Link Between COVID-19, Tinnitus, Hearing Loss, and Vertigo

A friend sent me an IFLS story that linked to a study showing that "among people who were infected with COVID-19, around 7.6 percent suffered from hearing loss and 14 percent experienced tinnitus... A further 14.8 percent of people also reported vertigo..."

It's unclear to me if "people who were infected" is supposed to reflect a representative subset of all infected people, or if it's a more specialized group than that, but 14% seems pretty high to me for something that hasn't really come up much over the past year, as opposed to, say, reports of people losing their senses of taste and smell.

The IFLS story:

COVID-19 Appears To Be Linked To Tinnitus, Hearing Loss, And Vertigo

The linked study:

One year on: an updated systematic review of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 and audio-vestibular symptoms

It may be worth considering that many of us who think we acquired our inner ear problems from other causes over the past year—including myself—could possibly be experiencing an effect of COVID-19, even if the rest of the familiar COVID-19 symptoms are absent.

 

Great article Keith! Thanks for posting. I am one who ended up with tinnitus a few weeks after having a bad case of COVID-19 last July. I can hope and pray it isn't permanent.

 

Me too, I got my tinnitus in September 2020 after COVID-19...

 

I just read a story about the CEO of Texas Roadhouse who committed suicide due to COVID-19 caused tinnitus.

Texas Roadhouse CEO Kent Taylor Took His Life After Battling Severe Tinnitus Caused by COVID-19

 

I just saw that now.

 

Some Covid-19 Patients Say They’re Left With Ringing Ears

My ENT and GP now think this was my cause of worsening.

From the article: "There is also some evidence that Covid-19 can aggravate symptoms among people who had tinnitus before they contracted the disease. A study published late last year in the journal Frontiers in Public Health surveyed 3,100 people with tinnitus and found that 40 percent of the 237 respondents who had contracted Covid-19 reported that their symptoms were “significantly exacerbated” following the infection."

I had cold/flu like symptoms shortly before the noise I encountered set my tinnitus off. Given my severity perhaps it was a confluence of factors, but ultimately increased susceptibility due to a virus like COVID-19.

 

Total rubbish. COVID-19 has nothing to do with tinnitus. Close this thread.

I have tinnitus at most severe state (09/10, 24/7) and I got vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech. And everything is the same.

 

That's akin to, you have no evidence that aliens DIDN'T build the pyramids.

There's a verified mechanism in how COVID-19 could create tinnitus based on the receptor the virus targets, which would absolutely have downstream effects, so no it's not rubbish, your opinion may be though.

 

I’m not sure if you are trolling or serious. COVID-19 has been linked to a myriad of long term cognitive and neurological issues most favorably the loss of taste and smell, brain fog, and strange long term autoimmune issues. Clearly the majority of COVID-19 patients don’t get hearing loss/tinnitus from it but it seems rather myopic to say that because you had tinnitus without COVID-19 that tinnitus can’t be triggered by COVID-19.

And please remember that an awful lot of people on this site have 24/7 disabling/near disabling tinnitus, that’s why we are here to try to cope with an impossible situation.

 

How does it feel to be the resident fool?

 

I think he’s talking about receiving the vaccine, not actually getting infected with COVID-19.

 

Did you have COVID-19?

They are not saying the vaccine causes tinnitus.

 

This post is for those who have COVID-19 related tinnitus and/or those who have tinnitus related to the COVID-19 vaccine.

My daughter works for Dr. David Agus, who is a well-known doctor and author and an authority on COVID-19. He often appears on news programs as a COVID-19 medical consultant and is a regular on CBS This Morning. Once a week, he has a conference call with his employees regarding COVID-19.

Today, my daughter asked him about the correlation between COVID-19 and tinnitus and told him about my situation. (I have COVID-19 related tinnitus and it got much worse right after I got my first Pfizer vaccine 11 days ago.)

He said that both the CDC and the medical experts are well aware that tinnitus has been linked to both COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine and they are monitoring it closely.

Several studies are being conducted now. What they are finding is that tinnitus that is caused by COVID-19 and by the vaccine is TEMPORARY and will dissipate slowly with time. They do not believe it is permanent.

