Share Your Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine Experience: Any Impact on Your Tinnitus or Hyperacusis?

I received my first Pfizer dose on 3/26. No side effects other than a sore arm for a day, and no change to my tinnitus.

This past Friday, 4/16, I received my second dose. On Saturday, I was very tired all day, and just felt out of sorts. No fever, but my temperature was about 1/2 degree higher than my usual. My tinnitus was also very bad that day, but, since it normally fluctuates between good and bad anyway, I'm not sure if any extra inflammation due to the immune response played a part in it. Regardless, on Sunday, I was back to feeling 100%, and my tinnitus level was quite low, and it continues at that level today.

 

March 17, 2021- #1 Pfizer vaccine, sore arm, chills and fatigue that night. Next three days ok. The fifth day I got extreme nausea and dizziness. Doctor tested me for strep, flu and COVID-19. I was positive for strep and double ear infection. No change on tinnitus, if fact tinnitus was more of a static sound each day.

April 9, 2021- #2 Pfizer vaccine, sore arm, chills, fatigue 24 hours after vaccine. Tinnitus increased to high pitched constant ringing, no static. Hyperacusis was improving and has regressed to where I was 4 months ago with sensitivity. It has been 11 days.

 

I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday morning. By dinner time I had a headache and my arm was quite sore. I woke up during the night with the pain and had to get up and take something. This morning it was much better. No headache and just minimal arm pain.

No increase in my tinnitus, so far. My next shot will not happen until early August, so plenty of time to to monitor it all.

 

My spike from J&J seems to be receding now (3 weeks out from shot). Not at baseline, but an improvement!

 

Wanted to add that today my tinnitus is elevated, not a spike, thankfully, but definitely elevated. Maybe a coincidence because often a spike will appear for no obvious reason.

I will add more as time passes.

 

I got the second Moderna shot yesterday. I was hoping one of the side effects would be a cure to tinnitus by pure accident but I’m sad to report no change in tinnitus levels.

 

Got my second Moderna jab yesterday. I'm feeling pretty tired and achy today so my tinnitus seems to be more annoying than usual. I don't think there's an actual spike/increase though. I was also hoping I'd be one of those blessed with a volume decrease.

 

My spouse who has frequent transient tinnitus and a family history of hearing loss, had Pfizer #1 today. No side effects yet, and if I don't post again that means no side effects. Wish I could have gotten mine, too.

A close friend who has loud tinnitus got the temporary reduction after Moderna, no other effects except a sore arm. Tinnitus came back the next day, his is loud but he is one of those people who by personality isn't bothered by it, and has other health issues that they consider more annoying.

 

UPDATE:

13 days since Pfizer shot #2.

All spikes are gone, tinnitus is back to baseline (very mild).

P.S. I called my Primary Care Physician after shot #1 spike, and he felt the spike was temporary and recommended getting the second shot.

Most likely any spikes people are getting will be temporary.

 

I am on a tinnitus roller coaster since my 2nd Moderna shot two-plus weeks ago.

Monday (day 14): worst ever (9/10) tinnitus; could not hear myself think.

Tuesday (day 15): barely noticed it (2/10).

Wednesday (day 16): a little worse but not bad (3-4/10).

Today (day 17): back to a 7/10. Disruptive and frustrating. The onset is often in the morning before I awake. Just baffled by it.

 

It's been one month since my first dose of Moderna on 3/23/21. I've had a large increase in tinnitus and hyperacusis since. It is aggravated with road noise when in a car. My ears are so sensitive. I use tinnitus music to relax when it's overwhelming.

I had 48 hours of silence a couple of weeks ago when my tinnitus stopped after taking 2-3 days of not driving anywhere and resting. I had not experienced silence before that in more than a year. My tinnitus returned when I had to make a 3-hour drive. Even 15 minutes in the car causes a tinnitus spike.

I am hoping to see a doctor soon. My sister and her friends are nurses and advised me to not get the second dose.

I am struggling with this. I'm a musician and music teacher.

I am hoping that the brief time my tinnitus stopped is a sign that it will stop after the immune response slows and my ears have rest.

 

I’ve decided not to receive my 2nd shot of the Pfizer vaccine due on the 30th of this month.

This isn’t because of my tinnitus, but instead, my lungs.

After receiving the first shot, I couldn’t breath properly for two months, and I’m still not 100% better. The breathing issues started 12 hours after the vaccine - I don’t have the time or mental capacity to deal with a relapse.

I’m not against vaccines by a long shot, but I can’t help but feel that they haven’t had the time to really monitor the side effects yet.

A young man (27) who lives in my village, had the vaccine two days ago - he is now dead. It killed him. He had no prior health issues and was pretty fit.

Obviously, his case is going to be extremely rare, but it’s enough for me, and with my lungs reacting to the vaccine, not to have the second dose.

