Will You Get Vaccinated for Coronavirus (COVID-19)? Can It Make Tinnitus or Hyperacusis Worse?

[Jack Straw]

Here are the updated numbers as of 3/24/21:

Pfizer:
No Change: 26
Temporary Change: 4
Long Term Change: 3

Moderna:
No Change: 10
Temporary Change: 6
Long Term Change: 5

AstraZeneca:
No Change: 4
Temporary Change: 2
Long Term Change:

J&J:
No Change: 2
Temporary Change: 1
Long Term Change:

Still looks like Pfizer is the safest of the 4 shots. Not enough responses regarding AstraZeneca and J&J to make a decision.

Something to keep in mind when reading this. A lot of people who had "long term changes" didn't follow up. So their "long term change" could have resolved and we just didn't hear about it.

Updated 3/30/21 based on this thread. Responses are not included unless they are in this thread.

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

Pfizer:
No Change: 30
Temporary Change: 6
Long Term Change: 5

Moderna:
No Change: 13
Temporary Change: 6
Long Term Change: 6

AstraZeneca:
No Change: 5
Temporary Change: 3
Long Term Change:

J&J:
No Change: 3
Temporary Change: 1
Long Term Change:

Remember that long term changes are mainly due to people not following up. Majority of the long term changes that followed up were changed to temporary. Get vaccinated!

 

[Kendra]

I'm a part of a Menieres Facebook page and wanted to add that someone asked about the vaccine and tinnitus change.

Of the 9 commenters who got the vaccine, none of them reported worsening tinnitus and a few of them said the tinnitus got better for a few days after.

Only one person stated which vaccine they got which was Moderna.

 

[Manex]

I dunno... I am split between Pfizer and J&J. One shot in my opinion lessens the chances of bad side effects so I am leaning towards J&J.

Actually this isn't quite true. Z-Pak is a one pill version of Azithromycin and that's going to be more likely to cause tinnitus damage than Azithromycin over a period of time because it's a lot at once. I don't know if this is relatable at all to the J&J vaccine, but felt it was worth bringing up for perspective.

I'm in the same boat as you - same decision. Still undecided, waiting for more information on J&J.

 

[Juan]

That's good common sense.

There's a lot of fear mongering by COVID-19 fanatics but it can't be disputed that all the COVID-19 vaccines are experimental.

The AstraZeneca vaccine cannot inspire much confidence:

Berlin and Munich halt AstraZeneca jab for under-60s as Merkel prepares to act

Body advising German government set to recommend vaccine be given to only those aged 60 and above

 

[Michael Leigh]

Anyone old enough to remember the soap opera Dynasty, from the 1980s will probably remember the British actress Emma Samms, who played Fallon Carrington Colby. Just finished watching an interview with her on Sky News. She has had long term COVID-19 for a year. She was breathless throughout the interview but managed to keep talking. Her taste and sense of smell have been hugely affected, to the point she now smells diesel fumes. Suffers constantly from fatigue and her body yoyos up and down from one day to the next. Feeling incredibly weak today but tomorrow has the belief she's starting to get better, so goes out for a walk or bike ride, only to pay for it the next day as her whole body is thoroughly exhausted.

Due to the nature of her symptoms, she said the doctors don't know how to treat her. Very scary.

 

[kingsfan]

Anyone old enough to remember the soap opera Dynasty, from the 1980s will probably remember the British actress Emma Samms, who played Fallon Carrington Colby. Just finished watching an interview with her on Sky News. She has had long term COVID-19 for a year. She was breathless throughout the interview but managed to keep talking. Her taste and sense of smell have been hugely affected, to the point she now smells diesel fumes. Suffers constantly from fatigue and her body yoyos up and down from one day to the next. Feeling incredibly weak today but tomorrow has the belief she's starting to get better, so goes out for a walk or bike ride, only to pay for it the next day as her whole body is thoroughly exhausted.

Due to the nature of her symptoms, she said the doctors don't know how to treat her. Very scary.

I developed asthma after having the flu in February last year. Never got a flu vaccine because I "never got the flu." Now I'm paying for it. That's a big motivator for me getting the COVID-19 vaccine, even though I'm really nervous about the side effects.

I sometimes wonder if I had COVID-19 secondary to the flu. They didn't have testing yet, so there was no way of knowing. But it was worst sickness I think I've ever had. I've had a cough ever since and get breathless doing most things.

