I Now Have Tinnitus After Receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine

[The Bucket Woman]

I'm really starting to question getting a second dose. I've had some breaks where I think my tinnitus spike that began right after my first dose is relenting but it keeps coming back much much louder than it was prior. I had a small break today and became hopeful but it didn't last. I was in a really good place prior to the first dose after hard work, habituation and a reduction in the pitch and frequency.

I have a week and a half to decide before the next one.

 

[Cyberbro]

Seems as if so many of us are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

My second dose is scheduled for tomorrow April 7th. Being my first dose had my ears ringing between 30 - 45 minutes I assume I'll know pretty quick.

I've done everything I can think of. Cut way back on coffee and significantly increased my daily water for a few days now. It's just as bad now as it was day one.

I did go to the doctor as well and he didn't really have any answers because it's so new. I've gotten more answers from everyone here on Tinnitus Talk.

I always like to thank China for what they unleashed on the world!

 

[Cyberbro]

I'm really starting to question getting a second dose. I've had some breaks where I think my tinnitus spike that began right after my first dose is relenting but it keeps coming back much much louder than it was prior. I had a small break today and became hopeful but it didn't last. I was in a really good place prior to the first dose after hard work, habituation and a reduction in the pitch and frequency.

I have a week and a half to decide before the next one.

I feel like the 80% of the one shot is good enough but I'm more worried about the lockdown mentality; if we will have vaccine Passports and we won't be able to live our lives because we only had one shot.

 

[CJ77]

I had 1st dose Pfizer vaccine 23rd January this year. After 5 hours I felt unwell, had sweats, slight fever, lymph node in armpit on the side of vaccine up and a strange pulsing feeling in me head. No headache but I could hear and feel my pulse.

Around 48 hour later I was still experiencing the same effects but also developed insomnia and a ringing in the ears that I've never had before. I work for an audiology clinic so I was immediately in a fit of panic that I had tinnitus. It's louder in the ear on the side I had the vaccine. It's a constant high pitch noise.

I started to have waves of panic attacks and huge anxiety like nothing I've experienced before and I'm sure this made everything worse.

My next vaccine is due in 9 days and here's where I'm at:

My work colleagues still stand by that the vaccine could not have caused my tinnitus. I disagree.

I still have tinnitus and I have only slept through the night twice since the vaccine and no amount of medication, yoga or CBT has helped.

I'm not sure if the tinnitus has decreased? Some days it's better than others, not being able to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time in the night definitely makes it loud in the dead of the night. It could be that I have accepted that it's unlikely to resolve and that this is now my new silence?!

My GP says that there is not enough data currently to say if the second vaccine will impact my tinnitus further but advises me to have it due to the risk of COVID-19 side effects, one of which is tinnitus.

I've not been the same since the vaccine and have missed more work in the last 11 weeks than in the last 11 years.

I also have Type 1 diabetes and Hashimoto's Thyroid disease. I'm completely torn over the second vaccine as the level of reported coverage from one shot varies. I want to be protected but at what cost?

 

[Wende]

I had the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in mid-February and that evening, I noticed a spike in volume along with the change in the sound quality of my tinnitus. It has not returned to normal.

I will not be getting the second dose. My doctor said that although she wishes I would get the second dose, the likelihood of my tinnitus getting even worse is very possible. I heard a report stating that the single dose of the Pfizer was now deemed to be 92% and I am more okay with that than I am with the possibility of a worse case of tinnitus.

A neighbor told me he has not noticed any worsening of his tinnitus, but I have a friend who developed hearing problems, including tinnitus, immediately after getting her last seasonal flu vaccine. It is emerging as more common as more data is received.

I reported my issue to VAERS and I encourage everyone to do the same.

Good luck!

 

[CJ77]

Hi Wende,

Sorry to hear that you have had a change to your tinnitus. I know someone with tinnitus that had no change as well.

Do they know how long that 92% lasts? I'm concerned that I won't last long given that they are looking at introducing a third dose for people this year?

 

[Bobby B]

If the vaccine really damages hair cells, which causes tinnitus, you would get other symptoms as well.

About a week after the hair cells get hit and die, the nerves begin to detach and this will cause hearing distorted sounds as well as hyperacusis as the nerve have pain receptors.

