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

[Elmer B Fuddled]

I had the Pfizer vaccine last Friday. It made me nauseous, then very tired. 3 days later my tinnitus went into overdrive; it spiked for 24 hours, had me up the walls, even my white noise app in my hearing aids couldn't help.

The tinnitus has now backed down to its original baseline, being mild. I'm not positive the spike was caused by the vaccine or just anxiety over having the injection. That was the first injection, the only other I didn't have a sore arm from it.

 

[Ryan Jones]

My tinnitus spiked pretty bad 3 days after my first dose of Pfizer as well.

After 3-4 weeks it settled back down to near my pre-vaccine baseline. I ended up delaying the second dose a week to give more buffer time.

Just got my second dose yesterday and had an immediate spike. I'm hoping that any spikes will settle back down again just like after the first dose. I don't even mind if it takes a few weeks.

The spike in volume does seem easier to handle this time as I was expecting it and had prepared myself.

Seems to support the idea that inflammation may be a driving force behind my tinnitus, so I'm eating very clean and taking Turmeric, Ginger, etc.

 

[GenZen]

It's now been a little over 24 hours from my initial dose and I haven't noticed an appreciable difference in my tinnitus. It did seem a bit more noticeable last night and this morning but that could just have been due to my fixating on it as well as being exhausted. It didn't really seem louder, just a higher frequency and more "present" which I attribute to the fact that I kept listening to it. As of right now I am at baseline.

I will continue to post updates over the next couple of weeks.

It's now been 72+ hours since my initial dose of Pfizer and I'm still basically at my baseline. My tinnitus has been a little more annoying than normal but I would attribute that to a stressful week at work and also just constantly listening to it to see if anything has changed. I've definitely been hyper aware this week. I don't think it's gotten louder at all as far as I can tell.

I'll continue to post updates over the next week or so.

 

[Rick Habba]

Within hours of my first dose of Moderna my tinnitus began in both ears.

Since I am at higher risk with COVID-19, symptoms were fairly mild, and I had high hopes it would be just temporary.

I did also get my second dose. My tinnitus level went up for several hours after the 2nd shot, but did come back down to my (mostly) constant level, which is probably a 2 or 3.

Two months later and finding nothing helps - I am starting to realize this may be my new normal. Just joined Tinnitus Talk to keep up with anything I may do to improve or at least stop from making it worse. Reading some threads, I am relatively fortunate mine is this mild...

 

[jjflyman]

UPDATE:

13 days since Pfizer shot #2.

All spikes are gone, tinnitus is back to baseline (very mild).

P.S. I called my Primary Care Physician after shot #1 spike, and he felt the spike was temporary and recommended getting the second shot.

Most likely any spikes people are getting will be temporary.

UPDATE:
Approx 23 days since Pfizer #2.

No further tinnitus problems, everything is back to normal. I really had very little side effects to the vaccine, the temporary spike in tinnitus was about it.

I would recommend getting the vaccine, the feeling to go out in public without feeling anxiety over this virus is amazing. Well worth the temporary spike.

P.S. 2 days ago the 3rd person I personally know died in intensive care from COVID-19, and he was only 39 years old. Ironically, he was offered the vaccine in early March by his doctor, and he turned it down saying he "wasn't buying into this whole COVID-19 thing"

 

[Mike Brewer]

I had my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine 12 days ago. It had no effect on my tinnitus.

Any increase I noticed was mostly because I was paying more attention to it, and I happened to have a tiring and stressful week at work. Fatigue, stress, or noise exposure always increase it for me. It's at baseline now.

In my experience, any changes my tinnitus come to down to fatigue, stress, or by simply thinking about it too much. Since mine is due to hearing damage, I expect it to remain the same unless I lose more hearing. A type of practiced ignoring of it lets my brain equate the ringing with baseline silence, and I can generally tune it out. That probably took me about 10 years. At it's best now, there are moments when I almost have to look to find it. (But once I look it's always still there!)

