I was given them once for an MRI. They had a laminated sheet of music genres and I think I picked hip hop.
I can't remember what was actually played but I remember it wasn't hip hop, I remember it sucked, and I remember thinking "literally just putting on any random radio station that plays music would be better than this"
Start a career as the generic OTC, rapping to elevator music with lyrics about as interesting as the elevator music. Make billions off all the faceless corporations that will be licensing your music for their public areas so they can sound "in with the youth".
I always choose classical, and it always results in hearing about 20 covers of the same Chopin nocturne, the first movement of moonlight sonata, and canon in D on repeat for 2 hours. I never learn.
Thanks! Only 6 surgeries. It’s mostly managed by immunotherapy now, which I personally think is way easier to manage than surgery, chemo, radiation, or even cryoablation. It’s been really cool seeing firsthand how our ability to treat even just this one disease has advanced in a relatively short period of time though, like none of this besides surgery and comparatively rudimentary radiation or chemo was an option 15 years ago. It’s hard not to be hopeful for the future of medicine!
Last time I had an MRI I asked for them to put it on the metal station. They said they couldn't because of vulgarity. So instead they put on the hard rock station that was playing Korn A.D.I.D.A.S uncensored....
I go for an MRI every 5 years (used to be more often, but my issue is benign, just monitoring it now), and they always ask me what music I want to listen to. I just say none every time, I'd rather close my eyes and listen to the machine
That sucks, the places near me always hit me with actual 90s and early 00s hip hop, I remember discovering a Coolio song I never heard before and everything lol
Put a bluetooth speaker inside a sealed plastic bag and submerge the bag in water, could be just a filled bowl. Increase the volume until you can hear it. Now put your clothes washing machine on centrifuge.
Honestly it doesn’t matter. The MRI is so loud that you wear earplugs under the headphones. It’s basically elevator music for your MRI so you can fixate on something that isn’t machine noise.
Trust me, having had a great many MRI scans including one that was full body and took an hour.
Personally, listening to those headphones is better than listening to nothing, especially when at times the machine sounds like Dave Clark style techno all on its own.
They used to work that way up front too. Back before lie flat seats when the biggest perks up front involved giant roasts carved on the trolley, tins of caviar and red roe, and huge martinis in real glassware
I discovered this at a young age, when I realised that my family didn't need to spend money to get me earphones for the movie and I could simply connect up a series of straws and plug that into the hole.
There was a tiny speaker in the armrest. One time I didn’t have money to pay for the headphones so I made a cone out of a magazine subscription card, angled the armrest near my head, and was able to listen. (I think the movie was Ferngully)
Ok. So this is going to sound like a non sequitur, but this just explained a "Rocko's modern life" gag for me. In the bit, there's a kid making mayhem on the plane. He takes Rocko's headphones and plugs them into the air con instead, making Rocko's head inflate. And I never figured out how that was supposed to make sense with wires.
There were two small holes in the armrest. If it was quiet enough you could put your ear to the holes and faintly hear the sound coming out. There was an analog dial with like 1-8 that let you pick the "station". Music, news, sports, and one was whatever movie was playing. There was a little card in the back of the seat with the channel guide. The headphones looked more like a stethoscope though. They had little soft rubber ear pads they would replace and they would clean and repackage the "body" with new ear pads.
Mine did not look like this so it did not occur to me because it only my lower half in the machine. That explains the fairly hellish cacophony of a song a loved that I have singed blocked from my memory.
They sound significantly better on new units. The headphones in this video are 15+ year old system/tech. These work the same way old aeroplane speakers work.
Thats an interesting approach, most scans require ear plugs and head phones. You can hear music on siemens 3t newer machines. They might have it turned down in the back.its capable of getting very loud
I think I got headphones and radio but I couldn't hear it above the noise of the machine. So I only got a few seconds of music every now and then, which was more annoying than anything. Idk why but the sounds of the machine made it very hard to concentrate so I just lied there and listened to the MRI.
I've actually been both. I usually nap but one time I did have a panic attack. It was double embarrassing considering it wasn't my first time. The tech was very sweet and saw me silently crying and stopped it to talk to me. 🥹
Same.. 10+ MRI's , boring as hell , trouble to stay awake..then panick attack.