This is the typical noise damage cascade - tinnitus followed by sound distortion - such as broken speakers sounds when listening to music - then pain to certain sound frequencies and overall sound levels seems a lot louder than normal.

After my noise damage, taking a shower sounded like being thrown inside the Niagara Falls so I had to use earplugs for over a year. Horrible experience, worse than tinnitus.

 

[kingsfan]

Do they know how long that 92% lasts? I'm concerned that I won't last long given that they are looking at introducing a third dose for people this year?

It would be terrible to get permanently worse tinnitus for only a brief amount of immunity from COVID-19...

 

[Cyberbro]

Knowing what I know now, I would not have gotten the vaccine. I certainly will not get any more of it.

 

[PaulBe]

It is different with mRNA-based vaccines, though. With these vaccines part of the virus, in COVID-19 the spike protein, is manufactured to trigger the immune response in your cells and not your bloodstream.

Instructing your own body to manufacture a "foreign" protein, which it then attacks. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Leila]

Instructing your own body to manufacture a "foreign" protein, which it then attacks

It is actually quite the opposite, at least when looking at what went wrong when it comes to previous Phase II testing. Because of the introduced protein, when challenged with the wild version of the virus, the animals' immune system didn't react or reacted too late to the challenge because the virus wasn't read as a threat.

 

[PaulBe]

So Leila, if I'm reading you correctly, does that imply that the assumptions that underlie the mRNA vaccine model have already been shown to possibly not be valid? If so, that would beg an awful lot of uncomfortable questions.

 

[The Bucket Woman]

Good news. My spike ended two days ago and I've been baseline since! I will be getting dose #2 as planned. If I spike again, maybe it will last longer but I'm trusting it too will go away.

 

[BuzzyBee]

Good news. My spike ended two days ago and I've been baseline since! I will be getting dose #2 as planned. If I spike again, maybe it will last longer but I'm trusting it too will go away.

Thanks for sharing that! It's important to know. Good luck with dose #2.

 

[Rigburt]

I too had the Pfizer vaccine. You have described exactly what happened to me a couple of weeks after my first shot... The itching etc. exactly, all in the ear on the same side I had my shot. Although I think the other ear has been impacted too, but not that much. I know I have lost a lot of hearing in that ear over the past couple of weeks as a result. I got an ear infection from the constant scratching trying to get rid of the itch so I know what you are referring to. That didn't help but whatever is going on is inside my ear on the other side of the ear drum.

I have had tinnitus for decades but it has doubled in volume now. And I have lost a lot of hearing in that ear. I have an ENT specialist appointment in two weeks but I think I know the answer already. Too bad. But I will ask him about the vaccine and also ask him whether or not I should have my second shot. I don't want this to get worse, I can't risk it.

Thanks for the post and all the best.

 

[Joyful Spirit]

I have tinnitus and hyperacusis as a result of my first dose of the vaccine- moderna on January 30th. It began as pain on entire left side of my face and felt like nerve pain and itching in my left ear. Had received the vaccine on upper left arm. Had no other issues or risk factors prior. I also had the arm rash but barely noticed that as I was totally focused on the pain in my ear and ringing and sudden experience of extreme pain when my son was talking or laughing. Thankfully, after seeing four doctors, Audiologist and ENT my hearing is ok but the ENT prescribed prednisone and after taking one dose the tinnitus moved into my right ear, as well. Done all sorts of testing and bloodwork and all checks out fine but I have had terrible very loud and extremely high pitched ringing in my left ear for 10 weeks now, with no change. It was definitely a result of the vaccine and I was so excited to get it, but did not get the second dose as I am terrified of anything making this worse!

 

[Chris S.]

Oh, well, where to begin - I had my second Pfizer shot yesterday and within an hour of the shot, my tinnitus (already bad before) became louder, more intrusive, and more difficult to ignore, especially while wearing ear plugs. Last night, I slept very little - started having fever, chills, muscle aches, and fatigue. The tinnitus was at a level that I had never previously experienced and no amount of masking noise or pills could induce me to fall asleep. Today things seem a tad better - it is still louder than it was before the shot, but I also noticed that lying with a migraine patch on my forehead affected it for the better. Perhaps, this bad spike is due to the "stormy" inflammation from the shot and after some weeks, when by body response settles, the tinnitus will settle again to more tolerable levels.