It might be worth mentioning that I also went through 6 months of aggressive chemotherapy 2 years ago, and that didn't have any effect on my tinnitus either. While dealing with cancer I basically forgot about my tinnitus, which was a good thing. If I was paying attention I would probably have noticed spikes during my treatment, and that just would have added to my stress.

I can only repeat the tried and true advice of staying positive and trying not to focus on the tinnitus. Easier said than done, I know, but stay positive everyone!

 

[S2000gtx]

Hi everyone,

I took my second Pfizer vaccine yesterday; no increase in tinnitus, just had a sore arm.

 

[TimmyC]

I had my first dose of Pfizer 3 weeks ago. No change in tinnitus, only a sore arm.

My thoughts are the chances of COVID-19 spiking your tinnitus are much higher, and lots of people got tinnitus from COVID-19.

Stress and fear is a powerful thing, so I recommend just staying calm when you get your shot. Try to relax, and I'm sure you will be fine

 

[twa]

*UPDATE*

March 17, 2021 — #1 Pfizer vaccine, sore arm, chills and fatigue that night. Next three days ok. The fifth day I had extreme nausea and dizziness. Doctor tested me for strep, flu and COVID-19. I was positive for strep and had fluid in both ears. No change on tinnitus, in fact tinnitus was more of a static sound each day.

April 9, 2021 — #2 Pfizer vaccine, sore arm, chills, fatigue 24 hours after vaccine. Tinnitus increased to high pitched constant ringing, no static. Hyperacusis was improving and has regressed to where I was 4 months ago with sensitivity. It has been 11 days.

*The 13th day I woke up with extreme dizziness and nausea. My doctor prescribed a Prednisone steroid pack, Meclizine and Ondansetron. I took the steroid and had an hour nap sitting up. Within an hour I felt better. On the second day I was still dizzy but could walk. On the third day I was dizzy, but walked briefly outside.

I have found reports on this forum and others of extreme dizziness and nausea after the vaccine. I am undecided whether or not to take a third dose or booster, if recommended.

*UPDATE #2*

May 2, 2021 - It has been 24 days since my second Pfizer shot. I'm still having some vertigo, especially when lying down and getting up in the morning. I have never had vertigo prior to the vaccines. I'm also having ear pain, neck pain and burning. I went to vestibular.org and there are 137 pages of people with similar reactions to the vaccine. I have taken a course of steroids, antibiotics (tested positive for strep twice) and anti-dizziness medication. The hyperacusis and tinnitus increased.

Today is the first day I have felt better. First vertigo attack was 5 days after the 1st vaccine and then 13 days after the 2nd vaccine. Other reports follow this same timeline.

 

[Alue]

It's been 3 days since my 2nd Moderna shot. I've had some fluctuations, but that could be due to sleep, work stress, and me paying attention to my tinnitus more. Nothing outside the normal range for me. I don't think the shot caused any real worsening. Knock on wood. In the meantime I've been avoiding other things that can exacerbate my tinnitus (medication, noise) until I'm sure I'm in the clear.

 

[dnl]

I had my second dose of Pfizer on April 26.

No increase in tinnitus. Just sore arm, fatigue and dry mouth.

 

[jimH]

I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine two days ago. No change in my tinnitus in either volume or tone.

Like after the first shot, after a few hours I experienced localized soreness in the arm. However, after the second shot I did experience tiredness the next day. Today, the second day after, I feel perfectly normal.

I think some of the spikes that some people experience may be due to stress or anxiety they feel about getting the shot.

I wasn't at all stressed the day I got mine. I get more stressed when my young grandchildren come to visit me for a few days...

 

[Kriszti]

I doubt that many here would get the Sputnik vaccine, but just for the record: I got the second dose a couple of days ago, no effect on tinnitus so far, just a sore arm and elevated temperature for some days.

 

[linearb]

I had Pfizer #1 yesterday.

