Expert: Daniel J. Bosnyak, PhD - 10/23/2009

Question
Hi there,

I am hearing lot of cutting metal sound and sounds which are very similar when i was having my MRI in my left ear.
I recently had an MRI and I had brutal infection in the same ear just before going for my MRI. I am really scared as I think it has damaged my left ear and hair cells as I remember my ear plug fell slightly off as I had ear infection. It is leading to crying it is that much noise. It has been 10 days i thought it might improve but not really. I still feel some fluid and my ear popping when i wake up after sleep though i know i feel much better after my sleep.

In the past just before I had an MRI, I had brutal ear infection in my leFt ear for almost a month even though i had medicines ciproflaxcin and amoxyllin and it was not clearing. It was just starting to get better but this MRI and has resulted in these kind of sound.   

I have never worked in metal factories and never been in the loud noises though I remember one time my gf hit me near my jaw and left ear I heared ringing just after but it wasn't like this.
My ENT thought right before I went for MRI that it might be just be TMJ and after consulting i went to the oral aurgeon and he gave me medicine for inflammation though it gave me relief but soon after i developed this infection.

I am really really scared that I have to bear with this throughout my life and imagining that it has damaged my left ear. What I can do to resolve it and is my fear true?

Thanks in advance.

Answer
Jason,

It sounds like your ear infection has caused some hopefully temporary hearing loss in the affected ear.  The sound you are hearing is tinnitus, and it often occurs as a result of such hearing loss.  It is likely that as hearing returns the tinnitus will get better.  In many cases it will disappear completely once the hearing recovers - hopefully this will be the case for you.  What you want to do is continue to follow up with the ENT to make sure the infection is resolved.  The fluid buildup from such infections interferes with sound transmission in the middle ear but once the infection is gone hearing usually returns to normal, unless the infection was severe enough to cause damage to the small bones in your middle ear.  Long-lasting or recurrent infections can lead to permanent damage, which is why you need to make sure this is resolved.

 As far as the MRI goes, it is true that the sound inside the MRI is very loud. Exposure to noises this loud without ear protection can also lead to temporary threshold shift (hearing loss) which should have resolved in a day or two - like going to a rock concert.  This threshold shift can cause a surge in tinnitus.  It would be good for you to get an audiogram done to assess the degree of hearing loss if any that you are currently experiencing.  It is unlikely that you will have suffered any significant permanent damage as a result of the ear protection slipping out in the MRI.  I think the ear infection is the more likely culprit here and the noise exposure in the MRI just sent you over the edge.

I realize just how awful the tinnitus sensation is, but in your case hopefully it is only temporary and should improve significantly as hearing returns.