Share Your Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine Experience: Any Impact on Your Tinnitus or Hyperacusis?

[DRobi]

I had Pfizer #1 on March 5. No immediate change in tinnitus. I keep a log of my tinnitus symptoms, and three days after the vaccine I had 3 consecutive days of very quiet tinnitus (2-3/10). It ramped up again to normal baseline level (5-6/10) after that, and is now maybe a little worse.

I get #2 on March 26.

I am 66 years old but very fit with excellent lungs from years of running & cycling. Nonetheless, I will not take any chances with COVID-19 - tinnitus be damned.

 

[bobvann]

I have had both Pfizer vaccines and no impact on my tinnitus.

 

[Ehren M]

I had my first dose of the Moderna vaccine 7 days ago and my tinnitus has actually felt far less intrusive this week than in the past two months since its onset. I attribute that to decreased anxiety about COVID-19 now that my vaccination process is underway. My arm was slightly sore for about two days in the area where I received the vaccine. I feel so lucky to have received this vaccine that was produced in record time.

Also, apparently there is no reason to suspect the few blood-clot cases to have been due to the AstraZeneca vaccine:
WHO review finds no blood clot link to AstraZeneca COVID vaccine

Correlation is not equal to causation

 

[Chris S.]

I got my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday. I noticed very slight (if any) elevation of the level of my tinnitus. I had to use a lawn mower today and got a spike from wearing earplugs, but the spike was likely not related to the vaccine. No other side effects from having the vaccine except a sore arm for about 24 hours.

 

[dayma]

Pfizer here. Zero impact on tinnitus.

 

[Markku]

I've now received my first Pfizer vaccine.

I've not experienced any adverse effects; not even a sore arm or a slight headache.

I'll report back after I've got my booster shot.

 

[Lori Shumate]

Hi, I'm replying because I also got tinnitus after the first Pfizer shot.

A day after the shot I thought my head would blow up. Lots of pressure and the ringing was horrible and then I lost hearing in my left ear and could only hear muffled sounds for 24 hours.

When my hearing returned, the buzzing got louder and louder. During the week after the shot I also felt dizziness, along with the tinnitus.

Now, 3 weeks after, I caught COVID-19 and the tinnitus is back along with the dizzy off balance feeling. My other symptoms of COVID-19 are loss of taste and smell, stuffed head and ear pressure.

 

[Jack Straw]

My brother and father got 1st Moderna shot with no effect on tinnitus. My mother got both Pfizer shots with no effect on tinnitus.

 

[Meagan G.]

Checking back in regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and tinnitus.

I had the first Pfizer shot on February 17th and one week later become panicked when I perceived my right ear ringing to have gone up (from very mild to mild). Three days later the overhead buzzing I have increased from very mild to mild-moderate. More panic.

I believe the right ear ringing has returned to pre-vaccine baseline. The increase in perception of the overhead buzz continues to be elevated.

At this point I suspect that both of these events are due to anxiety rather than the vaccine itself.

I have postponed the second shot until I feel confident in this conclusion since, in my case for sure, anxiety truly feeds the tinnitus (onset in 2005 was during an anxiety disorder).

I will check back in when and if I receive the 2nd Pfizer shot.

 

[twa]

I had the Pflizer shot on March 17th and that night I had chills, extreme fatigue and soreness in the arm. The next two days I felt fine. Within 5 days I had dizziness and nausea to the point of throwing up. I tested positive for Strep throat and had a double ear infection.

Today it has been a week and I feel like I have slightly muffled hearing.

 

[Bambam0]

First Pfizer shot 3 days ago. No change.

 

[wwtsai]

Got the first Moderna dose on Tuesday. I thought my tinnitus was spiking but it was the same day the FX-322 news came out so it was probably stress and hyperfocusing on it at the time.

 

[candlelit]

Got a Pfizer first dose two weeks ago, no change to tinnitus. Wasn't even aware that was a possibility until reading it in the Times today. Sore arm though.

Now I'm nervous about the second but COVID-19 can make tinnitus worse, so what can you do.

 

[tpeters1]

I had my first Moderna shot on 2/19 and two days later my minor tinnitus ramped up to a level that is distracting and makes it very difficult to sleep, even with fans blaring away. After reading about so many people having had this happen, I really don't think that I'll be getting the second dose.

Please everyone that's posting, keep us up to date so we know if things are getting better or that you've treated it with something.

 

[shelbynn]

It's been one full week since I have had the J&J vaccine. No change in tinnitus.

