The Secret Deafie is a series of anonymous columns written by different writers. Today’s Deafie wants to talk about cochlear implants and MRI scans.
There is a sea change in attitudes to cochlear implants among adults who have grown up D/deaf.
Whatever the Deaf Community feels about them, they are here to stay at least until stem cell technology and gene therapy really takes off and they become redundant technology. Most Deaf people respect them as a personal lifestyle choice for D/deaf adults because they are old and wise enough to choose for themselves.
Friends of mine have gone for the op. Some have implanted their children. However, something has shocked me. After all the anaesthetic and excitement of the switch on, I asked them curiously about what they were told about the risks of implantation by their cochlear implant team. Not one of them was informed that a CI user cannot have an MRI scan without an operation to remove the metal parts of the implant from their head first.
Basically, cochlear implants and MRI scans do not mix. When a person is scanned, they climb into a huge metal tube and they are blasted with a powerful magnetic field. Cochlear implant processors are fixed to the head using a magnet. We all know that magnets repel. The force of an MRI scan could potentially rip out the magnet from a person’s skull.
MRI scans are being used more and more in everyday medicine. They are an extremely accurate method of disease detection throughout the body. They will spot brain tumours, bleeds and swellings, strokes, and scary diseases such as MS or dementia. They are used to pinpoint the cause of back or spine problems, and to examine the heart and other organs. They can identify problems with your muscles, joints or bones, find cancer or help plan surgery. MRI scans are the doctors’ great friend helping to diagnosis a whole load of conditions. MRI scanners are here to stay and most people will need at least one MRI scan in their lifetime.
So what can a person with a cochlear implant do if they need an MRI scan? Doctors may work around the problem by ordering a different type of investigation or scan (which does not involve a magnetic field). This may sometimes mean the person receives a less efficient or slower medical treatment. Alternatively, the doctor may suggest a small operation to remove the metal parts of the cochlear implant, so the person can have the MRI scan, and then they will reinsert the bits afterwards.
I am not intent on scaremongering here. Far from it. But I feel strongly that Deaf people seeking an implant should know what questions to ask their cochlear implant team. They should be routinely told about all the risks. This is something that does not always seem to be happening.
The good news is that implant companies are working on MRI proof cochlear implants which can go in a scanner. Once they achieve this CI users will get equal medical care to everyone else. However, they still have some way to go before CIs can be routinely used in any scanner because the magnetic fields used are getting stronger. Until then, we deaf people need all the information at our fingertips so we can make the best decision for ourselves and our health.
Do you have a story or experience you’d like to share? If you’d like to write a Secret Deafie column, just email thelimpingchicken@gmail.com
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Chronicles of a Bionic Woman
June 18, 2012
In my experience, i was fully informed of the risks and the do’s and don’ts of having a CI. Also, i was given a booklet that is part of my ID card (that informs any official that i am a CI user) which clearly states that the holder of that ID card cannot pass through certain things such as metal detectors, MRI scans etc. I was implanted in London just over 15years ago, part of the first wave of CI users, and i would be surprised if the standard of information and advice given has dropped rather than improved. Thankfully to date i have not needed an MRI scan and i hope i never do. May good health prevail 🙂
Rosie Malezer
December 30, 2014
I am due to have my CI implants (both ears) done within the next 3 months. I was told about not being able to have MRI afterwards, but they also said that I would be able to go through metal detectors, but that I would have to show all documentation to security that I have CIs in my head. Getting more and more nervous by the day…
Anon
June 18, 2012
I was informed of the risks too – your article surprised me as the surgeons and the rest of the cochlear implant team really do go out of their way and make sure you fully understand the risks, implications as well as the pro’s and con’s of having a cochlear implant.
I recently had a chat at my last appointment regarding MRI scans and, if it’s deemed very necessary – it IS possible to have a MRI scan but only up to a certain strength. They also wrap your head with a ‘protective hat’, so that all but your head can be scanned. Obviously if you need a brain scan – it is possible to just remove the magnet without disturbing the rest of the CI, via a minor surgical procedure but this is left as a last resort, i.e. you have a life threatening illness.
alistairwright17
June 18, 2012
Very interesting and a factor that cannot be ignored when making a decision.