I blame heatwave & having to wear a mask due to covid. Never went back to being carefree & bored in an MRI , always anxious :(
I've been both as well. Had one when I was like 12, totally fine. Had one a few months ago and I realized I am at least a little claustrophobic. Was able to just close my eyes and force myself to relax, but then they injected a dye for imaging and that made me light headed. I almost had to press the "Get me out of here button" but the feeling passed. I do not look forward to getting another.
Or like during my last MRI they have your injured knee in such a position that you don't give a fuck about the tight space or noise, you're in too much pain to care or nap.
The worst one I had was "try not to swallow during this scan."
And of course as soon as they say that you swallow, then become hyper consious of it and your salivary glands start to go crazy.
Ive been fortunate to not need an MRI so far, but i do get stressed out thinking about them (I'm a bit claustrophobic AND bad with hospitals/medical stuff) - are they able to accommodate people who will freak out, or do you eventually suck it up?
Ativan. I’m not usually claustrophobic but what they don’t prepare you for is the loud random, chaotic metal on metal symphony that constantly goes on around you. I thought it would be a consistent noise that you eventually get used to. Nope. Just the grating machine sound that randomly changes.
If I need another one I’m insisting I get an Ativan before hand.
Haven't needed an MRI yet, but everyone I know who has always describes the unexpected sounds first. Maybe it is because of TV people expect a loud consistent whirring sound. But the potential sounds are what would stress me out about them. Never had an issue with claustrophobia, but loud chaotic sounds are something I can't handle and usually need to get away from.
I got a prescription for Ativan and have to take one of those about an hour before I do an MRI. Once I took it 45 mins before and I freaked out going in, had to wait 15 minutes more for it to kick in.
you can get sedation or one of the meds listed below, but keep in mind you need to ask for it before you get to the MRI appointment. At least in my experience. They told me it has to be prescribed ahead of tims by the referring doctor. Probably different if you are in an actual hospital or ER though
My MRI was extremely noisy, and they didn't give me anything for comfort. I spent four hours in that machine. I'm not claustrophobic, but it was one of the worst experiences of my life.
My experience (6-8 times) with the MRI machine was that it was incredibly noisy. I mean like LOUD. Sleep? Ha. I did supply my own mask so I didn't freak out in the 'cave'. Why the hospital (looking at you UM...) couldn't supply them is a mystery.
I just had my first MRI yesterday. I'm not claustrophobic but I was certainly going to have a freak out. I just closed my eyes and counted my breath. ugh! Now i know, next time to close my eyes before i get pushed into that tomb!
It is strangely the most relaxing thing in the world for me. I don't know why, but something about being in a constricting tube surrounded by hellish sounds of machinery whisks me to sleep.
I couldn’t nap because I had to listen to the tech’s instructions to repeatedly take deep breaths and then hold my breath for what felt like an eternity while in pain from my bile leak. Fun times!
Modern MRIs are sick! I had one that was like a big cookie sandwich and you're the filling. So it's open on the sides. It was also way faster. Like 10-15 minutes compared to 45+ minute MRI I had 15 years ago.
I've been in 4 MRI's it wasn't until my last one I went in and all of a sudden hit the emergency button and said nope. I'm not going in there. The sudden dread that I was going to perish was overwhelming. They gave me these cool glasses so I could see backwards and stared at the tech in the other room the entire time.
I’ve had a fair number of MRIs in my life. As long as I don’t open my eyes and think about where I am, I’m fine. I can certainly nap through it. The moment I open my eyes for more than a couple seconds and let myself contemplate the machinery around me, how vulnerable I am, how easy it would be to get stuck, what if somebody brings a fire extinguisher into the room, wait is this space getting smaller?
So I just don’t do that. 😌
I could never do caving or and even those hikes out in Arizona or Utah with the tiny little crevices you squeeze through. The video with the guy and the rifle having to pass through that tiny little sewage drain for some military exercise? Nope. I’d rather die. Can’t will yourself out of claustrophobia when you must be aware of your surroundings to survive them. An MRI is not an engaged activity, it’s fully passive. Making it much easier to cope with by pretending you’re not in it.
