Tuesday so I’ll get the low down then. Yup, planning to take notes 👍🏽
The tech gave me foam earplugs AND over-the-ear earphones. A mild benzodiazepine anxiolytic may help too.
He said they clamped his head in a plastic shield-like thing that was so tight it would have prevented noise canceling headphones. They only provided those cheapie foam earplugs that didn’t cancel out much of the noise. The next time we’ll request a mild sedative or muscle relaxer ahead of time.
I can't use foam earplugs, they will not go into my ear canal. I used the mushroom shaped silicone ones and had to search a lot for one that works and does not hurt after a short while. Still they do not block the low frequency noise of an MRI. Fortunately I never had a real problem with it knowing it would be over in less than an hour.
spencoid2 wrote -- "I can't use foam earplugs, they will not go into my ear canal..."
Your ear canal must be very small if after you squish them down to almost nothing by rolling them back and forth between your pointer and thumb they still won't fit.
I have tried. I have dog ears. My ear canal turns quickly so it is impossible get them in far enough so when they expand they fall out. I have tried doing it myself and have had others do it too. One minute and they fall out. I also have no anti tragus (this is a sign of superior intellect because I can not use the stupid Iphone hanging ear buds) which I think I share with maybe 5% of the population.
I'm blessed, I suppose. I have hearing impairment at the severe level. When receiving MRIs, I take out my hearing aids, and the slight but interesting noise doesn't bother me at all.
There is always a silver lining, right?
These MRI’s are the least of our problems.
I weigh in at 245lbs. I have had 4 MRI now in 24 months. The max weight for standard tube MRI is 250lbs. You can request a large bore (not Open) MRI. Much more relaxing if he is a bigger Man.
Also, I was given 2 xanax. 1-1 hour before, and 1-30 min before. He will need a driver home😎. But any anxiety of being in a loud, tightly confined space, is soon forgotten. Here is to hoping is scan is uneventful. Mike
Thanks for your reply and good wishes. He does feel anxious per se, it’s only the extreme noise that he couldn’t stand. But the Xanax is probably the way to go along with some better ear plugs 👍🏽
Hello,
I have had many, many MRIs. I reckon the noise they make must be like being in a very old World War II submarine. I once told the technician that their scan needed some WD-40. He just smiled. Seriously, get some Over The Ear (OTE) noise-cancelling headphones the type you would use on a plane. One technician told me that I would be surprised at the number of people who fall asleep while having a scan. They can hear them snoring in the booth. I am not sure how anyone can fall asleep with the racket going on around them but I guess some people can. Good luck! 😊
That’s hilarious! I can’t imagine it either but I suppose for some it’s like background noise 😬
If you live next to a tank range.
Yeah doesn't bother me in the slightest, but I do live very near a 24/7 coaltrain tripple set of tracks to largest coal port in Australia, probs Southern Hemisphere..Newcastle NSW.
Very similar to a coal train I guess except for the banging. Do you get that or do you also have a military range next door too?
Military firing range 20k away....F 18s attack it overhead as well every few months, just in training. All good fun.
We used to live near the back gate of Camp Pendleton, lots of training and ordinance going off there
I also worked in La Jolla for awhile. Fighter jets overhead as they headed out over open water for flight trainings.
Well you've had it all, must be a very noisy MRI machine. Shocker.
it’s very strange but I have fallen asleep as well. I wish you both well!
Noise canceling headphones…assuming that’s a joke right? There’s a reason the headphones they give you are so bad. It’s music coming through a plastic tube.
I use a mask to cover my eyes and cup-like headphones to help reduce the noise.
Thank you, the eye mask idea is an interesting idea and would probably help him relax. He had a tight, plastic shield thing clamped over his head that didn’t allow for headphones only the foam earplugs they provided. We’ll be more prepared next time.
I don’t like the idea of covering his eyes. It would make me even more claustrophobic. For me, I do two things that help. First I ask the tech to tell me as each 4 minutes pass. Breaking it into smaller sections seems to help for me at least. I just tell myself it’s only four minutes each time. I also try to relive in detail something I enjoy. For me it’s golf. I relive an entire 18 holes shot by shot. Keeps my mind occupied.
Schwah
Get a prostate biopsy, get a camera shoved down his 'thingmejig' few rounds of chemo.I think his MRI/Guantanamo torture reference may change....
Oh, believe me he’s had all that and more. He’s not a newbie to all of the other tortures and I’m sure there are MANY more awaiting him, I was only looking for possible ways to make it easier on him for next time.
BTW, 1. Bladder cancer, so he had his urethra scoped multiple times
2. Had the needles biopsy for his prostate diagnosis
3. Had 9 rounds of chemo (Docetaxal)
4. Is currently midway through 10 rounds of Cabazitaxal
But thanks for your helpful advice
Wow, he's no newbie.Wonder what he used for referencing all those other treatments....
