Poll: Do Flu Vaccines Cause Tinnitus?

Hello everyone,

I have never had a flu vaccine in my life and would never have one except for school I am required to have one no matter what (unless I'm allergic to them).

I was wondering if flu vaccines can make tinnitus worse. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

No they just cause autism.

 

Looking it up, the top results are some mom (anti-vaxxer?) website and hearinglosshelp. I definitely take the latter with a hearty dosage of salt. Their article on the issue does not include any research from what I can see.

There's a pdf from a website called 'lyricaudiogology.com' but I am not going to download a random pdf from an unfamiliar site.

This is the best I can find and beyond seems to be general ototoxcity articles, not specific to vaccines. http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/PUArticles/June2016/MedicineInducedHearingLoss.htm

I don't know...with medicines it's much more clear. For vaccines, any evidence seems...weak?

Unless someone else has anything to add, here's my thoughts:

If you have a strong immune system, ditch it.
Some people never get sick and have gone years or decades without getting sick.

Everyone else should probably get it. Remember that not doing anything is still an action and a choice. Getting the flu is also ototoxic.

 

All vaccines are designed to stimulate an exaggerated immune system response, which is created by what's called adjuvents. For some people, this exaggerated immune response can get out of control and create any number of serious problems. -- Many young girls (thousands) who have gotten the HPV vaccine Gardasil have ended up with chronic flu-like conditions, some to the point of being unable to go to school. It's believed by some this is because they can't get their immune systems to settle back down. Others end up with conditions such as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, otherwise known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Some of these exaggerated immune reactions can also lead to a condition called Mast Cell Activation Sydrome (MCAS), which is essentially a dysfunction of the immune system. The snippet below the dotted line is from THIS SITE. -- Personally, I believe anytime you start messing with the immune system, you're taking a risk, very often unnecessary in my mind. There's just too many variables when getting vaccinations, including whether your body may already have an activated immune reaction going on that you may be unaware of, excessive stress in your life, etc.

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Hearing abnormalities are often found in MCAS patients. They include hearing loss, ringing of the ears, and sensitivity to sound. This is thought to be from sclerosis of the innter ear bones or tympanic membrane, which has been known to occur coincidentally with mast cell disease since the 1960’s. Deterioration of the canal hairs and auditory nerve is also suspected in some patients. Tinnitus is likely from mediator release causing overstimulation of the hair cells and auditory nerve fibers. The most common finding by audiologists is sensorineural hearing loss of unclear origin.

Here's one example of a person getting tinnitus after getting a flu shot...

Deafening pressure in ears, tinnitus after FLU SHOT.

My ears are clear (have been examined by several doctors who found no pathology) but I have been having these attacks where my ears feel like they are being subjected to deafening pressure inside my head, after which I experience loud tinnitus that doesn’t go away. These pressure attacks last 1 second or so each. They occur in clusters but I do not have them all the time. This problem started after a flu shot 3 months ago. The ear on the side where the shot went in is much worse than the other ear, but both ears are affected. Before that my ears were fine – no problems of any kind. What causes these “pressure attacks”?

The following was written by a doctor at THIS SITE...

A number of vaccines can be ototoxic, including the influenza vaccines. I have two anecdotal reports in my files of children having significant hearing losses after getting flu shots. I wouldn’t take a flu shot unless the situation was life-threatening, and there weren’t any alternatives available.

 

In case anyone takes that seriously... The research linking autism to vaccines was found to be bogus and the study was retracted (some years ago now).

 

I hope nobody takes that seriously I'm known for being really ironic.

 

This is very serious. I need to decide my career over this. I can't get my degree if I don't get a flu vaccine for my clincials. I need a good solid answer. This isn't a joke.

 

Yes get it. Even if Flu Vaccines caused/worsened tinnitus the chances would be very low.

 

Google it. I've never heard of T from a flu vaccine. You'll probably be fine. You're going to have to do this all the time to keep your job. That being said, I would never take the flu vaccine unless it cured satannitus.

 

I've already had bad luck. My tinnitus was a 1/100 chance from taking BuSpar. My hyperacusis was a 1/10000 chance with taking BuSpar and I got that too. So any small chance is one I'm not willing to take. Do you have variables on how small a chance it is. Are we talking like 0.01%?

 

Honestly it's probably lower than that.

 

No, because there is no research on it. I just googled this once more and this thread was literally my second result. All cases of flu vaccines causing tinnitus are anecdotal at this point and do not account for underlying issues. For example, let's look at the recently revived remeron thread. The original user says that remeron caused his tinnitus but he was also on aspirin, withdrawing from benzos, and on a fair bit of other meds. Even if he didn't get tinnitus until remeron, it was likely just the last straw needed.

In the same thread we have this website. https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/mirtazapine/tinnitus/
Look up tinnitus and you will find medicines that aren't even on the ototoxic drug list. A number of supposedly safe tinnitus alternative treatments are on there, such as ginger and biloba gingko. Apparently you can get tinnitus from anything...which makes sense. You can be the 0.00001 to get tinnitus from some random thing or you can be the 0.00001 to have a firework explode right next to you. Does it mean you should never go outside?

For you, it hurts you not to get vaccinated by throwing away your future. Please do get it, as if you were to skip out on it, it would be so irrational that I would describe it as nothing less than extreme paranoia.

Edit: Also, 1/100 is not rare and not a small number overall. If that was actually your risk factor for taking BuSpar...