Sore arm onset almost immediately, got worse for 2-3 hours. For hours 5-20 or so, I felt vaguely off, cognitively weird, tinnitus possibly slightly worse than usual but mostly just felt crappy and annoyed. I did feel shitty enough yesterday that all I really wanted to eat was brothy noodle soup and had absolutely zero desire for beer; those are telltale signs I'm "a little ill". Also had obvious headache and some minor jaw/ear pain.

As of this morning my arm soreness is not as bad as it was when I woke up at 2AM (normal for me), and I basically feel normal and my tinnitus seems normal.

If any of that changes, I will definitely update this thread; otherwise, I'm scheduled for #2 in three weeks, and then two more weeks, and then I can finally get back to going to Applebee's key parties as well as resuming my favorite habit of seeing what the handles to men's rooms taste like in different bars.

Seriously, our actual behavior will barely change as a result of vaxx, because of small kids in the house and questions about what that means. I might be comfortable hosting some outdoor only events for other fully vaxxed people in small groups this summer, though, and that's more than we did last year!!

EDIT: I took a multivitamin and Magnesium before the shot. I'll keep taking multivitamins for a few days, and I avoided alcohol for ~20 hours before the shot, and so far since. I will probably keep that up until I have no remaining arm soreness etc and keep up on fluids.

I had the Pfizer vaccine last Friday. It made me nauseous, then very tired. 3 days later my tinnitus went into overdrive; it spiked for 24 hours, had me up the walls, even my white noise app in my hearing aids couldn't help.

I'll let you know if this slams me on Sunday, but if it does I'll probably just take an extra Klonopin and assume things are going to level out again soon.

 

[EddieL.]

An addendum to my vaccine experience: The day after I received my second Pfizer dose three weeks ago, my tinnitus was very bad, so I started to think about the correlation between inflammation and tinnitus levels. As a result, I've been focusing on trying to control inflammation naturally since then, and I've had great results.

Normally, my good/bad days are about 50/50 but, since I've started my new regimen, I'd say they're more like 75-80% good, and 20-25% bad, and my tinnitus hasn't felt this stable in a very long time.

In addition to my usual Vitamin D3, I've been taking an Omega-3 supplement daily, and I alternate Boswellia and Cat's Claw every other day. I've also added a Melatonin/L-Theanine supplement at night. Your mileage may vary.

Side note: I haven't worn hearing protection in the past 14 months, and, yes, I've been exposed to loud noises with no lasting negative effect.

I just wanted to pass along my positive experience.

 

[Alue]

It's been a week since my 2nd Moderna shot. No changes to tinnitus.

 

[Elmer B Fuddled]

My first Pfizer shot was 23 April as I posted earlier. Since then I've had 2 spikes in tinnitus and not being able to do anything for it but ride it out.

But now as far as side effects, I have had a nauseous stomach and diarrhoea for the last 4 days. I asked about those symptoms and was told yes, that can happen with the first injection.

Oh boy, I can hardly wait to see what the second one does.

 

[Jenallen21]

I live in Canada. I had my 1st dose of AstraZeneca over 2 weeks ago.

I woke up with hyperacusis and tinnitus 12 hours after vaccination. I still have these symptoms 2 1/2 weeks later. Added to that, I now started having vertigo and pins and needles sensation in feet, hands and face, 6 days ago and it won't go away.

This is a nightmare, no doctors know how to help because they don't know why I'm having all these symptoms. Yes, it's because of the vaccine, but why? Is it inflammation, is it an autoimmune response, is it nerve damage?

Should I take my second dose...

 

[DevHitByTinnitus]

I had my first dose of Pfizer about a week ago, I had a mini tinnitus spike of 1 day but it subsided. A friend who is a very good doctor and knows a lot about tinnitus told me to take some Paracetamol and some antihistamines before the vaccine to modulate the secondary effects.

I'll post after my second dose as well.