It depends on the machine. The latest is tolerable. The old 1.5T is bad. If you have the choice that is.
Dont mind me. I am a layman. 😊
Okay….that makes sense. He goes to VA in Portland, maybe they’re not so up to date on the latest technology
I am one of those who can fall asleep in an MRI which can be a curse (twitch wrong and you repeat a 20min segment). However the endorectal coil optioned MRI raises the torture level a notch on the Braveheart scale IMO and nobody sleeps through that.
So to be clear, it is not a claustrophobia issue correct? Only the noise and having to remain still then. So I am supposing that if the noise was reduced the holding still would be easier? If not then that becomes a separate problem.
Hopefully a diazepam or similar would help the overall anxiety, but the noise is a great example of how much we need to advocate for ourselves. Headphones with choice of music are almost always given for MRI’s, and should be. If we don’t get them we need to insist or go elsewhere if we are that sensitive to the sound.
Additionally, if we bring our own noise canceling phones (with or without music) they will surely be more effective than what is provided, similar to the difference between personal phones and the ones given on an airplane flight. Pairing plugs with the headphones is a total solution for some.
I am not saying you should have known, but now you do. Sometimes experience is our only teacher. I’ve never had a problem with any aspect of MRI, but if I was given only earplugs for one I would give them back and leave if they didn’t provide phones. The procedure is very loud no question. Great luck to you!
you cannot use regular headphones people…there’s a reason you answer 50 questions about implants and walk through an ultra sensitive metal detector each time you enter the room.
tinyurl.com/3rb89t8y
If one tried to bring something attracted to magnetic force into an MRI suite, it would instantly and with great force be pulled to the 1.5T magnetic field inside the machine. Watches, cell phones, ear buds, metal frame eyeglasses, headphones, etc. There are youtube videos showing what happens. MRI magnets are always on -- it is very costly to stop and restart.
Headphone-silencers you might be offered use air-filled tubes (not wires).
Years ago someone I knew said that before an MRI they had to scan his eyes since he had metal slivers in them.
Can’t bring your own music headphones, of course. My mistake. But you can certainly use the non-magnetic ones they provide augmented with ear plugs. Should do the job for most.
Only the foam earplugs were offered, but agree he should ask for headphones too next time.
I'm reading all the advice- my husband doesn't have a problem with them. But my mom went yesterday for an MRI of her eye and said that the plastic thing they seemed to 'nail down' over her head smashed the noise canceling headphones onto her ears (over the foam ones they had her put in) and hurt more than the noise. I'm looking fir ideas for her in case she needs another.
Exactly! My husband was given foam earplugs but no noise canceling headphones because of that plastic shield thing on his head. They used to make some earplugs that were made of a soft wax, you worked it into a ball then when put into the ear canal it fit and formed better. I don’t know if they still make these but I’m going to look for them. They sold them in the travel section at drug stores
Hope your mom is okay 🤞🏽
I am mildly claustrophobic, kicks in on MRI. So I just get anesthesia and sleep for the whole procedure. My medicare plan pays fully for it.
Having to lie still while already having been stressed with the eye injections probably want a great idea. I do understand though trying to minimize the amount of time and days spent receiving care. I've recently been able to consolidate labs and injections and multiple drug deliveries on the same days so it's not back and forth or waiting more than one day to sign for the delivery, etc.
I wonder if there is an open MRI available in your area? I'm not knowledgeable of it would provide the same scan required... Or if it's any quieter, lol. Just a though that popped in my head.
As for the FOAM earplugs, they work, as long as you get them inserted correctly. If not, then they don't work well at all. Trick is you need to squeeze the foam so small, like a toothpick thin, and then quickly insert it into the ear. And deeply, almost to the point that you won't be able to retrieve it. Keep a finger there lightly pushing against it to prevent it from coming out. At that point you should feel the foam expanding and the ear then being sound muffled, quiet. If you do not hear sound reduced at that point, then pull it out and try again. Sometimes a slight twist when inserting helps too. Do it until it's right, don't feel rushed, because the sound can be jolting!
But the foam works... Ask for a few or buy some, they're cheap, and practice before another MRI... Just a suggestion.
As for the electronic noise cancelling headphones, how do they work in the MRI? Or are the references above just standard over the earn hearing protection (static)? Interesting... I have all plastic over the ear protection, never thought to bring them along, lol. But will do next time. I also have electronic ones as well...
Funny thing is the sound never bothered me, and usually just makes me fall asleep. Which is also bad because then I lose control of motion and fear moving... So I fight to stay awake, lol.
Anyways, best regard and good luck!