 

[Jack Straw]

Anyone old enough to remember the soap opera Dynasty, from the 1980s will probably remember the British actress Emma Samms, who played Fallon Carrington Colby. Just finished watching an interview with her on Sky News. She has had long term COVID-19 for a year. She was breathless throughout the interview but managed to keep talking. Her taste and sense of smell have been hugely affected, to the point she now smells diesel fumes. Suffers constantly from fatigue and her body yoyos up and down from one day to the next. Feeling incredibly weak today but tomorrow has the belief she's starting to get better, so goes out for a walk or bike ride, only to pay for it the next day as her whole body is thoroughly exhausted.

Due to the nature of her symptoms, she said the doctors don't know how to treat her. Very scary.

More reasons to get the vaccine.

 

[Ed209]

Anyone old enough to remember the soap opera Dynasty, from the 1980s will probably remember the British actress Emma Samms, who played Fallon Carrington Colby. Just finished watching an interview with her on Sky News. She has had long term COVID-19 for a year. She was breathless throughout the interview but managed to keep talking. Her taste and sense of smell have been hugely affected, to the point she now smells diesel fumes. Suffers constantly from fatigue and her body yoyos up and down from one day to the next. Feeling incredibly weak today but tomorrow has the belief she's starting to get better, so goes out for a walk or bike ride, only to pay for it the next day as her whole body is thoroughly exhausted.

Due to the nature of her symptoms, she said the doctors don't know how to treat her. Very scary.

I think one of the most shocking outcomes is what happened to Kate Garraway's husband, Derek. He's been in a coma since the first wave after catching COVID-19. At one point he woke up, and all he could say was "pain" over and over. Kate wasn't sure if he was fully aware of what was happening and thought that maybe he was trapped inside his mind and that his attempt to say pain could have been his way of communicating his horror. This was obviously very upsetting. After this, he never spoke again.

The story of what happened to him is truly heartbreaking.

 

[Michael Leigh]

More reasons to get the vaccine.

COVID-19 is an awful condition.

COVID-19: Emma Samms has had 'breathlessness, chest pain and fatigue' for a year now as a long COVID sufferer | Ents & Arts News | Sky News

 

[Ed209]

COVID-19 is an awful condition.

It's a shame that people are still falling for the same old misinformation that's all over social media.

After being hospitalised and left with possible long-term problems, and knowing of 10 people who died - who are directly linked to friends and family of mine - why would I believe that this is a hoax or just a sniffle? With these first-hand life experiences, I'd have to be the world's biggest idiot to think that this is all nonsense. But there are armies of people out there that would attempt to convince me otherwise. The world's gone mad.

At this point, it's like me being in a car crash and suffering a few injuries only to be told by more educated people that car crashes are fake and that they don't cause injuries. It's like, ok, but then how did I lose my foot? It would be completely nonsensical from the perspective of the crash victim, and that's me in this crap analogy. This is not stuff I've read online, I've lived and breathed it (excuse the pun).

I'm now convinced that there is nothing that will change the hardcore COVID-19-deniers' minds. The brainwashing is so deep that there's no coming back from it.

 

[Jack Straw]

I think one of the most shocking outcomes is what happened to Kate Garraway's husband, Derek. He's been in a coma since the first wave after catching COVID-19. At one point he woke up, and all he could say was "pain" over and over. Kate wasn't sure if he was fully aware of what was happening and thought that maybe he was trapped inside his mind and that his attempt to say pain could have been his way of communicating his horror. This was obviously very upsetting. After this, he never spoke again.

The story of what happened to him is truly heartbreaking.

That is something straight from a nightmare.

Heartbreaking and terrifying...

 

[morgothaod]

I had my second Moderna shot on 3/30. 4 hours after, I developed a headache and decided to go to bed early. When I woke up the next morning and had a bad headache, body chills, and a fever of 101. My pulse was 100 but my blood pressure was normal. I was fatigued and found walking around to be difficult. Probably also due to the headache and my head being hot while my body being cold. I plopped down on the couch and slept for as much as I could; from 10am-8pm. I got up for a little bit and took an ibuprofen at 9pm. I went to bed at 10:30pm and the next morning felt like my normal self. My tinnitus did not change.

I read online that people under age 55 have a more severe reaction because they have a stronger immune system. A family member of mine over that age received both Pfizer shots and had no side effects.