 

Not at all. The fact the flu can make your tinnitus louder and the risk of ear infections resulting from that means you want to minimise the risk.

 

I have read it can cause tinnitus. I personally wouldn't take it, perhaps talking to them?

 

Where have you heard this from?

 

I have to get the flu shot for my job as well and I’ve had it with zero problems. I am not losing my job for the very very slight chance of it worsening my tinnitus. My dad works with the same company as me and has also gotten the flu shot and I didn’t worsen his tinnitus either. If you are worried then ask about the policy for the flu shot. I know where I work if you decline the flu shot you have to wear a mask for the whole flu season. I don’t work directly with patients so may be different if you do.

 

Less than very very slight. It's already rare to get tinnitus from medicines on the ototoxic drug list. And flu vaccines are not on it.

 

I meant 1/1000 chance not 1/100, so it is indeed rare. I was also lied to by a doctor about potential side effects. More so the chances of hyperacusis atones for the fact that any drug can cause harm.

 

Hi

I am a diabetic type 1, so doctors always want me to take a flu vaccine every year.
I had one in October, and I don’t want that poison injected in my body ever again.
I got very sick and in so much pain, diarrhea, itchy all over, rash, very tired, my body was cold and my face was burning. My blood sugar was high all the time, even when I injected insulin. I tried to talk to my doctor about it when I felt a little better, but he just said that I was mentally unstable.
I have never had any problems with my ears... at all. But after the vaccine my ears have been itchy and painful, both of them.

Now I’m stuck with a “dot” in one of them, and tinnitus in both.
And I still got pain in arms and neck.

(Sorry for my English, I usually write in Norwegian)

«God jul»

 

LOL no. You're thinking of the MMR.

 

@Noen

I am so sorry this happened to you. I hope over the time you begin to heal.

 

I have had tinnitus for 20 years but for the most of the time I could just put some music on and I could forget about it. I had a flu vaccine in March because it was recommended due to covid-19. The next day my tinnitus got much, much worse. I would say 4 times louder. Now it even with loud music on I can still hear it. I won't be having the flu vaccine again and urge anyone with tinnitus to think seriously about whether they really need to take it.

 

Yes.

 

I never had flu vaccines until we had a kid, but the math is that my kid is less likely to die if I get a flu shot for the first several years of their life, so I have been getting flu shots the last several years.

Zero impact on my tinnitus; I will continue to do this without thinking much about it. At my dr's office they only use single-dose needles, which means no mercury (thimerosal) preservatives. I would recommend making sure you ask for this because even though the amount of mercury in a single dose is very low, it's... mercury, and it bio-accumulates so the safety profile gets sketchier the more shots you get over the years.

 

No.

Flu vaccines cause protection from flu. That is all.

Now let's all put our tin foil hats away.

 

Hi @Malcolm Moore -- I'm really sorry to hear how your tinnitus got spiked so badly by a flu shot. Though some here apparently would dispute that could happen, I don't. I've long been aware of how vaccines of all kinds can produce catastrophic consequences. There's even legal terminology (U.S. law originating from Congress and affirmed by the Supreme Court), that vaccines are "unavoidably unsafe". Kinda makes a mockery of the often heard refrain that vaccinations are "safe and effective". They aren't, at least according to U.S. law.

I've researched the effects of vaccinations on the immune system for many years, and have come to many of my own conclusions. To try to put into perspective the role between flu shots and potential cause or spike in tinnitus, this is how I view it: Whatever affects the immune system affects the brain; and whatever affects the brain has the potential to affect tinnitus. I realize most people will vociferously disagree with that assertion, but I think it's sound. I myself will never get another vaccination again. Way too many horror stories out there. Especially surrounding the HPV vaccination, which I think should have been outlawed years ago. How many young girls must die and be given a life sentence of myalgic encephalomyelitis before they ban this extremely dangerous product?

 

From the CDC (US): What's in vaccines? One of the ingredients is "residual" Neomycin

 

You can get flu vaccines with no preservatives and no antibiotics; you have to ask around.

I think preservatives are more concerning because mercury bioaccumulates indefinitely; the amount of Neomycin involved is extremely tiny; I'd expect to get more in my bloodstream from putting neosporin on an open wound.

 

I completely agree with you; for me, this is a compelling reason to get vaccines. I've never had an adverse reaction to a flu shot. Years that I got the flu with no shot and really got creamed by it, I was out of work for a week and my tinnitus was absolutely killer for 2-3 weeks after that.

I do go out of my way to get single-dose preservative free flu shots. Which is, interestingly, all pediatric shots. But as an adult you have to ask, because they might be more cool with shooting you up with trace mercury. I'm not cool with that.

It's hard to put hard numbers on this because the connection is poorly understood, cases are relatively rare, and despite a lot of inquiry (I could some four dozen studies in the last 15 years) no one has come up with anything concrete. So, I think there's a connection -- but it's much less obvious than the connection between hepatitis and various lethal cancers, which is well attested (and cervical cancer alone impacts 13,000 women each year, killing 4,000).

I've followed the hep vaccine concerns since their inception because that's the sort of thing I pay attention to; it alarms me more than the COVID-19 vaccine does, but, I'd still encourage my kids to get it because the actual incidence of adverse effects appears quite low.

 

The superstitious part of me doesn't want to take the COVID-19 vaccine because I'm afraid it could somehow fuck my ears up even more.