I am sorry that so many others have either experienced a bad spike or the onset of tinnitus/hyperacusis after their first/second shot. I still think that COVID-19 poses more serious risks than the vaccines, but it is discouraging to feel like we have to choose the lesser of two evils.

 

[Koiki]

Tvan, I posted previously on this forum about the Pfizer vaccine and tinnitus. I am also on a few tinnitus groups on Facebook and there has been extensive discussion on this topic on all the forums. I had a bad case of tinnitus in July last year and my tinnitus started a couple of months later. I got my first Pfizer dose on March 13th and my tinnitus got a lot worse a few hours after I got the vaccine. It's much louder and 24/7. I've had some relief a couple of days this week so I'm hopeful it will eventually subside to at least the tolerable level I had prior to the vaccine.

Laura, did your tinnitus go back to "normal"?

Same thing happened to me after the first shot of Moderna. I canceled the second shot out of fear making my tinnitus worse.

 

[Leila]

If so, that would beg an awful lot of uncomfortable questions.

Let's all just hope uncomfortable questions will be all we'll have to deal with!

 

[Grego]

I see that some people note the their spike in tinnitus seems to be more in the ear that is on the same side as the arm they received the shot in. Which implies that proximity of the ear to the shot location may have some impact.

Does anyone think getting a shot in your thigh or butt makes sense?

 

[FGG]

Does anyone think getting a shot in your thigh or butt makes sense?

It needs to be given in an area with minimal fat, but vaccines in general can be given in the thigh for less overweight people. It would be interesting if that made a difference.

 

[Cyberbro]

I see that some people note the their spike in tinnitus seems to be more in the ear that is on the same side as the arm they received the shot in. Which implies that proximity of the ear to the shot location may have some impact.

Does anyone think getting a shot in your thigh or butt makes sense?

Why would a shot in the arm have an effect on the ears? It's the vaccine that gives the side effects, not the location of the shot.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Why would a shot in the arm have an effect on the ears? It's the vaccine that gives the side effects, not the location of the shot.

This is confusing me, too, since injected medications and vaccines travel through our bloodstream. Why would only one side be impacted? If the vaccine is causing auditory side effects, wouldn't the effects be equal for both ears?

When I lost my hearing, I questioned whether an injected or ingested medication could have been the cause. But my doctors pointed out that if it was, then I would have some bilateral loss. Both ears would have received the same amount of medication. One ear would not be nearly deaf while the other was nearly perfect.

The mechanism and timeframe for sudden loss or tinnitus with the vaccine is confusing me, too. Why would it be only hours for some but a week later for others? How would it cause some of the immediate reports of tinnitus? Even damage from viruses or ototoxic drugs is not instantaneous and tends to follow a similar timeframe for its victims. It's not acoustic trauma, that can immediately damage hair cells because of how the sound hits the cells.

My only thought would be lymph node swelling on only one side of the body, but again that would not be immediate. I know for women, they're mentioning seeing swollen lymph nodes in annual breast cancer screenings if the COVID-19 vaccine was received weeks prior. Which is another thing, if swollen lymph nodes on only one side were contributing, that's not something that quickly resolves and I'd think doctors and ENTs would note it.

Are these cases of just horrible timing? Like they were going to get tinnitus and it happened to be on the same day or week they were vaccinated, and it still would have happened even if they hadn't been vaccinated?

I read recently of a woman with SSHL and tinnitus. Her doctor discovered she was COVID-19 positive, along with her family. She was asymptomatic and had no idea, but her doctors believe the virus attacked her auditory nerve. Sorry to say it, but this feels like a case of damned if you, damned if you don't.

 

[Grego]

Why would a shot in the arm have an effect on the ears? It's the vaccine that gives the side effects, not the location of the shot.

I would think for the same reason that some people have inflammation on the arm they receive the shot in and not the opposite arm, but I don't know.

 

[kingsfan]

I see that some people note the their spike in tinnitus seems to be more in the ear that is on the same side as the arm they received the shot in. Which implies that proximity of the ear to the shot location may have some impact.