 

[Tweaker]

I had the AstraZeneca shot yesterday. I got high fever and tinnitus rampant with hearing affected. A horrible experience. I will pray things improve quickly.

 

[Call_Me_Op]

All,

Interesting thread. I have had tinnitus for over 20 years and used to post online ages ago.

In any case, I just wanted to add that my brother is a physician who rarely complains about anything, but he indicated that his tinnitus went through the roof after his first Pfizer shot.

It calmed down after about 24 hours.

There are many anecdotal reports of tinnitus started or worsening after actual COVID-19 infection. One wonders how much drugs used to treat COVID-19 play into this.

I regret that tinnitus is still a mystery after all of these years.

Best,
CMO

 

[Teri]

I have had both doses of Moderna vaccine.

1st dose: 0 side effects.
2nd dose: A little fatigued which is not a big deal for me as I love to be able to sleep. Chills (no fever) during the first night, sore arm for a day. Other than that, I did well.

 

[Vivian Ehrlich]

I had the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine on March 17th. That night, I noticed that my tinnitus had spiked. The ringing is quieter now but I am not sure I will get the second shot. I don't want to start all over with a new spike.

Viv

 

[Tweaker]

Just to let folks know that after a really massive spike from the AstraZeneca jab, my tinnitus has almost returned to its usual level (which is bad enough) after 48 hours.

 

[Chinmoku]

I had the AstraZeneca yesterday. My tinnitus has been escalating constantly of late and is constant torture, but the vaccine didn't seem to worsen it significantly. Tinnitus remains my main problem and compared to this the headache and nausea coming from the vaccine are nothing.

I'll update in a few days if the symptoms worsen.

 

[Laura_mc_girl]

I have COVID-19 induced tinnitus. It started after I had COVID-19 last July. I got the Pfizer vaccine two weeks ago and my tinnitus got noticeably worse within hours of the shot. It went from being intermittent to 24/7 and much louder. It has not gotten better up to this point. I have decided not to take the risk of getting the second vaccine.

 

[Kriszti]

3 anecdotes from people about AstraZeneca vaccine, first dose.

One had absolutely no negative change to tinnitus, it even was quieter than normally; one had an elevation to their otherwise fading tinnitus; and one with no previous tinnitus had an onset combined with heavy dizziness. This last person said that 8 hours after getting the shot their temperature reached 39 C, and high volume ringing and dizziness started. Fever went away by next day, dizziness lasted 2 days, ringing in the ears went away after 4 days.

The person who got tinnitus after the first dose, received the second one as well and their ears started ringing again, but it seems to be fading. I don't really understand what can be going on...

 

[ColoredCat]

As a reference, I am 21, got (unilateral, left ear where I got hit) tinnitus around a month ago now from aggression/hits to the head/neck/shoulder. My tinnitus started at a 7/10 but at the time of getting the vaccine, it was ~6/10.
I had been taking immunosuppressants for 7 years prior for another disease so that could have played a positive or negative role in my symptoms.

However, I just switched 2 days ago from Azathioprine (that I was taking for years and at the time of the vaccine) to Budesonide so I might get different side effects for my second dose? I wonder if anyone has experience with these here...

I got the first dose of Moderna on the 16/03/2021 (in my left arm) and on the same day as well as the following one, my tinnitus went absolutely crazy going up to 8/10 and falling down to what felt as much as a 3/10 (the lowest it's been ever so far) on the same day with a few hours interval. I'm not quite sure if it really lowered that much or if it was just because I was feeling super weird, dizzy and had my headache but it definitively *seemed* like it, to say the least.

After the two initial days, my tinnitus was back to a 6-7/10 as usual, I would say. There were no changes to my right ear which had no tinnitus and everything seemed exactly the same on that side.

Other symptoms I got from the vaccine were:
- Massive headache that lasted 2 days starting a few hours after the vaccine
- Arm pain and swelling where I got vaccinated, 90% gone after 4-5 days but the pain is still somewhat going
- Swelling under my left armpit with pain, on the side of the vaccine, that appeared after 5 days, still going but less strong
- Increased neck/jaw/shoulder/in-ear pain on the vaccination side (left), where I got hit to begin with, I suspect that this is what caused my tinnitus so it would make sense that it messed with the sound? I wonder what you guys think about that

I do not think I've had permanent or long term changes from tthehat vaccine so far but who knows since for some people, tinnitus caused by the vaccine seems to appear at around the 2 weeks mark which I have just reached now, so I guess we'll see. Since I'm in an acute stage still, it's possible I doomed my chances for a recovery but a week after the vaccine, I actually experienced a 2/10 tinnitus for a few minutes and felt the lowest so far and the closest to silence I had ever been. Unfortunately, it went back to 6/10 after a bad car ride and going to the hospital and hasn't gone back lower since...

