7 ms·

I thought these were a nice idea when I had my MRI the other day, little did I know that I would barely be able to hear anything over the noise of the MRI machi

I thought these were a nice idea when I had my MRI the other day, little did I know that I would barely be able to hear anything over the noise of the MRI machine. Ear plugs were better, kept out the noise of the MRI machine and let me drift into a trance.

dylan604 3y ago
What was your experience with the MRI like? Specifically, did you "feel" it? I've had my knee scanned for ACL damage, and have spoken to a few other acquaintances that have had scans as well. We've all discussed having some sensation in the exact part of the body being scanned. We all just happened to similar sports based knee injuries. It was just the slightest of tingling, but noticeable. Definitely not painful or anything scary. Was it just psychosomatic? Very possibly, but it's interesting that we all experienced it.
- tgv 3y ago
  MRI can cause a tingling sensation. Apparently, it can be quite noticeable when you make a loop, e.g. with your arms. See peripheral nerve stimulation.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    make a loop? wouldn't that require breaking the cardinal rule of not moving during the scan?
    - green-salt 3y ago
      For my knee scans I could move into a position that was comfortable for me which actually I think was arms folded across my abdomen, but then you just do not move while the imaging is happening, which will have a distinct sound.
- secretsatan 3y ago
  I had a head one done, it was very noisy, but the thing I found most uncomfortable, or rather, disconcerting, is when they injected the tracing fluid. I thought they would do it all the way through, but then I suddenly heard the pump start halfway through the procedure and a slightly cooler fluid running up inside my arms.
- zrail 3y ago
  I have had an abdomen MRI. I definitely felt sensations when the machine was doing particular sets of scans. Also, I accidentally left my wedding ring on (I informed them, they were not interested in the slightest). My right felt hot during the scans. Not painful burning hot, but warmer than body temp for sure.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    I guess forgetting your gold ring in an MRI lets you know it's not gold plating of a cheaper metal!
- riahi 3y ago
  The RF pulses and field gradients can directly stimulate the peripheral nerves. I have had involuntary muscle twitching triggered by many pulse sequences. It’s not unheard of. It made me more sympathetic for patients who have motion in images. It could be that the particular combination of pulse sequence and their nerves don’t jive and triggers movement. Source: Radiologist (and personal experience in the bore)
  - lostlogin 3y ago
    If the patient isn’t twitching occasionally, the resolution is too low. We aim to be just below peripheral nerve stimulation threshold. I’m sort of joking, but if you aren’t ever getting PNS, the machine is not being run very hard. However the sensation you get in the region being scanned feels more like heating than PNS to me. You notice it more on high SAR sequences, suggesting that might be the cause. PNS just feels like twitching you can’t control, but ones milage may vary as this is anecdotal. Source: MR radiographer.
    - riahi 3y ago
      I don’t think it’s heating. I think it’s PNS because my leg will periodically twitch which I can time with the pulse sequence. I also have some small ACL reconstruction hardware in the knee which might interact and predispose that leg to moving… I am well acquainted with high SAR abdominal scans in a 3T from my time doing scan certification in a petmr. Even though I “know” that tissue heating from high SAR is a thing, it always surprises me when my abdomen gets warm.
      - lostlogin 3y ago
        I used a high spec Siemens Avanto which a University owned. We used to get people complaining about PNS in the left hip and just above the bridge of the nose. It was a weird thing, and mainly happened on cardiac scans. Some found it too painful to continue with scanning. I’ve had a little bit of PNS, but nothing that strong. The SAR sensation of being heated from the inside is an unusual one, I’m not sure I’ve had anything else do that?
caseyohara 3y ago
I recently got an MRI and the technician asked me what I wanted to listen to on the headphones. I said "Something relaxing, do you have ambient music?". This turned out to be a terrible choice; the music was so quiet I could barely hear it. Earplugs would have been better. I had some in my pocket that I brought but it was too late. So after the claustrophobic panic subsided and I realized I was left in there with nothing but the loud machine and my own thoughts, I decided to listen to the machine as if it were music. I found it supremely hypnotic and trance-inducing, almost meditative. I'm a big fan of deep and hypnotic techno, so the rhythmic MRI sounds were right up my alley. I'd probably have enjoyed it more with earplugs though.
- djhope99 3y ago
  This is exactly how I approached it the first time with just the ear plugs. I find those machine sounds can be quite soothing and hypnotic on their own. I’ll give the music a miss next time.
- jonah 3y ago
  When I had an MRI a few years ago, my conclusion about the sound was "add a melody on top of that rhythm, and it would go over quite well in an underground industrial music club in an abandoned warehouse outside of Berlin." I haven't looked to see if anyone has actually tried to make music with the sound or not.
  - leejo 3y ago
    When I had one it felt like I was listening to early to mid 2000s Autechre. In other words, almost interesting, almost enjoyable, just not quite there.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - roywiggins 3y ago
    Answer seems to be, yes: https://whyy.org/segments/the-mri-is-a-source-of-anxiety-and-musical-inspiration/ https://whyy.org/segments/the-mri-is-a-source-of-anxiety-and... You can also make music with the scanner: https://youtu.be/7MRm5mD2YxQ https://youtu.be/7MRm5mD2YxQ

dylan604 3y ago

What was your experience with the MRI like? Specifically, did you "feel" it? I've had my knee scanned for ACL damage, and have spoken to a few other acquaintances that have had scans as well. We've all discussed having some sensation in the exact part of the body being scanned. We all just happened to similar sports based knee injuries. It was just the slightest of tingling, but noticeable. Definitely not painful or anything scary. Was it just psychosomatic? Very possibly, but it's interesting that we all experienced it.