Dr. Agus also stated that those who developed tinnitus or it got worse because of the vaccine should still get the second dose. He strongly advised against not getting the second dose or getting the J&J vaccine instead of the second dose.

I hope this is helpful and encouraging.

 

Did he state what do they base the idea on that tinnitus caused by COVID-19 is temporary? Does it have different characteristics, operates differently than tinnitus from other causes?

 

I assume that this paragraph is part of your paraphrasing of what Dr. Agus said, and not that you have other sources or links?

I have had a couple of good, quiet afternoons over the past few weeks - so far, these are the exceptions rather than the rule. I'm between vaccine doses. Yesterday's quiet afternoon was accompanied by extreme sleepiness and a hot-feeling neck, like the body was trying to fight and rebuild. I work in a crowded retail environment and there's a high probability that I've been infected but otherwise am asymptomatic.

My tinnitus has been erratic, mostly high pitched, and reactive, and evolved into auditory hallucinations in February, which mostly receded after dose #1 early March.

 

I don't think it's temporary. It's been with me for 7 months now after getting COVID-19.

 

If I told you the tinnitus would be 'permanent', would you take the shot?

 

F#$% no.

 

I've at least seen the general statement that many COVID-19 long-haulers eventually get better (and that is technically what you are). It all comes down to whatever the underlying condition is that is causing it, and long-COVID-19 is still largely a mystery.

 

I may sound like a complete jackass and I'm sorry for what I'm going to say; But I'm so glad tinnitus is a somewhat common side effect you're left with after having COVID-19. The amount of public pressure there will be because of this will mean spotlight and investment for research.

 

I don't fault you for pointing out that silver lining. I thought of it too. And... a millionaire killed himself? Now they'll listen.

 

I have had tinnitus for approximately 1 year. My tinnitus developed last March following a 2-week bout with an unknown virus, which was doubly confirmed as not the flu and not bacterial. At this point I am assuming my tinnitus is COVID-19 driven/inflamed.

Now that allergy season is upon us, my tinnitus is spiking and I am considering trying Flonase. Have any of you long-haulers with allergies had any success with nasal sprays?

 

I can't even begin to deal with this ignorance...

COVID-19 can cause tinnitus and has for many people, and it can also make it worse.

Mine got significantly worse, I developed 3 new intrusive sounds.

 

It also means that for many of us, our condition will worsen since coronavirus isn't going anywhere anytime soon and reinfection is likely.

 

The ACE2 receptor is what COVID-19 and antibodies would target... It is critically important for blood flow through small capillaries.

I'm not surprised people are experiencing blood clots, amputations, strokes and tinnitus. It's all lack of blood due to the virus messing with the receptors of surviving cells as well as destroying their endothelial layer.

It's why you can't breathe. It's why Prednisone helps so much.

The shitty part is that causing tinnitus will likely be permanent based on this mechanism. A similar one is those with sudden hearing loss and Meniere's with ischemia from the hydrops. You basically need to treat it like a stroke and an emergency. It's your only chance before nerves start dying in the insanely small capillaries of your ears. Low and high frequency have smaller vessels hence more likely to get hit. High frequency have more vessels though.

 

I don't have solid proof linking tinnitus to COVID-19 but my tinnitus got significantly louder late 2019 accompanied by some sort of pressure feeling in my ears. It also took on a new characteristic where it sometimes becomes much softer for a day or so out of maybe 10 days.

 

This is terrible news, but thanks for your explanations. If any scientists or doctors out there have a counterpoint please share. I'm inclined to believe @Matchbox based on credentials.

 

Maybe try reducing pollen exposure. I use a $110 WINIX HEPA purifier from Costco in my bedroom. Consumer Reports says that on a high setting most air purifiers do a good job of filtering pollen. It hasn't actually helped me yet but I'm not sure if my cause is allergies or the vaccine as they both occurred in early March.

 

@Laura_mc_girl, can you please provide a link to this statement by Dr. Agus? I've searched online and can't find any substantiation to this statement.

It sounds like it may have been a private conversation between Dr. Agus and your daughter. I'd love to see this in print if it's true.

 

I’ve suffered from mild tinnitus for 30 years. I had COVID-19 in December and the tinnitus volume turned up.

I got the first Moderna shot in March and the volume increased even more. I am VERY concerned about getting the second shot.

Thoughts?