Does anyone think getting a shot in your thigh or butt makes sense?

My jab affected both ears.

 

[Tinker Bell]

I would think for the same reason that some people have inflammation on the arm they receive the shot in and not the opposite arm, but I don't know.

Inflammation at the injection site would make sense because the tissue there is directly impacted by the needle. But wouldn't inflammation that reaches the ears be from overall body inflammation?

This may just be more of a case of 50/50 odds. There are only two arm options for receiving a vaccine and only two options for auditory effects. I think the VAERS data records injection location and now I'm curious if there is a trend suggestion only one-sided inflammation. I know from reading the reports that there are some who received the shot on one side but had effects on the other side of their body.

 

[Forever hopeful]

I agree. It's a decision I have struggled with, too. Obviously none of us want to make a decision that negatively impacts our tinnitus or our long-term health. All we can do is look at the current data and consider our own health history.

For me, a virus caused a heart problem and asthma, another virus caused optic neuritis, and another virus left me with severe hearing loss and tinnitus. I am not sure I should take my chances with COVID-19, which the data increasingly suggests exacerbates heart problems, asthma and tinnitus.

I am so sorry that you have had so many viruses with lasting health impacts. I feel for you. I hope you avoid the nasty COVID-19. It impacts all that you have noted and more.

 

[Matchbox]

I always like to thank China for what they unleashed on the world!

I wouldn't have gotten suicidal tinnitus had it not been for COVID-19... indirect reasons. It really is hilarious and sad.

 

[Matchbox]

Oh, well, where to begin - I had my second Pfizer shot yesterday and within an hour of the shot, my tinnitus (already bad before) became louder, more intrusive, and more difficult to ignore, especially while wearing ear plugs. Last night, I slept very little - started having fever, chills, muscle aches, and fatigue. The tinnitus was at a level that I had never previously experienced and no amount of masking noise or pills could induce me to fall asleep. Today things seem a tad better - it is still louder than it was before the shot, but I also noticed that lying with a migraine patch on my forehead affected it for the better. Perhaps, this bad spike is due to the "stormy" inflammation from the shot and after some weeks, when by body response settles, the tinnitus will settle again to more tolerable levels.

I am sorry that so many others have either experienced a bad spike or the onset of tinnitus/hyperacusis after their first/second shot. I still think that COVID-19 poses more serious risks than the vaccines, but it is discouraging to feel like we have to choose the lesser of two evils.

If both evils are unbearable, then choose neither.

 

[Forever hopeful]

COVID-19 vaccine suppliers are all downplaying facts that tinnitus and sudden hearing loss is a side effect and not properly reported. The FDA reported that tinnitus events were not even mentioned in a briefing documents on the vaccines.

I was scheduled to receive the 1st injection of the J&J vaccine on March 26th, 2021 and the news about a prominent owner of a restaurant chain committing suicide as a result of receiving the J&J ingestion happened the previous day. My concern was that tinnitus would become even more elevated and I decided not to receive the vaccine. There are many people who have received the J&J vaccine along with other suppliers reporting negative results on the Drug Discovery and Development website.

There is also research that patients that contracted COVID-19 experienced tinnitus and hearing loss as reported in a Frontiers in Public Health study which makes the decision to risk not receiving a vaccine or contracting COVID-19 a difficult one.

Very interesting post.

If you are referencing the prominent owner of a restaurant chain who was from Texas, I do believe that it was publicly reported that his suicide was related to symptoms of COVID-19 vs having the vaccine. At least the two or three articles I read about it pointed to COVID-19 vs a vaccine.

I don't think I've seen a lot of postings on this site about the J&J vaccine in particular causing tinnitus. The reports have been more about Moderna and Pfizer, which are both different from the mechanism of the J&J vaccine. That stinks. J&J is the one I was going to get.

Is there actual evidence that there's hearing loss occurring? Are there documented reports where people have been tested and learned they had hearing loss as a result of the vaccine? I know there have been studies that have suggested that a certain percentage of people have experienced hearing loss and subsequently tinnitus as a result of having the actual virus but I have not read that hearing loss was occurring with the vaccines.