tgv 3y ago
MRI can cause a tingling sensation. Apparently, it can be quite noticeable when you make a loop, e.g. with your arms. See peripheral nerve stimulation.
- dylan604 3y ago
  make a loop? wouldn't that require breaking the cardinal rule of not moving during the scan?
  - green-salt 3y ago
    For my knee scans I could move into a position that was comfortable for me which actually I think was arms folded across my abdomen, but then you just do not move while the imaging is happening, which will have a distinct sound.
secretsatan 3y ago
I had a head one done, it was very noisy, but the thing I found most uncomfortable, or rather, disconcerting, is when they injected the tracing fluid. I thought they would do it all the way through, but then I suddenly heard the pump start halfway through the procedure and a slightly cooler fluid running up inside my arms.
zrail 3y ago
I have had an abdomen MRI. I definitely felt sensations when the machine was doing particular sets of scans. Also, I accidentally left my wedding ring on (I informed them, they were not interested in the slightest). My right felt hot during the scans. Not painful burning hot, but warmer than body temp for sure.
- dylan604 3y ago
  I guess forgetting your gold ring in an MRI lets you know it's not gold plating of a cheaper metal!
riahi 3y ago
The RF pulses and field gradients can directly stimulate the peripheral nerves. I have had involuntary muscle twitching triggered by many pulse sequences. It’s not unheard of. It made me more sympathetic for patients who have motion in images. It could be that the particular combination of pulse sequence and their nerves don’t jive and triggers movement. Source: Radiologist (and personal experience in the bore)
- lostlogin 3y ago
  If the patient isn’t twitching occasionally, the resolution is too low. We aim to be just below peripheral nerve stimulation threshold. I’m sort of joking, but if you aren’t ever getting PNS, the machine is not being run very hard. However the sensation you get in the region being scanned feels more like heating than PNS to me. You notice it more on high SAR sequences, suggesting that might be the cause. PNS just feels like twitching you can’t control, but ones milage may vary as this is anecdotal. Source: MR radiographer.
  - riahi 3y ago
    I don’t think it’s heating. I think it’s PNS because my leg will periodically twitch which I can time with the pulse sequence. I also have some small ACL reconstruction hardware in the knee which might interact and predispose that leg to moving… I am well acquainted with high SAR abdominal scans in a 3T from my time doing scan certification in a petmr. Even though I “know” that tissue heating from high SAR is a thing, it always surprises me when my abdomen gets warm.
    - lostlogin 3y ago
      I used a high spec Siemens Avanto which a University owned. We used to get people complaining about PNS in the left hip and just above the bridge of the nose. It was a weird thing, and mainly happened on cardiac scans. Some found it too painful to continue with scanning. I’ve had a little bit of PNS, but nothing that strong. The SAR sensation of being heated from the inside is an unusual one, I’m not sure I’ve had anything else do that?

caseyohara 3y ago

I recently got an MRI and the technician asked me what I wanted to listen to on the headphones. I said "Something relaxing, do you have ambient music?". This turned out to be a terrible choice; the music was so quiet I could barely hear it. Earplugs would have been better. I had some in my pocket that I brought but it was too late. So after the claustrophobic panic subsided and I realized I was left in there with nothing but the loud machine and my own thoughts, I decided to listen to the machine as if it were music. I found it supremely hypnotic and trance-inducing, almost meditative. I'm a big fan of deep and hypnotic techno, so the rhythmic MRI sounds were right up my alley. I'd probably have enjoyed it more with earplugs though.

djhope99 3y ago
This is exactly how I approached it the first time with just the ear plugs. I find those machine sounds can be quite soothing and hypnotic on their own. I’ll give the music a miss next time.
jonah 3y ago
When I had an MRI a few years ago, my conclusion about the sound was "add a melody on top of that rhythm, and it would go over quite well in an underground industrial music club in an abandoned warehouse outside of Berlin." I haven't looked to see if anyone has actually tried to make music with the sound or not.
- leejo 3y ago
  When I had one it felt like I was listening to early to mid 2000s Autechre. In other words, almost interesting, almost enjoyable, just not quite there.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- roywiggins 3y ago
  Answer seems to be, yes: https://whyy.org/segments/the-mri-is-a-source-of-anxiety-and-musical-inspiration/ https://whyy.org/segments/the-mri-is-a-source-of-anxiety-and... You can also make music with the scanner: https://youtu.be/7MRm5mD2YxQ https://youtu.be/7MRm5mD2YxQ