Massive Tinnitus Noise-Level Increase After Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccination?

Hello. Back in 2011/2012, I developed tinnitus in my left ear from an earwax plug which I neglected and left sitting in my ear too long, until suddenly the high-pitched hissing/white started. After the doctor removed the earwax plug, the noise persisted permanently.

It took several years before I habituated enough that I could function again. And to be honest, I don't know if I ever really habituated to it at all, or if the volume just kept going down very slowly over the years without my noticing it, until it became so minimal as to be irrelevant

Well, this year, I finally decided that the COVID-19 regulations had loosed up that I could do an overseas vacation.

But to travel, I needed to get the vax.

So two weeks and two days ago, I got my first vax shot: Pfizer.

Well, guess what?

Over the course of THAT VERY DAY -- the day that I got the shot -- my tinnitus volume started rising, and rising, and rising, as if someone were physically cranking up an audio setting, until it got to at least as high as it ever had been during my original tinnitus onset.

And so for the past 16 days, I've had 13 days of shrieking tinnitus, and only 3 moderate days. This after years upon years of almost no tinnitus at all.

Has anyone else had this? A massive, sustained tinnitus spike after their first vaccine shot?

If so, did it ever get better?

Did you dare to get the second shot? (Because you need two to count as "fully vaccinated" and to travel, at least in many European countries.)

 

Hi @karsten,

I am unvaccinated because of similar stories posted on the forum. You can use the search bar to find other members who have had bad reactions.

I think it resolves for some people, but not for others. If it was me I wouldn’t get the second dose, what’s the point in being allowed to travel if your ears get so bad you can’t get enjoy it. This is just my personal opinion, not advice. I hope things improve for you going forward.

 

It HAS resolved for some people? That's encouraging. So far, any thread I've found has only had comments from people who say that it has not resolved for them.

I will take your word for it that some people have said that it resolved, though if you recall anyone mentioning a favorable change and know where I could find such comments, I'd be appreciative. Thanks.

 

Tinnitus from Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine — Recovery Story

I’m sure there are others as well. I’ve seen many people say that ENTs believe it is inflammation based and it has a high likelihood of resolving on its own.

 

Something interesting I've noticed. When my post-vaxx tinnitus is at its worst, I also find that I tend to be experiencing some shortness of breath (and I never experienced shortness of breath before getting vaxxed) and occasionally premature ventricular contractions.

Then, if I do some sort of cardio-aerobic activity that gets the heart racing, my shortness of breath resolves, and my tinnitus reduces in volume somewhat, for a while -- or at the very least it takes on a less harsh, more mild tone.

None of these behaviours was observable with my tinnitus when I got it originally, ten years ago. Exercise had no effect on it. Whatever noise level and tone quality I woke up with was what I'd be stuck with for the rest of the day. This post-vaxx tinnitus seems, to a minor degree, malleable, in the way that I've described.

It makes me wonder about all of those stories that one hears about the vaccines weakening the heart. Could some version of vaccine-induced heart deterioration (not to the point of myocarditis, but nevertheless a detrimental effect) lead to poorer circulation to the auditory organs, and therefore aggravate tinnitus? This would be a different mechanism than the inflammation idea that I've heard bandied about as a theoretical cause of post-vaxx tinnitus.

Well, there are as many tinnitus-cause theories as there are tinnitus sufferers. But I thought I'd mention this, for what it's worth.

 

Just one more follow-up: has anyone who developed tinnitus from, or had their tinnitus massively spiked by, a COVID-19 vaccine tried antihistamines?

Over the past few weeks, I've taken NeoCitran with its old-school diphenhydramine hydrochloride antihistamine a few times before bed (really just to be able to sleep, as I find that it does help me to get some sleep, whereas the spiked tinnitus causes terrible insomnia). And I've noticed that on the following day after I take it, I seem to have a reduction in tinnitus volume from about noon till the end of the day.

Unscientific observation; anecdotal. And antihistamines have their own negative aspects. It's not something I'd care to take every night, to say the least. Just something I've noted. I wonder if the vaxx hasn't generating a recurrent condition of some sort of congestion in the inner ear.

 

Hey Karsten, how's your tinnitus now?