 

I received my second Moderna vaccine on Wednesday, April 21st and woke up feeling fine the next day. After an hour at work, I was hit with chills and extreme fatigue. I left work at noon, went home, and crashed on the couch until about 7. Had the chills, headache, and backache the entire time. My tinnitus appeared to be louder, but I think it was more just from feeling like trash. This morning I feel fine, though, and my tinnitus is pretty quiet again!

And just to add another experience to this, my sister (who also had Moderna) felt "the worst she's ever felt in her life" yesterday. Stayed home from work the whole day, had all of my symptoms and then some. But she's fine this morning. So I guess Moderna's second dose really does kick you on your ass, but it seems like it's only a 24 hour thing if that reassures anyone lol.

 

I did a ton of research and determined that the risk of getting COVID-19 and it making tinnitus worse was too much.

The stats I had showed the Pfizer to be the least risky.

I'm about 3.5 days after the first dose. The first day there was a little bit of rise especially in my worse ear. But starting yesterday into today I feel a lot of oddness on the ear and a definite increase in varied tones. It's not at all like when my ears were fried by Azithromycin, but it does feel like maybe the tail end of that with inconsistency. I'm hoping it goes away. I did have 2 friends with bad tinnitus who took the Pfizer. One did say they had a spike up but it went back to normal.

Crossing my fingers. I will report back when it changes and (if) after I get the second dose.

I just ordered some Turmeric pills to help reduce inflammation just in case. I should have been taking those before. I don't know why I didn't think of it.

 

Back here this morning to report a significant increase in my tinnitus. My shot was this past Monday, 19th of April. I noticed the "spike" around 5 PM yesterday, and it has not lessened, yet. So far it is manageable.

 

*UPDATE*

March 17, 2021 — #1 Pfizer vaccine, sore arm, chills and fatigue that night. Next three days ok. The fifth day I had extreme nausea and dizziness. Doctor tested me for strep, flu and COVID-19. I was positive for strep and had fluid in both ears. No change on tinnitus, in fact tinnitus was more of a static sound each day.

April 9, 2021 — #2 Pfizer vaccine, sore arm, chills, fatigue 24 hours after vaccine. Tinnitus increased to high pitched constant ringing, no static. Hyperacusis was improving and has regressed to where I was 4 months ago with sensitivity. It has been 11 days.

*The 13th day I woke up with extreme dizziness and nausea. My doctor prescribed a Prednisone steroid pack, Meclizine and Ondansetron. I took the steroid and had an hour nap sitting up. Within an hour I felt better. On the second day I was still dizzy but could walk. On the third day I was dizzy, but walked briefly outside.

I have found reports on this forum and others of extreme dizziness and nausea after the vaccine. I am undecided whether or not to take a third dose or booster, if recommended.

 

Greetings everyone!

Update: I just passed the 6 week mark since my second Moderna shot and the tinnitus has not waned. Left ear is still screeching at me in conjunction with an underlying buzz in both ears. Sound like I'm standing next to a miniature power line/grid. My ear sensitivity seems to have gotten a little better but isn't gone. I wish I had better news to report with my side effects at this stage in post-vaccination.

Since my last post I saw my ENT and did not get any Earth-shattering news that hasn't already been posted by others. He tested my hearing (fine) and sinuses (prescribed Astelin), but everything looks ok physically. He tried the next item on the ENT checklist and prescribe prednisone, but I refused as it doesn't seem to aid much, given what others have posted. I've had a troubled history with prednisone so the juice wasn't worth the squeeze in this case. Overall, he officially diagnosed my condition as being vaccine-related which is a hopeful sign from the medical profession.

I also learned that he has several other patients with post-vaccine tinnitus -- involving all three brands of the vaccine. He said he's seen some of the cases clear up on their own (not sure of the patient timelines or situations). Regardless, it seemed like a relevant data point to share since we are all adrift in these new waters together. He mentioned a nearby tinnitus clinic which I am going to contact for consultation and to learn any other details and trends they are seeing about these side effects.

Also, I wanted to pass along a recent NPR story about these rare side effects for those that may not have seen it. Spoiler alert: They still aren't sure why some of us are experiencing the side effects.

Vertigo, Hearing Loss, Sore Toes: Vaccine Side Effects Or Something Else? : Goats and Soda : NPR

Thanks to all of you who are sharing your experiences. It really helps! I'll continue to post relevant updates that some of you with similar situations may find useful.

 

I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on April 12th. The only side effect, after about ten hours, I developed a slight local soreness at the point of injection. It lasted about 14 hours. No change in my tinnitus in either volume or tone.

My 2nd shot is scheduled for May 3rd. I'll do a follow-up report a few days afterwards.

This might have already been posted earlier in the thread. I just don't have the time right now to read through the previous posts:

How to manage your coronavirus vaccine side effects — including tips for avoiding painkillers

 

Thank you so much for posting your update. One thing that has helped me is to journal the patterns of my tinnitus. I have noticed a very slight improvement from onset. Tomorrow I'm seeing my 4th ENT. Just hoping one is up to date on what's happening. I'd like to try meds but really want to know if in 6 months it clears up. I heard that on another website but never got the proof it was documented or published. Praying for your recovery! Take care.