I am definitively going for the 2nd dose on the 12/04/2021 (this will be in 2 weeks from now) but I'll be asking to be vaccinated in my right arm to hopefully not fuck up my tinnitus again since I feel like that could have played a role :'^)

 

[The Bucket Woman]

I had my first Pfizer dose this past Friday afternoon.

Less than an hour later my tinnitus spiked and it hasn't resolved yet.

I had been struggling with tinnitus since the fall when I got it from Vancomycin. It DID lessen starting in January and it's been tolerable since then, until now.

I am NOT going to panic because I believe it will decrease before it's time for dose #2. If it doesn't? I don't know, but the stress from isolating is very unhealthy for me.

Also, when I read about the founder of Texas Roadhouse tragically killing himself because of tinnitus from COVID-19 it made me realize that there is no perfect choice, but getting vaccinated seems to be the best overall option for a chance at freedom, better health and social connection.

 

[Brittany95]

I got my first Moderna shot on March 24th. I was really nauseous for about 12 hours, and my arm was sore for about 2 days. My tinnitus seemed to have gotten a bit louder the next day, but I think that was more from the lack of sleep that I got the night before. It returned to "normal" levels the following day.

 

[Chinmoku]

I had the AstraZeneca yesterday. My tinnitus has been escalating constantly of late and is constant torture, but the vaccine didn't seem to worsen it significantly. Tinnitus remains my main problem and compared to this the headache and nausea coming from the vaccine are nothing.

I'll update in a few days if the symptoms worsen.

Update on AstraZeneca: I had one day and a half of shivering, nausea and fever at 38C, tinnitus unchanged. Now I'm fine, except for the usual horror.

 

[Meagan G.]

I had my first Pfizer dose this past Friday afternoon...

...I am NOT going to panic because I believe it will decrease before it's time for dose #2. If it doesn't? I don't know, but the stress from isolating is very unhealthy for me.

Also, when I read about the founder of Texas Roadhouse tragically killing himself because of tinnitus from COVID-19 it made me realize that there is no perfect choice, but getting vaccinated seems to be the best overall option for a chance at freedom, better health and social connection.

I have the same conclusion, that the 2nd shot seems like something we should avoid if the first one exacerbated our tinnitus. But then COVID-19 seems to have a higher correlation with worsening tinnitus. Either way, we feel we must roll the dice.

The CDC is saying that one shot of Pfizer or Moderna gives 80% protection against COVID-19. Is that enough to shield from the disease and the greater likelihood of worsening tinnitus? (Not to mention the other regrettable manifestations of the virus.) But then they say a vaccinated person, if they do get the disease, will have a milder case. Does that include milder negative effects on tinnitus?

And the isolation! Do we get to re-enter society on one shot? Is it safe enough? Will others treat us as fully vaccinated? I became a grandma during the pandemic and I am only allowed to see my grandchild (who is now 7 months old) from 6 feet away and with a mask on. I doubt the parents will relax their rules if I only have had one shot. Afraid to ask.

The tinnitus spike I am experiencing since 10 days after the first Pfizer shot is ongoing but has been punctuated by bouts of 2/10 (several hours to 2 days long) so I am hopeful that at least this 5/10 overhead staticky buzz won't be present every second of every day forever. I am also starting a CBT course specifically for tinnitus. With CBT I think I can learn to live with this sound fairly comfortably. Fingers crossed.

Best of luck with your decision.

 

[Alue]

Well I got the Moderna shot this morning. I would have preferred Pfizer, but Moderna was the first available with no guess on how long I would have to wait if I didn't take the opportunity.

So far I just have some soreness at the injection site, more sore than I remember from other injections including tetanus. I'll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[TinaRuns]

My mild tinnitus got much worse after the first dose of Moderna. This worsening was new. It could have been a total coincidence.

But I had exactly one more tolerable day before the second shot, which I received about 36 hours ago.

Since then, I have had a horrible spike to a level that is nearly catastrophic. My level had already been severe over the last couple of weeks. Tonight sleep is impossible despite my taking Melatonin + one Tylenol PM.

I'm praying to God this doesn't continue. I do have a perforated eardrum with surgery scheduled in one month, for whatever that's worth.