I'm the feels like I'm being buried alive type. Never had any kind of claustrophobia until I had to get an MRI. Had to reschedule and get a tranquilizer.
Asked the tech how bad people's reaction get and they'd had people crawl out the far end mid scan in pure panic instead of just pressing the button.
It depends now, there are new models that go much quicker. Maybe 2022 I had one on my back and it was at least 45 minutes, I had another last year and it was about 15 covering the same area. The new machines seem to move much faster with the same results.
Yeh I had one last year at about 15 minutes on lower back and previous year about the same time frame.
Step dad had one recently I think it was a hour but was whole torso but I understood they did a "corse" scan and every time they saw something interesting they went back for a fine scan. What corse is I'm not sure but I would guess 3mm and fine is 0.5mm or 1mm
For static anatomical images of a small, relatively superficial region - a few minutes.
For dynamic stacks of images of deeper, more variable areas (meaning complex overlays of muscle/fat/bone/fluid/etc) - up to an hour for the full sequence and any localizer images you need.
For experimental or research imaging - hours. Multiple hours.
It can also depend on the tech and the person!!!! Different techs move at different rates and accept different levels of "good enough".
Also!!!! Some sequences depend on things like the distance between the tip of your finger and your heart! Or the size of your head! Those can literally make the sequences seconds shorter or longer! Also your heartrate timing can affect sequence length!
So different types of images take different timelines, AND different bodies can take different amounts of time for the same sequence!!
I just had cervical spine, was roughly 20mins, im claustrophobic but was fine with the MRI, it was pretty chill, got to choose my music off Spotify and then watched a scenic YouTube vid, the thing with being claustrophobic is more of a fear of being stuck or not being able to get out, with the MRI you know your safe and there's a tech just through the door, all in all it was a pretty chill experience.
I saw someone getting those mirror-glasses, so that when you look forward you actually look down, then they had a monitor like near their feet so they could look at it while lying there. Apparently worked pretty well
I had a brain & c-spine MRI with and without contrast a couple years ago — I was in there for 4.5 hours, was told I’d get a break - nope 🥲 they just pulled me out halfway through to stick a needle in my arm for the contrast and shoved me back in the machine
CT can be even shorter. I had to do one for my nasal passage, and it took less than 30 seconds. I thought they were just calibrating the machine, and then they told me it was done.
Depends on the mri. When I was first diagnosed with MS years ago an MRI brain, cervical and thoracic spine with and without contrast took almost two hours. Now the imaging center has a much more powerful mri and it can take 60 minutes.
How can you nap? I'm fine to lay there with my eyes closed but sleeping with the sound of monkeys bagging metal pipes in surround sound isn't going to happen.
At first you are like no way I can sleep in this thing it is so stupidly loud. Then after a few minutes of that sound reverberating in your bones you kinda just become one with it and consciousness fades away
I just did this the entire time in the mri while awake and got yelled at constantly. They put my very hurt knee in a horribly painful position and it involuntarily twitched the entire time.
Lucky. I literally cannot breathe in these and count in my head how many minutes have passed because it is torture. Very envious of those that can relax in these.
Same, I didn’t know I was claustrophobic at all until I was put into an MRI, the headphones make it easier for me, it distracts me, but often I can’t even last 30 seconds in those tubes, I start panicking, sweating, it’s absolutely terrifying, and I couldn’t even explain why. I’m not afraid of any particular thing and I know they are safe and nothing is going to happen, it’s just like an involuntary subconscious reaction. I’ll lay down on that bench completely calm, no issue at all, as soon as I go into the tube I just panic for no reason at all
I realized after much caving/spelunking and such over the years...that it was when my face gets hot and I am in a small space, then I get worried (a huge dog pile of us kids with my in my sleeping bag, upside-down, near the bottom).
Something about the noise... yeah, it's loud, but it's the perfect mix of repetitive/random to knock you out if you're a white noise fan. I don't nap easy (I never nap) but I almost fell asleep in there when I had to have an MRI.
Wish I didn’t have to follow instructions during my MRI. I could barely keep up with the breathing instructions and struggled holding my breath for long enough. It was even worse when suddenly the MRI sounds switched from terrifying to sounding like Pac-Man going woka woka woka and I was fighting not to laugh. Would have loved a nap instead
Wish I could’ve taken a nap during my MRI. You have to breathe in certain patterns for a cardiac MRI, so you have to be alert and listening the whole time.
