My Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Started After Having Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine & While Taking Steroids

I've been posting around in the forum for a while but I haven't formally introduced myself yet, so here goes nothing.

It all started when I heard a loud noise through my headphones at max volume one day. I was playing with my friends, and then all of a sudden there was a loud noise and I was kind of stunned by it at first. I didn't see much wrong at the time and continued to play, although my ears felt a little weird after. After that, I had a weird feeling in my ears for the next 5 days, like a fullness and some sensitivity. For some reason, I didn't feel like anything was wrong at first. Then on the 5th day, I had an appointment with my doctor for some unrelated reasons and I briefly mentioned the loud noise in my ears, but he didn't seem too concerned so I kind of brushed it off.

Later that day, I had my first dose of the COVID-19 Moderna Vaccine. That night of the Moderna Vaccine, I had a huge breakdown. I felt like complete shit. My ears were extremely sensitive at this time to noise. I am not attributing it to the vaccine, but for all I know it might be related. I think it may be due to me doing a lot of research on my ears, and seeing how bad the situation could be. Honestly at this time I can't say if I had tinnitus or not, but I had this weird feeling in my ears for sure that I think developed into my tinnitus. The day after my breakdown, I saw a doctor and explained my situation. This was the 6th day after the problem with my ears, and the doctor did an exam and prescribed me Prednisone, which was a 60mg dose for 5 days with a taper pack. I didn't have an ear infection but I asked to see an ENT. I had to see a audiologist first after that, so I got an audiogram that showed no hearing loss but I insisted on seeing an ENT. The ENT said only time can help me in my current situation, I didn't like that so I insisted on seeing another ENT for a second opinion and the second ENT said pretty much the same thing. I tried getting them to prescribe HBOT and steroid injections but they said it was not indicated and that it is only for hearing loss which I do not have, pretty much laughed me out the room after that.

Some time in the week after the vaccine while I was taking the steroids, I developed tinnitus and hyperacusis. I had horrible side effects with the steroids. I had many sleepless nights and nights where I woke up at night. I had full fledged anxiety attacks. I was a total mess. My doctor gave me Ativan and Restoril to help with the anxiety, but honestly it didn't do much because I feel like the steroids overpowered it. But, I still kept taking the steroids because I felt like it was my only hope and did not want a life of tinnitus and hyperacusis. You best believe I was happy after discontinuing the steroids. Slowly, I started to improve little by little over the next few weeks. I had my second dose of the Moderna Vaccine a few weeks ago, but I didn't really notice a difference in my tinnitus. About a week ago (week 7 after my acoustic trauma), I did HBOT for about 5 sessions. 2.4 ATA for 90 minutes. I went to a private clinic and paid out of pocket. I can't say I notice a difference after these sessions, maybe it even changed for the worse. I decided to stop after 5 sessions because it seemed kind of pointless to do at week 7 and 8 (Any Input on this?). I have been trying numerous supplements, NAC, Magnesium, Iron, Vitamin D, B12 and C. I can't really say if any of these help. I did try taking Curcumin too but I think that made it worse.

At this point at Week 8, my tinnitus has improved a bit I would say. I don't really notice it when I am outside, however it seems like a night of bad sleep can have a huge effect on it. However, it's the worst when I am in my own house and especially in my own room. This sucks because I used to love chilling in my room and doing my own thing, which is kind of hard now due to Reactive Tinnitus. My hyperacusis has mostly subsided and is moderate now. I still can't watch TV with my family but I can hold conversation with them. I can go to the grocery store or shopping without much of problem, which I think is weird because I can't watch tv. I can watch stuff on my computer without much of problem, although the fans on my gaming PC really bother me. I don't get this at all. I used to have really reactive tinnitus, like when I would take a shower I would hear a beep in the background of the water. I don't really have that anymore, but it does make appearances from time to time.

Thank you guys for reading my story and if anyone has any input I would appreciate to hear from you guys. I hope we can all be free from this one day.

 

The most common cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud noise. This includes using headphones, earbuds, headset, at too high a volume. Since you noticed the tinnitus and oversensitivity to sound after hearing the loud noise through your headphones, this is likely the route cause of the tinnitus.

My advice is not to use any type of headphones, even at low volume, as you risk the tinnitus getting worse. Please click on the links below and read my posts. Go to my started threads and read my articles: Hyperacusis, As I see it and The habituation process.

All the best
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Tinnitus, A Personal View | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

I think you are lucky to get steroids with a normal hearing test. Doctors told me a firm NO because my hearing was normal for age. It was only weeks later and far to late that I learned they don't actually test the full spectrum of hearing in a standard audiogram.

Possibly the vaccine is a coincidence. There is usually a delayed response to the onset of tinnitus and hyperacusis it seems, but I know how you will always wonder. So many things could have potentially caused my tinnitus I couldn't fit them all into my mini profile. I was booked to go to the dentist a week before my tinnitus started but I cancelled. So glad I did or else dental work would be on the list too!

 

Your body is most vulnerable when you sleep.

 

The first thing I did when I was going through this was stop using headphones and have not used them since, thank you for the advice Michael.

 

The unknowns are really getting to me. It sucks because I won't ever know the true cause of my tinnitus. I also had my wisdom teeth removed a month before the start of my tinnitus. So dental work might even be on the list for me too lol. It sucks how primitive medicine is when it comes to tinnitus.