Keep on Truckin'
Super helpful suggestions, gracias! 👍🏽
You’re probably right, having the two procedures done on the same day probably wasn’t the best planning but here’s the thing…..it WASN’T planned. He didn’t know he was getting the shots until the ophthalmologist dilated and had a look. And the MRI was requested as an emergency since we were there already. We drive 1 1/2 hours to the VA Med Center so they try to make things easier on us by giving us convenient appointments
Hubby is with teacher dude. He's very claustrophobic and gets a mild anaesthetic. No problem after that.
Sorry to hear about your husband's experience. MRIs are not fun. Ive had many and tolerate them well but I can completely understand why others don't. After my prostatectomy I woke up feeling like my left arm had a 50-lb weight attached to it. I could barely lift it. The staff at NIH, where I had my surgery, had me go for an MRI of my head to rule out any neurological damage. It turned out that it was caused by the position they placed me in on the operating table and was a greatly exaggerated case of my arm falling asleep (paresthesia?) and I was fine within a few hours. Anyway, a nurse came into my room to give me the MRI results and told me they had examined my head and didn't find anything. I wasn't sure how to take that.
Funny 😁 and happy that your arm came back to life
I convince myself I'm riding my Harley like back in the day.
Imagination is a wonderful and helpful tool 👍🏽
Noise cancelling headphones are the way to go. Get the Bluetooth variety to connect to a music source. I got the Sony product but Bose is good, too.
you’ve actually used these in an MRI?
I’m going to do some investigating
I have never had an issue with any scan, but I know some have anxiety being in the tube.
Most gun and ammo stores sell a whole array of very effective ear plugs. Buy a good pair. They work well when you are trying to sleep with the dog barking next door too. Good Luck.
Excellent suggestion, thanks!
you can’t bring your own headphones to an MRI
I had a similar experience this morning with ear plugs and headphones. Neither made much difference. For some reason they had to do one part again so I was battered by sound for nearly and hour. Not nice at all. But let's be grateful for the technology. I have a new spine lesion at T5 but I've been accepted for further Cyberknife treatment. Does your husband get much night-time pain? Mine seems to have increased lately but I don't know if it's the new met that's doing it.
All the best.
Thank you for your understanding and empathy 🙏🏽
He got a phone call from his Onc NP yesterday. She said the MRI showed he has a fatty growth on his spine that is very possibly pressing on nerves and the cause of his right leg pain and weakness. He now has an appointment with a neurosurgeon on Friday.
Wishing you a good outcome with the surgery and your continued fight 🤞🏽
Fun viewing
Paperclip MRI demo youtube.com/shorts/fsGi_L_Gqqw
Stapler MRI demo youtube.com/watch?v=6BBx8Bw...
Small wrench MRI demo youtube.com/watch?v=6BBx8Bw...
Bobby pins and MRI machine youtube.com/shorts/gkPG1KObX4w
I’m really surprised more people didn’t realize this..
He may be getting cheap earplugs. Go to the store and get the higest DB cancelling ones. The tech probably put them in. He needs to put them in himself. practise at home a lot. He needs to roll the plugs tightly and then quickly put them in his mouth to moisten them. Some people put their arm over their head and pull up on the ear. I don't need to do that myself. Quickly put them in the ear. I road a motorcycle for years and alwys used earplugs. The techs do not know how to put them in and when done improperly, they don't work. Also, I learned one time, do not drink coffee before an MRI. I did before the last one and it was not fun.
Thanks for the tip! It didn’t even dawn on me that wetting the earplugs would help them slide in……Gracias! 👏🏽
From FinnO's post above.
However the endorectal coil optioned MRI raises the torture level a notch on the Braveheart scale IMO
I had two "Is Endorectal Coil MRI's" and FinnO is absolutely correct. Ever since I had those MRI's any other MRI is a cakewalk in the park, No issues.
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Wednesday 05/10/2023 12:31 PM DST
........................................................................................................................................................................................... Prostate MRI: Is Endorectal Coil Necessary? -A Review
Grace Lee 1, Aytekin Oto 1, Mihai Giurcanu 2
Affiliations expand
PMID: 35455060 PMCID: PMC9030903 DOI: 10.3390/life12040569
Free PMC article
Abstract
To assess the necessity of endorectal coil use in 3 Tesla (T) prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a literature review comparing the image quality and diagnostic performance with an endorectal coil (ERC) and a without endorectal coil (NERC), with a phased array coil or a wearable perineal coil (WPC), was performed. A PubMed search of 3T prostate MRI using an endorectal coil for studies published until 31 July 2021 was performed. A total of 14 studies comparing 3T prostate MRI with and without endorectal coil use were identified. The quality scores and diagnostic performances were recorded for each study. In total, five studies compared image quality; five studies compared quality and performance; and four studies compared performance of detection, size of detected lesions, accuracy of cancer localization, and aggressiveness/staging. The use of an endorectal coil improved image quality with a higher overall signal to noise ratio, posterior and peripheral zone signal to noise ratio, high b-value attenuation diffusion coefficient (ADC) signal to noise ratio, and contrast to noise ratio. Endorectal coil use improved subjective image quality for anatomic detail on T2 weighted images (T2WI) and diffusion weighted images (DWI). Endorectal coil use had less motion artifact on DWI than non-endorectal coil use, but produced a higher occurrence of other artifacts on DWI. Endorectal coils had higher sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) in the detection of overall and index lesions, as well as smaller and less aggressive lesions, missing fewer and smaller lesions than non-endorectal coils. Endorectal coils had higher sensitivity than non-endorectal coils in localizing and staging lesions. Endorectal coils improved quantitative and qualitative image quality and diagnostic performance in the detection of smaller and less aggressive cancers in 3T prostate MRI.