Emily
June 18, 2012
I have had a brain MRI with the magnet in place – they wrapped a bandage round my head before I entered the scanner. I believe this is a fairly new technique that is becoming more common, to save the need for the magnet being removed
Meghan
June 18, 2012
I believe John Hopkins has been researching methods of doing MRI scans for CI users without the need to remove the internal magnet.
Matt
June 19, 2012
This link to the mrisafety.com website talks about scanning patients with cochlear implants in detail. This website is the standard reference used by every mri technologist in the US. By the way, wrapping a bandage around the head is worthless. It cannot prevent the implant from experiencing the magnetic field.
http://mrisafety.com/safety_article.asp?subject=22
Emily
June 19, 2012
thanks – what is the result of the implant being impacted by the magnetic field?
cochlearimplantHELP
June 19, 2012
I agree with Doose. I was given cochlear implants within the last 2 years at a London hospital and they gave me information verbally, in leaflets, and website links, on MRI and all risks involved. I as also given an official identity card from the cochlear implant company with an MRI warning on it.
I wonder if this writer’s friends have properly understood what was being said to them before they got their implant (was an interpreter booked?), or if they just missed the information without realising. There is just no way an implant team would put a patient forward for a procedure without explaining the risks. However it’s easy to misunderstand, do the deaf nod, or not read through all the information they give you.
Clive Boswell
June 19, 2012
I thought this article was rather one-sided. Throughout my assessment it was pointed out to me that MRI is not safe for CI wearers. It was also pointed out to me during the assessment process that I should always carry out own research into CI (pros and cons etc) before making the final decision. You cannot miss this information whilst researching.
My wife was diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatment and she wears a CI too. The specialists were not too worried about not being able to carry out a MRI – there are plenty of other ways of obtaining information “to diagnosis a whole load of conditions” and in no way was she given a “less efficient or slower medical treatment”! Get your facts right before publishing this hearsay!
As a CI wearer myself, if I were to need a MRI scan – this can be very easily done by removing the magnet and popping it back in using a very small incision and a local anesthetic. In and out in matter of few hours!
mmostynthomas
June 19, 2012
I’m unimpressed. Judging by the comments, it’s clear the writer didn’t do his/her research properly, but instead took hearsay as gospel. I am rather dubious, too, about the fact that s/he felt the need to post his/her article anonymously. It’s not a very balanced approach, and for that reason I’d advise other readers who are themselves considering a CI not to take it seriously.
Detta
June 20, 2012
I think it is good for this information to be widely shared. MRI scans allow doctors to see some body structures that may not be as visible with other methods. Other methods will be less effective for certain medical conditions. As long as people are aware of this then there is no problem, they can always have the magnet removed if they have a condition that needs an MRI scan. It’s a small procedure.
veebee
June 22, 2012
This article isn’t accurate at all. I get the sense that this was written by a anti CI person under the guise of reasonableness.
As a mother of a child with a CI and having a CI myself a few years later, we were always informed of all the pros and cons. In fact we were encouraged to do our research and to meet other people with CIs so we could get a clear picture of what the process was like for the people with CIs rather than from a medical viewpoint.
My CI does allow for me to have MRIs – the operation mentioned is incredibly minor and is done under local anesthesia to remove a hearing aid battery sized disk of metal. In any event, MRIs are relatively rare and usually done as a last resort.
Editor
June 22, 2012
I think the writer was genuinely concerned about the issue from their own personal experience – I don’t think they wanted to be anti-cochlear.
There are a range of opinions featured on this site and part of raising debate is seeing whether people out there share that opinion or experience, or have another view.
It’s positive that so many of you have not shared the experience (of the writer) and have been made fully aware of the MRI issue and possible ways around it. Indeed, as more and more people have CIs it’s reassuring to know people are being given all the information they need!
Thanks
Charlie
andy Paterson
March 29, 2013
Hmmm! a bit over the top and based on heresay – as a CI user I understand….
1. The CI itself (electrodes) won’t be damaged by the MRI field any more than your tooth filling.
2. I have been told by a nameless audi scientist of an implanted person (presumably involved in an accident and therefore unconscious at the time) who was given an MRI – it didn’t hurt them, but it did of course alert the MRI operator with a BIG alarm.