 

[MrCrybaby]

I had my first dose of Pfizer on Friday (currently 4 days out). That night I woke up very stiff and with higher tinnitus (somatic reasons I suspect), but it passed by the time morning rolled around. Unfortunately, the next day a passing car honked it's horn while right beside my bad ear so I'm not a great data point from here on out. Tinnitus is currently slightly elevated (not enough to disturb my habituation) which may be from the horn or vaccine. No changes to hyperacusis symptoms. I will update again at the 2 week mark. Second dose is not scheduled until August.

Non hearing related side effects were soreness at injection site, stiff muscles, and sore joints. All these symptoms have passed. I was VERY thirsty after the vaccine and have been making sure to stay hydrated as the lovely @twa has recommended before.

2 Week Update:

All soreness/stiffness/intense thirst has passed. Tinnitus seems to be as it was, I think I was checking for it more after vaccination which made it seem more intrusive.

Weirdly my bad ear has felt less sensitive since my first dose, who knows what's up with that.

I will update again when I get the second dose in August!

 

[NuNu]

Got my 2nd Pfizer jab just now. No difference in tinnitus levels after the first one, will keep y'all up to date if anything changes.

 

[Stu1983]

I hope everyone is safe and well.

I received my first Pfizer shot almost 24 hours ago with no noticeable impact to my moderate to severe hearing loss, mild hyperacusis and severe tinnitus. I had some tiredness, night sweats, feeling weird and a sore arm though.

My wife who has mild tinnitus received her first shot of the Pfizer vaccine almost two months ago and had no changes to her tinnitus.

If anything changes regarding our tinnitus, I will report back. If not, I won't.

Love and Respect.

 

[GenZen]

It's now been 72+ hours since my initial dose of Pfizer and I'm still basically at my baseline. My tinnitus has been a little more annoying than normal but I would attribute that to a stressful week at work and also just constantly listening to it to see if anything has changed. I've definitely been hyper aware this week. I don't think it's gotten louder at all as far as I can tell.

I'll continue to post updates over the next week or so.

It's now been 11 days since my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine and my tinnitus is still at its baseline. I haven't experienced any spikes since the week I received the vaccine and I attribute that spike to stress, anxiety, exhaustion and my general hyper awareness.

I'm still on the fence about getting the second dose. On the one hand, I don't want to risk worsening my tinnitus. But then on the other with all these variants and the fact that we may never reach herd immunity I want to have the best protection against COVID-19 that is available. It's kind of a catch 22 I guess. Either choice is fraught with risk. It will be a tough choice to make, for sure.

 

[object16]

I got my AstraZeneca vaccine a month ago. There was no reaction, zero effect on tinnitus. And I am doing my ethical part to keep other people safe. It's not always about me me me. I also have a responsibility to do my part to stop this virus in its tracks. Otherwise it keeps mutating and mutating, until it gets to the point there are no vaccines, nothing works, and you get no choice in the matter.

My ancestors died off by the millions from infectious disease, because there was no vaccines back then. The word f*** in my language is cholera. Everyone dies, no one is spared.

Please get your vaccine. It is your moral ethical obligation. As for "freedom", please read John Stuart Mill, he wrote the bible of freedom, called On Liberty. Mr Mills clearly states, if you cause harm by your inaction, it is the exact same as causing harm by action. If you don't get vaccine, you are causing harm by inaction, and the other person's blood is on your hands.

All of the vaccines are identical. Get whatever one is offered.

And by the way, COVID-19 infection can give you a serious suicidal case of tinnitus, if you already got tinnitus, be prepared for tinnitus from hell.

The choice is easy, get vaccinated, first dose and the booster shot. I'm a medical doctor subspecialist.

 

[Niki89]

It's been one month since my first dose of Moderna on 3/23/21. I've had a large increase in tinnitus and hyperacusis since. It is aggravated with road noise when in a car. My ears are so sensitive. I use tinnitus music to relax when it's overwhelming.

