The Covid Vaccine May Have Given Me Tinnitus, but I’m Getting Vaccinated Again. Here’s Why – Healthy Hearing

Like so many of us, I was thrilled when the COVID-19 vaccine came out. The months (or was it decades?) of isolation were draining, and cost me so much emotionally. So, it was with great anticipation and excitement that I got that first jab.

That night, I ran a fever and had the usual side effects people were noticing at the time. One of my ears also closed up for several hours, which struck me as strange, but it dissipated, and I forgot about it.

I got the second jab with no weird side effects, and started to enjoy life outside with my adult kids. My daughter and I made up a game called Two Vaccinated Ladies Go to The (fill in the blank). We referenced our silly new titles every time we went out to enjoy shopping, movies, and life in general.

When it was time for boosters, I was more than ready. I had to wait a bit, because I got an ear infection for the first time in my adult life before I was scheduled for the shot. A round of antibiotics cleared up the infection completely, and off I went for my third jab. Within hours, my ears clogged up to the point where hearing became challenging. I thought the ear infection had returned, and dashed off to urgent care for another round of antibiotics. No infection could be found, but I was prescribed meds anyway. They didnt help, and the clogged, thick feeling remained. No matter what I tried, the stuffiness refused to dissipate, especially in one ear. I felt like I was underwater, and sinking fast.

Two weeks to the day after getting the booster, I came down with the COVID-19 virus. I only got mildly sick, thanks to the shot. But my ears refused to unclog. And about a week later, the unrelenting ringing in my bad ear started.

This was my worst nightmare. A friend of mine with tinnitus didnt leave her home for a year. My symptoms werent as bad as hers, but I couldnt pull my attention away from the unending ringing that wouldnt let me sleep or watch TV.

Along with that were the questions that plagued me: could it have been the vaccine? Was the virus at fault? Did the early ear infection have something to do with my new, constant companion? Theres no real way to know. And herein may lie the problem.

As weve reported in the past, approximately 16,000 people reported getting tinnitus after receiving a COVID-19 shot to VAERS, the official Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, run by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Im not part of that statistic. I was unsure of the underlying cause of my condition, and I didnt want to skew the data.

I found out after talking to friends, neighbors, and other assorted Brooklyn, NY types that tinnitus after vaccination often goes unreported. So, the VAERS data may be low. It may also be high. VAERS does not require people to receive a medical diagnosis, prior to reporting an adverse event. So, theres no way to know from these numbers what the actual impact of COVID-19 vaccination on hearing health is.

Scientific research is also lacking on the connection between COVID vaccines and tinnitus. What we do know is where theres smoke, theres fire. We just dont know for sure whats causing those flames to spark.

The flu, Tdap, and pneumococcal vaccines have all been shown to cause tinnitus in very small numbers. These underlying causes are rare.

Tinnitus has a wide range of much more common causes, including age-related hearing loss, ototoxic medications, and loud noise exposure. Thats one of the reasons why scientific data hasnt been able to tweeze out a direct, causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and tinnitus, or any other hearing-related condition.

In my case, Ill probably never know if it was the vaccine, virus, ear infection, or all of the above that gave me tinnitus.

Francisca Yao, M.D., my wonderfully pragmatic ENT doctor, gently steered me away from obsessing about the root cause of my condition. That let me breathe. It may sound counterintuitive, but not having to worry about the whys was very freeing. It eliminated blame (how could they?) and self-blame (why did I?), which isnt helpful. That being said, research on the links between vaccines and vaccine reactions of all kinds is urgently needed and must be ongoing, in order to achieve the highest possible levels of public safety.

So now, believe it or not, Im about to get my next round of COVID shots. Yes, Im nervous that theyll exacerbate my symptoms. But I also know that the COVID virus can cause or worsen tinnitus. Not getting vaccinated doesnt shield me from this possibility. Most importantly, I dont want to go back to the dark ages of huddling isolated at home, because COVID and other viruses are running rampant out there.

You do you, but if it was up to me, Id ask you to get and stay vaccinated, too. Billions of people over 81% of the total U.S. population have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19. Less than 1% have reported tinnitus as a possible side effect. So, if you havent gotten the shot and are avoiding it for fear of tinnitus, please dont let my story sway you against vaccination.

Life is full of calculated risks. Theres just no way to ever make sure were completely safe from everything. If only! Ive learned to live with tinnitus. Its not the first thing I think of when I wake up anymore. And, I have learned to sleep with it. Tinnitus is a small part of my life, but its not the defining part anymore.

What I know I cant live with is being stuck at home without people, the outdoor sounds of nature, special events, and travel. I want to stay in the game of life. So, despite the soft, intermittent ringing that sometimes haunts my left ear, I know what my next step will be.

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The Covid Vaccine May Have Given Me Tinnitus, but I'm Getting Vaccinated Again. Here's Why - Healthy Hearing