 

Hello,

I just wanted to post my results as I made a post in the other thread and I was really debating on if to have the vaccine or not. My reasoning behind can be seen here:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/posts/593261/

I would like to pre-empt this with the fact that my tinnitus is very variable. I also have been suffering from ear pain and ear fullness since last August. I always hear my tinnitus. I worry everyday about my ears and everyday things no "normal" people would give a second thought about.

Anyway, I had my first AstraZeneca jab on Friday the 16th of April.

I will start of by saying from reading this thread and the other threads I was very stressed, before checking on here I really wanted the vaccine and didn't even realise people were having issues getting the vaccine. My tinnitus was very very loud before getting the jab.

When I got to the test centre I just remember being scared out of my wits, looking around at other people not giving it a second thought and here I am a grown man almost ready to burst into tears as I was so stressed... pathetic.

Anyway I had the jab and that was that not much I can do now. Initially I felt a bit better but on the Saturday morning I woke up around 1 am. I felt terrible like having the flu and my ears and tinnitus was really bad. This lasted a few days but by the end of the next week I started to feel a bit better.

What I can say is that my ear fullness and tinnitus seemed a lot worse after having the jab, but I cannot say that was caused by the jab or just caused by my normal variations. Over a week later I am pretty much back to normal in terms of I wouldn't say that the vaccine did anything to my ears (hopefully this remains the case).

So after all the worry am I glad I had it? Yes, I think I got lucky and nothing happened to make things worse, maybe that is the expected outcome statistically. I do feel that with how terrible I felt with the vaccine I could only feel worse if I actually contract COVID-19.

I hear with the AstraZeneca vaccine that if you react with the first jab, it's not likely that you will react with the 2nd. So at the moment I am planning on getting the second jab when I am called.

I will update here if anything different happens.

 

I had my 1st dose of Pfizer last Thursday.

No change to my tinnitus. Overall feeling reduced stress though! Looking forward to getting my next dose.

 

My spike has gone back to baseline. Today is one week since my first shot, it has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least. All symptoms/side effects have ceased, the injection site only hurts if I press firmly on it.

 

Just got back from getting my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Thus far my tinnitus is no different than it typically would be. Obviously I know this can change over the upcoming days however.

The process itself was fairly quick and the mass vaccination site was well organized. Tons of people streaming in and out of the facility. I was a bit anxious driving to the facility as I was very weary of potential side effects. Feeling better now but we'll see how the next few days go.

 

I had my first dose of Pfizer on Friday (currently 4 days out). That night I woke up very stiff and with higher tinnitus (somatic reasons I suspect), but it passed by the time morning rolled around. Unfortunately, the next day a passing car honked it's horn while right beside my bad ear so I'm not a great data point from here on out. Tinnitus is currently slightly elevated (not enough to disturb my habituation) which may be from the horn or vaccine. No changes to hyperacusis symptoms. I will update again at the 2 week mark. Second dose is not scheduled until August.

Non hearing related side effects were soreness at injection site, stiff muscles, and sore joints. All these symptoms have passed. I was VERY thirsty after the vaccine and have been making sure to stay hydrated as the lovely @twa has recommended before.

 

I'm one week out now from the first Pfizer dose. My tinnitus had gotten notably worse 3 days after (like some other posters'). It reduced from that spike, but it's definitely still spiking, especially in my more damaged ear. I think 25% worse than normal, but it varies. Different tones come and go. My 2nd and worse tinnitus came from medication - Azithromycin and I should have known better than to even "try" the vaccine.

I won't be doing the 2nd dose. The doctor said I'm basically 50% vaccinated. I will have to take my chances because I feel like for me at least there is a 100% chance the 2nd dose will make it worse.

I will update if there is a change. I do wish I'd taken the J&J instead as that would mean I am fully vaccinated. But who knows what the reaction to that would have been - possibly worse.

 

Today marks 4 weeks since I got the first dose of Pfizer. No improvement at all from my spike. I think may have even gotten worse during this time. I'm completely frustrated and back at square one with my tinnitus. I can't f***ing believe this. I just want to give up.

 

I am three weeks out post second shot. I had mild ringing after shot #1 that I thought was subsiding but developed the full-blown Moderna hiss after shot #2.

I THINK it's slowly getting better but there are all kinds of weird rings going on even as I write this. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, but COVID-19 can really F your ears up and much more.

 

It's now been a little over 24 hours from my initial dose and I haven't noticed an appreciable difference in my tinnitus. It did seem a bit more noticeable last night and this morning but that could just have been due to my fixating on it as well as being exhausted. It didn't really seem louder, just a higher frequency and more "present" which I attribute to the fact that I kept listening to it. As of right now I am at baseline.

I will continue to post updates over the next couple of weeks.

 

I had the AstraZeneca yesterday at 4:30, and I haven't experienced any side effects so far.

 

I’ve had the Moderna 2nd dose 36 hours ago. No effect on my tinnitus from either dose.