And most interestingly it reversed the polarity of his CI magnet which caused it to repel his headpiece until some smart audi simply reversed the magnet in the headpiece too! – I admit though that an MRI with metal in your head is certainly not recommended.
Rachael Williams
December 6, 2013
Hi, I found the above article interesting to read and wanted to share my experience. Seven years ago I decided to have a CI because I lost all hearing in my left ear due to vertigo while wearing a hearing aid. The aim was to try and restore what hearing I had via an alternative methos to a hearing aid. Sadly, the CI and I did not get on and after six months of struggling, I decided to stop wearing it. I declined an op to remove it as it wasn’t bothering me. Everything was explained to me including not having a mri scan or doing rough sports. This was clear to me. Six years passed. Last year I hurt my back doing a two man lifting job on my own. The pain got worse. The consultant said that he could not diagnose the problem without an mri scan. I tried to have a mri scan with a bandage round my head as I didn’t want the hassle of having the operation again to remove the CI. The mri unit refused point blank despite explanations to give me a scan. So I gave in and had my CI removed. It was an easy 45 min op and I was back home fit and walking within 6 hours of coming out of theatre.
The CI consultant said that there was a tiny bit of CI left in my head as is common because the bone grows over and it is less invasive surgery. As long as I could have my mri scan, I didn’t really care! On going back to the mri unit, they asked if it was all out? I said only a tiny bit remains. They still refused to scan me so I had to wait a further 6 weeks while my CI consultant clarified the situation with the mri scan unit. Finally I was allowed to have a scan and to my relief after 15 months of back pain, I now know why and I am now having appropriate treatment for it. It was very emotional for me as it was such a long winded process and being in pain for a lot of the time. It was no fun at all! Looking back, I still would have gone for the CI as the loss of my hearing was distressing as well. I regret being stupid and not looking after my back. Having a CI is a very personal decision. My need to sort my back out over a redundant CI was an easy decision. I am glad it was not a decision of whether to give up a successful CI or have a Mri and I am even more glad research is being done on mri friendly CIs.
Lisa Lauziere
May 19, 2014
Not all CI users cannot have MRI’s done. I can have MRI’s done because I have Med-El implants.
Karen
May 21, 2014
I was also informed of the risks as I have a medical condition that means I need annual MRI. The answer was simple. I had an implant WITHOUT a magnet in it. It’s held to my head using wig tape and functions perfectly well.
Smash
March 22, 2015
I agree with you, however, I have had an MRI, and I have two bands of braces! What they did was they put me in an MRI that was slightly less powerful than the normal one, and it didn’t rip my braces out of my mouth, so it might work with a CI too.
Robyn
September 27, 2015
I am a senior aged women and have been deaf most of my life so when I heard about the Cochlear Implant I thought I had found a miracle cure…l was told that if I needed a MRI sometime down the track it wouldn’t be a drama because they would just bandage my head….Well I would like to share with you a few important things I feel,all you deaf should be aware off especially as we age….what happens if you have a stroke? You can’t have a MRI can you …the first three hours when experiencing a stroke are the most important In regards to getting treatment and having a better recovery….then what happens if your stroke like symptoms are actually MS…which is what has happened to me….I had a hell of a time of it…..none of my GP’s could help …I saw neurologists and told probable MS but was unable to start any MS treatment without a MRI scan to confirm MS as the cause of all my symptoms so I went 9 years during which I had three major attacks of what I now know was MS ..9 years without treatment so that’s 9 years for my MS to get progressively worse
Finally in desperation I contacted a professor who does the Cochlear Implants here in Sydney and I was able to have the Cochlear Implant removed followed by a a MRI scan then the magnet put back in all on the one day…..my head was tender for a few weeks so I was unable to wear my cochlear….after all this my neurologist finally told me I Have MS.
Yes it make me angry to think that I Was not given enough information regarding MRI’s and Cochlear Implants…..knowing what I do now I would not have had the implant done….I am fluent in sign language and still sign to my Deaf friends, plus technology has made it so much easier to communicate with the hearing world via emails , texting etc
I am on MS medication but the quality of my life has been reduced greatly mainly by the long delay in getting treatment , but thanks to the a Cochlear I do hear quite well but it came at the price of my health ….would I have the implant if given the choice today….NO….I wouldn’t
Angry nanna