 

[Jack Straw]

I had my second Moderna shot on 3/30. 4 hours after, I developed a headache and decided to go to bed early. When I woke up the next morning and had a bad headache, body chills, and a fever of 101. My pulse was 100 but my blood pressure was normal. I was fatigued and found walking around to be difficult. Probably also due to the headache and my head being hot while my body being cold. I plopped down on the couch and slept for as much as I could; from 10am-8pm. I got up for a little bit and took an ibuprofen at 9pm. I went to bed at 10:30pm and the next morning felt like my normal self. My tinnitus did not change.

I read online that people under age 55 have a more severe reaction because they have a stronger immune system. A family member of mine over that age received both Pfizer shots and had no side effects.

I read that people who are younger have a stronger reaction and people who previously had COVID-19 also have stronger reactions as well.

 

[Ed209]

An interesting article about COVID-19 deniers:

The women fighting South Africa's 'infodemic'

 

[FGG]

An interesting article about COVID-19 deniers:

The women fighting South Africa's 'infodemic'

This part, geez:

When Sarah Downs tweeted about how her grandmother had died from Covid-19, there was one response she did not expect.

"I had just posted a message on Twitter basically saying my amazing grandma passed away and she meant a lot to me," she says.

"So then I had someone asking me, 'Well, was there an autopsy done? What were the autopsy results? You don't know that she passed away from Covid. She could have passed away from something else.'"​

 

[madeline S]

Does anyone know if the COVID-19 vaccines cause permanent damage to the hair cells in the ear or is it the nerves in the ear?

I'm trying to understand if my tinnitus will be permanent or is there any chance of it getting better. Any good news about improvements to tinnitus caused by COVID-19 vaccinations would sure make me feel more hopeful.

 

[Jack Straw]

Does anyone know if the COVID-19 vaccines cause permanent damage to the hair cells in the ear or is it the nerves in the ear?

I'm trying to understand if my tinnitus will be permanent or is there any chance of it getting better. Any good news about improvements to tinnitus caused by COVID-19 vaccinations would sure make me feel more hopeful.

Majority of people that had a spike in tinnitus after a COVID-19 vaccine apparently saw improvement with their tinnitus as time went on.

 

[madeline S]

Majority of people that had a spike in tinnitus after a COVID-19 vaccine apparently saw improvement with their tinnitus as time went on.

Thank you. How about people who never had tinnitus before the COVID-19 vaccination? Does it go away? Do you know how long it takes for improvement?

 

[Kriszti]

Thank you. How about people who never had tinnitus before the COVID-19 vaccination? Does it go away? Do you know how long it takes for improvement?

I don't think that we have enough data at this point. I think, it's not even clear how the vaccines may cause tinnitus to begin with. Tinnitus in general is an enigma unfortunately.

 

[Jack Straw]

It really is a shit situation that we have been put in. We have to decide between getting COVID-19 vs getting the vaccine, which both have been shown to cause issues with tinnitus. Regardless, I still think everyone should get the vaccine because issues with tinnitus seem to be less than 1%, while issues with COVID-19 are closer to 20%-25%.

Also, based on our anecdotal experiences here and the numbers, I think Pfizer is the best one to take.

 

[Bee1216]

Hi - I am new here. I have super mild tinnitus and not always. But I also have occasional pulsatile tinnitus. I have anxiety and can't decide which vaccine to take between Pfizer or J&J. I see a post above saying Pfizer may be better, but can someone confirm why? I would think J&J less likely to cause or worsen tinnitus? I hear more about it from Pfizer. Curious what everyone is doing. I emailed my ENT and neurologist (I get vestibular migraines as well) Thanks!

 

[Tinker Bell]

Hi - I am new here. I have super mild tinnitus and not always. But I also have occasional pulsatile tinnitus. I have anxiety and can't decide which vaccine to take between Pfizer or J&J. I see a post above saying Pfizer may be better, but can someone confirm why? I would think J&J less likely to cause or worsen tinnitus? I hear more about it from Pfizer. Curious what everyone is doing. I emailed my ENT and neurologist (I get vestibular migraines as well) Thanks!

There were five cases of tinnitus — including one case of sudden hearing loss and tinnitus — in vaccine recipients in the J&J trial. I think at least four of the five resolved and were only short-term. No record of tinnitus in trial participants for Pfizer or Moderna.