 

It drives me crazy too. I don't know the cause of my tinnitus. Could be blood pressure meds, could be the MRI I had right before onset where they didn't give me ear plugs (just a plastic headset), could be sudden onset daily headaches, could be the daily Ibuprofen I was taking around the clock for the headaches, could be the month long virus I had just before tinnitus started, the two courses of antibiotics I was on for the virus (I know, I know... but with flu like symptoms the doctor wouldn't see me and prescribed them over the phone not knowing if my cough was viral or bacterial). It could be my autoimmune disease, which scares me because I am not being treated and things could get a whole lot worse.

I cannot find ONE SINGLE decent doctor. Not one, that will work with me on this.

 

I can definitely sympathize with you on everything you said. Doctors are very useless for tinnitus and they are very clueless. I saw 3 total ENTs and none of them cared to look further into the problem. I just got recommended CBT and that it "might" be some TMJ problems and that I should go on a soft diet and that's it. I really hope one day something will come from our suffering and a cure will be found.

 

My tinnitus started 4 hours after the 1st Moderna vaccination. I had high hopes before seeing an ENT, just for advice, but I agree it was useless. He doesn't think it is connected to vaccine. He kept saying it is caused by nerves and caffeine

 

@VeryUnfortunate, I experienced some of the same issues. Not being able to watch TV in that room with my husband. It was awful. When this noise first started I panicked and had anxiety. It's been since February 6th.

It has gotten better in terms of coping. This forum has been helpful. Hot showers helped me at night when the sound is at its worst. Melatonin helps on nights I simply can't push through to sleep. Ativan if it's extreme, but only used two times thus far in the beginning. I listen to my phone and podcasts all night to try to sleep. Noises don't really work for me but outside nature sounds do help mask.

Praying for your relief.

Mary

 

I am very sorry to about your situation. I found your post to be quite interesting though because I wondered about the vaccine causing tinnitus.

I got my first attack on November 19, 2012. My tinnitus came at the movie theater watching Wreck it Ralph with my grandchildren. I went through the same thing as you did with audiologists and EN's telling me there was nothing that could be done about it and I had to "Learn to live with it".

I was very lucky to find a specialist who also had tinnitus who helped me to overcome and habituate to the point where my tinnitus was not even an issue for me.

The thing I found interesting about your post though was your suspicions about the vaccine.

I recently got the Pfizer vaccine and got an attack of tinnitus around 5 days after the first dose. It actually woke me up from a sound sleep. All the horrible memories came crashing down on me and as the anxiety began to build I quickly remembered my training and was able to calm myself down and resume my regimen and have quieted the beast down.

I read an article after that about a restaurateur in the U.S. He founded a very successful chain called Texas Roadhouse. He had gotten COVID-19 and recovered but was what they call a long hauler. One of his symptoms was severe tinnitus.

Now I am not saying that either of us got our attack because of the vaccine, however it is an eerie coincidence that this happened to us after getting it. Also there are some scientific studies that show COVID-19 can affect the auditory system.

Keep your head up VeryUnfortunate. Tinnitus is a pitiless taskmaster, but it can be controlled and you can get your life back, I am living proof of it. There are many resources and I could talk to you further about what worked for me if you would like.
I am new to this site as well so I do not know what kind of help it offers but I am sure you can find some help here.

 

@sunnit, I appreciated your post. You are not alone with tinnitus waking you up after vaccine. My boss had that happen. I read about the Texas Roadhouse CEO. I felt that way and understood how he got there. Completely in despair I was. Prayed all day and paced the floor. I believe in God and so that was comforting to me.

Please share what worked for you! So many of us are desperate. And I'm in healthcare! I'm on my 2nd ENT with a 3rd waiting in the wings. Thank you for your post and joining.

I'm new here but it's been so helpful. I sent the link to the forum to family and friends so they can get a better understanding. Thank you. God bless.

 

Thank you for this post. I got tinnitus one week after the first dose of Pfizer. It's been 4 weeks now. I'm not sure if I should take the second dose.

Are your symptoms worse after the second dose?

 

You probably saved yourself a lot of heartache by doing one taper and no HBOT. You are right, it is much too late and it is very risky.

 

Hi, I did not experience any worsening after the second dose but I did have some fluctuations in the week after I got my second dose. However, I don't really contribute this to the vaccine as the same thing was happening before my second dose.

 

I am sorry to hear that your tinnitus is back. I can definitely relate to all the anxiety. It is definitely a weird coincidence that we got it after the vaccine. I heard about the Texas Roadhouse CEO myself as well. I do have high hopes for you though, if you can manage to habituate to the beast of tinnitus once I believe you have it in you to do it again. Thank you again.

 

Thanks for posting. This is pretty similar to my experience. When I was on Prednisone I was having many sleepless nights.

Would you describe your ears feeling weird as in having tightness and swelling? Also, how is your hyperacusis now?

 

I’ve had tinnitus since 2016. My journey has significantly improved since then! Mostly now it just sounds like air pressure which changes intensity all the time. Sometimes it’s very unnoticeable but I will admit that severe stress can make it much more intense. Getting hearing aids was a blessing. It drowns out the annoying monotonous sound. But I did get the Moderna vaccines back in April and May and I have not had any side effects at all from it. At least not my tinnitus.