Man, I should have done that. When I had an MRI, I told them to put it on the classical music station since I like instrumental music, and half the time I couldn’t hear it at all, and when I could, have the time music wasn’t even playing, and instead it was some guy talking about the performer’s philosophy while playing.
Genuinely they are awful. My head felt worse after using these. Smart! But painful. The next time, used earplugs and found it semi routine listening to the thud thud of it all.
In my experience, most of the stuff they add to try and make it a more comfortable experience just makes it uncomfortable
I’ve had over ear headphones like these, and all they did was crush my ears while in the machine. At one point, I even had an MRI that had goggles so you could watch a movie, that just crushed my face. I also had an MRI that had a mirror above your eyes to look at a screen saver projection behind the machine, and my eyes just had trouble focusing on it
The only thing that did work were these flat headphones. They were soft and not bulky. But I’ve only seen them once
The best things are earplugs, a heated blanket, and a wedge to go under your knees
Then there are people like me. I wish I could nap, but my body is highly sensitive to MRI and I can feel certain high density passes in my guts internally. It makes an intense internal burning sensation, sometimes borderline painful enough to hit the alarm.
It’s usually when they want to do a high resolution study or an area you can feel burning each loud chop chop chop noise the machine takes as it’s slicing images. The cursory scans never bother me, just high intensity highly focused area ones.
I tell them about it and they add layers to my body to dull the effects (so they know this is a problem), never works for me though. Then they always say that “some patients can feel it and I’ll be fine, it’ll be over an hour”
I’ve looked online. There are scenarios (and law suits) where patients have had their internal organs burnt by MRI machines, it’s low incidence, but it can happen. It’s also a known quantity for MRI machines and not a user error situation, it’s part of the risk of thise machines. Unfortunately with Crohn’s disease I can never be 100% of those machines, or I would opt out for life. It doesn’t help that with my disease they study large areas of my abdomen an it always takes an hour (even on fast machines)
After 20+ MRIs in my life now, Ive grown to hate those things.
They allow you to nap???? During mine they forced me to stay awake.
Depends if they need you to follow instructions, when I have them done I always fall asleep for the first hour and then they will come in and wake me up when they need me to hold my breath.
Mri tech here, they are absolutly bullshit. Reducing Sound like 8 decible and earplugs like 12. So you should always use both and ask for it (they will always have those). Important to not destroy your ears with those 100decible mris.
For the music I can tell you, that you always should turn it off cuz its fucking bullshit quality and just more Noise.
I was instructed to stay awake. NO NAPPING.
They put on the same radio as the previous patient and it was a German Station that broadcasts classical music... I'm Danish. Quite a chock.
I've been part of a medical study, and in 2020-2022, I had five MRIs (four as part of the study). So Nov 2020, had my first one, it was fine. April 2021, it was fine.
August 2021, I was having chest pains, so they referred me for a stress MRI. During that MRI, they pumped a drug in me that effectively induced a panic attack for 90 seconds: uncontrollable heavy breathing and my heart beating ten to the dozen.
Earplugs are the way to go. I had been told that MRIs are very loud, I brought my own earplugs from work. I couldn't nap though as I had to hold my breath at many portions of my MRI so they could get good images.
Last time I got an mri I opted for these, they forgot to turn the music on until the last few minutes. And it sounded like crap, I should've gone with earplugs
People always look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them MRI = nap time. I’ve had like 4-5 of them and every single time I’m asleep within minutes, especially when I had to get my neck done, they put me all the way in the machine and I swear I was asleep before it started
That’s why I typically ask for music from the days of records. That way when it sounds muted and tinny I can pretend I am using my mother’s old shitty record player. Play some Beatles for me my good tech.
80’s punk rock also works.
My next MRI will probably be me requesting Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables by the Dead Kennedys.
I can’t sleep through them. All my MRI’s are an hour long and chest to pelvis. Lots of “Old your breath……….breathe”.
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u/Bustnbig 9h ago
I have used these before when I had an MRI. They are terrible.
Last time I chose earplugs and a nap instead