W/a/J is right about contrast. I just meant, get whatever type of scan the doctor orders. But yeah, if they're looking for a cause of dizziness or hearing loss with an MRI, contrast IS needed.
If you do get an MRI make sure you have it done with and without contrast, if not you just wasted a lot of time and money.... and DO NOT just go with what your doctor says. I have seen countless times when docs ASSUME that contrast will be used because it is the STANDARD practice when searching for an acoustic nueroma. Trouble is, the folks running the MRI machine do not know that.
Then the MRI results come back to the doc, but in order to save face, he or she does not mention the fact that the results are inconclusive & you the patient just got shafted.
Whatever your doctor orders. MRI is used to rule out things like brain tumors (highly unlikely cause of dizziness). CT is used to look at the bones in your skull--to look for fractures and I"m not sure what else
Just go with what your doctor orders, which will be based on your symptoms and/or any other test results. Neither MRI nor CT is "better," they're just used to look for different things. If you have questions about why a particular scan is being ordered, ask your doc.