I had 48 hours of silence a couple of weeks ago when my tinnitus stopped after taking 2-3 days of not driving anywhere and resting. I had not experienced silence before that in more than a year. My tinnitus returned when I had to make a 3-hour drive. Even 15 minutes in the car causes a tinnitus spike.

I am hoping to see a doctor soon. My sister and her friends are nurses and advised me to not get the second dose.

I am struggling with this. I'm a musician and music teacher.

I am hoping that the brief time my tinnitus stopped is a sign that it will stop after the immune response slows and my ears have rest.

It has been 7 weeks since my single dose of Moderna. The increase in tinnitus and hyperacusis was bad, but I was improving and it was manageable until I took a long drive and spent some time on a beach. The noise levels set off my hyperacusis to be very strong and have now lasted for a week. I have been resting, reducing noise, and the past 2 days have had some relief from the hyperacusis.

I can get my tinnitus down, but as soon as I take a short drive or listen to music on my phone it spikes.

I wish we knew what happens to our ears.

I'm still hoping that with time we will heal from vaccine-induced changes. Stay strong!

 

[twa]

*Update #3*

I had the 2nd Pfizer vaccine on April 9, 2021. I had fatigue and a sore arm a day later. 13 days later I started to have severe vertigo and dizziness. No prior history of vestibular issues, vertigo or dizziness. I did a Prednisone taper pack for 9 days. I have been home for 20 days working on recovery. I would not want to drive and become dizzy, so I have not driven for 20 days. The dizziness and vertigo are better. I have vertigo when lying down or getting up from bed. I have been walking everyday to exercise and challenge my vestibular system.

 

[GoatSheep]

I got my second dose of Pfizer on May 5th. First shot I had no issues.

Since the second shot I would say I've had at least a roughly 8 month setback or more in hyperacusis /noxacusis sensitivity. I was able to listen to music again. Now a few songs causes burning nerve pain in my ears even at low volume. My ears are jumping at the slightest sounds again. The mindset of being on edge over every little sound is starting to re-emerge.

I had a tic that developed from taking Zopiclone around the time I got tinnitus 2 years ago. It was pretty mild at this point, though still there. Now it's the worst it's been since I stopped taking that medication, which I was only on for 4 days to begin with.

I hadn't really been suicidal in a couple months and that was nice. I wasn't happy, but I was pretty functional again. Getting a lot accomplished, enjoying my children instead of just caring for them, looking at going back to college. Now I'm back to being dead inside.

Doesn't seem to have any noticeable effect on my tinnitus though. So that's a plus I suppose.

 

[PConD]

I got the Pfizer vaccine on 3rd May. No side effects apart from slightly sore arm for 2 days. No impact on tinnitus.

8th May - Tinnitus spike. Started steroids (40 mg / 4 days).
11th May - Tinnitus back to normal.
13th May - Tinnitus spike returned - stronger than before, along with ear pain.

Waiting to see how it develops from here.

 

[Manex]

I had the first dose of Pfizer.

There was an initial increase in my tinnitus, but that was not surprising. It was my usual tinnitus but louder.

Then 3 days later new tones and a lot of variety showed up and got worse and haven't stopped.

I started taking Turmeric pills as a long shot to decrease inflammation - but I did it late, I should have done it before the shot.

3.5 weeks later, I skipped the 2nd dose and I still have tones that are squealing that I did not have before and it's been incredibly depressing.

Note that my tinnitus was made worse 3 years ago from a Z-Pack dose of Azithromycin. So I was concerned that I might be sensitive.

The vaccine is not going to affect everyone, but I feel like I should have just skipped it as I had the history of issues with medication and tinnitus.

 

[GamingT]

I had my first Pfizer vaccine one week ago, on May 7th. My tinnitus seemed slightly louder than normal after that, but, I think that may have been just me thinking about it more since I was scared of any side effects.

Other than a sore arm, no other side effects or changes to tinnitus to report.

I will update if things change.