Re falling asleep during MRI - I was a subject in a study where for about an hour you had to lie in a machine and repeatedly indicate which of two pictures depicted a larger object. They said subjects falling asleep was a big problem! I find sleeping very difficult and even I was feeling extremely drowsy after 45 mins of lying down and establishing "elephants are bigger than mice. Houses are bigger than shoes. Trees are bigger than flowers. Cars are bigger than dogs etc etc etc"
I have to get an MRI roughly once a year to monitor a benign cyst and ensure it doesn't start to grow. My first experiences with MRI were okay. Certainly not pleasant but not an issue. I can't even imagine actually falling asleep inside an MRI though.
Last year I actually went the other direction. I was switched to a somewhat older MRI machine in a different building, apparently somehow "due to COVID." I thought the tunnel in the usual MRI machine was tight but this older model was even smaller. Also, due to COVID they insisted that I have on an N95 mask inside the machine, underneath the 'Magneto-like' helmet used to hold head position. I was able to complete the lengthy session but these changes were enough to trigger what I assume was some claustrophobia and it was not fun. It required maximum mental effort just to make it to the end.
I just got the call from my doc to schedule this year's scan and apparently the same requirements are still in place although they are "hoping things get back to normal soon." I mentioned how challenging last year's scan was and he suggested we just defer it until Summer. I felt conflicted about this as I really don't want to be postponing diagnostics but damn, last year was pretty awful, so I went for the reschedule.
I get an MRI once a year and I frequently fall asleep because nothing puts me to sleep like mechanical white noise. It's kind of a problem because I try to move or jerk awake, which ruins the MRI. My MRIs take forever. I feel terrible for the attendants.
I used to get a funny look when instead of a choice of music I opted for silence in the headphones during an MRI. Then I think I started to say it dismissively enough with conviction and got nonreactions.
MRIs are stunningly loud indeed. The music would distract me from the noise patterns which other than being interesting to me don't keep me from napping in what to me is a cozy tunnel (whereas the music might).
I'm not sure what's the problem. I have done MRI twice in the last year, I always told I don't want music and I don't see how someone would find it weird. I don't want to damage my ears - the music was super loud, and if they turned the volume down I would probably hear the noise anyway - and what if the music sucks? And I have to lay still listening to it, now that would be torture. The white noise is quite relaxing actually - and also funny, sometimes it feels like a word repeating over and over.