J&J is newer to distribution, around 5 million doses in the U.S. while around 138 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna have been administered. The VAERS reporting site lists data on any individuals who report tinnitus as a vaccine side effect. I have read reports for Pfizer and glanced through them for Moderna. The majority were short-term tinnitus in combination with other symptoms (headache, high blood pressure, etc.) and it appears many resolved. There's also some difficulty pinpointing the vaccine as the actual cause, especially in cases where individuals already had other health conditions or take medications that can cause tinnitus.

Around 15 percent of the U.S. adult population is already fully vaccinated, including many in the medical field. I do not necessarily think one vaccine is more likely to cause or impact tinnitus versus another.

 

[Bee1216]

Thank you! I can't decide which one. I like the one and done so much more, but seems side effects are milder for Pfizer... maybe the small dose first helps prepare your body, whereas J&J is a big punch at once. But I can also see me not wanting to go back! HA!

 

[Tinker Bell]

Thank you! I can't decide which one. I like the one and done so much more, but seems side effects are milder for Pfizer... maybe the small dose first helps prepare your body, whereas J&J is a big punch at once. But I can also see me not wanting to go back! HA!

I feel the same! Maybe go with the choice that gives less anxiety, especially since anxiety is known to increase tinnitus.

 

[Bee1216]

There are so many reports of tinnitus w Pfizer and Moderna, i am leaning towards J&J if I can get it.. then I don't have the stress of second shot, although I am sure they will start recommending a booster.

 

[Tinker Bell]

There are so many reports of tinnitus w Pfizer and Moderna, i am leaning towards J&J if I can get it.. then I don't have the stress of second shot, although I am sure they will start recommending a booster.

There are around 200 reports on the VAERS site for Pfizer and Moderna. Around 30 reports for J&J. That's out of 138 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna and 5 million doses of J&J. If you look closer at the reports, many are short-term tinnitus in conjunction with other symptoms like fever and high blood pressure.

That said, I do think there's a plus to one and done!

 

[Lucifer]

There are around 200 reports on the VAERS site for Pfizer and Moderna. Around 30 reports for J&J. That's out of 138 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna and 5 million doses of J&J. If you look closer at the reports, many are short-term tinnitus in conjunction with other symptoms like fever and high blood pressure.

That said, I do think there's a plus to one and done!

So far Pfizer seems to be the safest option right now. I would like to know more about whether there were any side effects with J&J since it's one shot only and they don't need to keep it in really cold conditions like Pfizer.

I do wonder if COVID-19 ends, if it will still be possible to get Pfizer after the outbreak is over.

 

[Ed209]

The AstraZeneca vaccine cannot inspire much confidence:

Berlin and Munich halt AstraZeneca jab for under-60s as Merkel prepares to act

Body advising German government set to recommend vaccine be given to only those aged 60 and above

I feel AstraZeneca is being hard done by, as there is still no proven link to the blood clots being caused by the vaccine, and the numbers involved really are minuscule compared to the millions that have been injected. The risk of blood clots from COVID-19 is infinitely higher. However, because there is the chance it could cause a problem, no matter how small, restrictions will be made.

It's also interesting to note that AstraZeneca has made no money from this, so there is no motive for them to cover things up for financial gain. They produced and sold their vaccine at cost, so have acted in a very humanitarian way. Pfizer, on the other hand, has made around $20b in profits.

There's a part of me that wonders if the motivation to discredit AstraZeneca is a political one, because there is no profit to be made, and creating a furore in the press will reduce its market share. There's no proof of this at all; it's just me thinking out loud.

 

[Tinker Bell]

So far Pfizer seems to be the safest option right now. I would like to know more about whether there were any side effects with J&J since it's one shot only and they don't need to keep it in really cold conditions like Pfizer.

I do wonder if COVID-19 ends, if it will still be possible to get Pfizer after the outbreak is over.

I am not sure if it will be available in the future, but there is a good chance COVID-19 will be a constant like seasonal influenza.

I do like that there is more data available for Pfizer because it's been more widely used.

 

[Jack Straw]

I am not sure if it will be available in the future, but there is a good chance COVID-19 will be a constant like seasonal influenza.

I do like that there is more data available for Pfizer because it's been more widely used.

I think this is also an unfortunate reality of our future. Since COVID-19 has a very real danger to our auditory system, it seems like routine vaccines will be a thing in our future. Another good thing is that hopefully they can address the issues with tinnitus and hearing loss with future development of the vaccines even though they are very small to begin with.