Keywords: detection; endorectal; signal to noise ratio; staging; wearable perineal coil.
😱
My recommendation is to contact the radiology/imaging department and ask them what can be done. It should be with someone who works with the MRI equipment not just the person who answers calls and does scheduling (although they may have the best answers too). I have found, even in our relatively small hospital, that they are very experienced with the discomfort of MRI scans. They are VERY loud.
I had the earphones and music they provide and they were pretty worthless and you couldn't even tell there was music coming through. The techs will be very unwilling to the point of absolute refusal to let you use your own earphones due to the possibility of metal inside or in the bands. They cannot be music playing types anyway because they all have metal and/or magnets to make the sound. The ones I have been given are powered by air which passes the music on. As such they are very weak and worthless when they turn on the scan.
If a head brace is required I can't see how any type of over the ear equipment could fit in any case. I have had one of those and the cage is very restrictive. I have a personal problem with the head cage because it has to go in linearly in to the hole, i.e. not tilted. I have fused neck and thoracic vertebrae (actually my whole spine) and have a non-bendable curve. They were going to refuse me until we managed to use some pillows under my back to get my head down in plane with the sliding table. That has nothing to do with the sound problem but just to note that I do have direct experience with a head cage.
Exactly! Next time we’ll be more prepared 👍🏽
I also have ultra-sensitive hearing, and combined with claustrophobia MRIs were problematic to say the least. So these are the best earplugs I've ever found -- soft, non-scratchy, very malleable, washable -- I bought my last pack in 2014 and they're still going, and I wear them every day (leaf blowers, etc.) and night. They're far better than anything you can get from MRI techs. amazon.com/gp/product/B0033...
Another thing I started doing as I lay confined in that tube (thinking about being trapped in a cave unable to move with the mountain pressing down on top of me and spending the rest of my too-short life there, brought on by reading about en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd... -- it did not end well...) was to start counting the hammering buzzing clicking noises, one by one by one, till I lost count and had to start over again. It distracted me from obsessing about my situation, made the time pass, to the point where I relaxed so much I could fall asleep. Then I would worry about that, but better than worrying about the noise and being trapped in a cave.
It really comes down to mind over matter, and comparing it to torture at Guantanamo is funny in one way, but you can flip that in your favor when you think about what people are actually going through there, and you can then be grateful that, "well, this isn't even remotely close to what I'd feel in Guantanamo."
Wow, excellent advice, thanks!
Funny you should suggest the counting distraction. I used to tell him that I thought he had mild OCD because he counted everything and then would quiz me afterwards. Like how many steps did we just go down? How many holes in one acoustic ceiling tile? Etc, etc. 😆He doesn’t do it so much anymore but I’ll definitely suggest that he try that for his next MRI
claustrophobia is my issue. Open MRI is my go to. The closed MRI is much more powerful and much better for quality pictures. I can do it with drugs but when they tell me to hold my breath it doesn’t matter how stoned I am. Mentally suffocating is just over the top for me. Ear plugs with over the ear protection is very workable for most.
After 20 plus years of flying military jets I had a lot of experience with ear plugs. I suggest you go to UTube and search for How to use FOAM hearing aids by Doctor Cliff.
Hope this helps.
Thanks, will look it up 👍🏽
I was inside the machine, butt up for a MRI Guided Biopsie, when a afternoon storm appeared over Del Ray Beach Florida. Lightning struck nearby shutting down the facility. Technicians scrambled to disengage the movable table. I stayed put waiting for the storm to pass and systems to restart, my fanny shinning and probe still in place like a cigar between my lips. To lighten the mood I ask " is this how the HULK got his start"???
Oligometastatic PCa
Advice 
Xtandi and leg and back aches
prostate cancer so scared psa level over 100 
Chromogranin A (CgA) not useful for screening patients for neuroendocrine differentiation according to my doctor.
