Shingrix Shingles Vaccine Increased My Noise-Induced Tinnitus & Hyperacusis

FYI for others future reference -- I just learned the hard way to thoroughly research vaccines for potential impact on tinnitus and hyperacusis.

I received 11/15/2020 the first of two Shingles vaccinations (SHINGRIX Zoster Vaccine - Recombinant, Adjuvanted) and it has increased my noise-induced tinnitus and hyperacusis dramatically.

According to this FDA PDF SHINGRIX (Zoster Vaccine - Recombinant, Adjuvanted): https://www.fda.gov/media/108793/download

The Shingrix vaccine complications include: "may result in sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus and vestibular symptoms such as vertigo and nystagmus [(Gondivkar, 2010), (Nagel, 2013)]"

This has been true for me.

After a quick Google search, a first page google search result yielded this Shingrix user who acquired tinnitus from the vaccine (i.e., they did not have tinnitus before vaccination):
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/new-shingrx-shingles-vaccine-89949-18.html#post2222754


My tinnitus history:
- noise-induced tinnitus and hyperacusis
- dual tone 12 kHz & <400 Hz tinnitus
- periodic hyperacusis that comes and goes

 

These warnings should be kept in the forefront of Tinnitus Talk.

 

I came here tonight because I’ve had a week of worsening tinnitus. Just wanted to read some support. Now I’m freaked! I just remembered I had the shingles vaccine last Wednesday and that’s when my tinnitus started worsening. I didn’t even think about that as a possible cause.

This thing is so frustrating. I also had a lot more sodium, some ibuprofen, and tons of sugar the last week. I’m going to hope that is the cause and not Shingrix, cause I’m having a very bad spike right now, and if it’s not temporary it’s going to be hard to cope.

 

Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that but glad you posted that I'm not alone in having this aggravated Tinnitus reaction/spike after the Shingles vaccination.

For me, day 4 post Shingles vaccine had major pain triggered by the slightest sounds, hearing loss and screaming tinnitus.
I sought relief with a couple of glasses of red wine last night (my go-to) and woke this morning with my normal loud Tinnitus (not the new extra loud tinnitus).

Hyperacusis seems to have toned-down also, but the day is early.

Day 5 post Shingles vaccination starts this afternoon.

Kel65, I see you acquired tinnitus this year March 2020. Mine was March 2017... It took a full two years before I saw progress in adjusting (i.e., ignoring) my tinnitus.

Of course with this Shingles vaccination, it's like rewinding 3 years back to March 2017: I can't ignore this new loudness. 14 kHz cuts through every sound.

 

Day 8 post-Shingrix Shingles Vaccine with per-exisiting tinnitus & hyperacusis...

Overall improvement noted -- much more bearable but not entirely down to the levels of pre-Shingrix vaccine tinnitus, hyperacusis and hearing loss.

• Tinnitus: It is back down to its usual loud level of dual 12 kHz and 4 kHz pitches
• Hyperacusis: My own voice no longer makes my ear hurt like it did the week after the Shingrix vaccine. Though I still need to be careful as it is still more sensitive than it was pre-vaccine.
• Hearing Loss: Unmeasured improvement noted in the post-vaccine noticeable hearing loss (only had it in the tinnitus & hyperacusis affected ear). But, there is more unmeasured hearing loss than before the Shingrix Vaccine.

Here again is the FDA disclosure for SHINGRIX (Zoster Vaccine - Recombinant, Adjuvanted): https://www.fda.gov/media/108793/download

• The Shingrix vaccine complications include: "may result in sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus and vestibular symptoms such as vertigo and nystagmus [(Gondivkar, 2010), (Nagel, 2013)]"

 

@JimChicago
I hope it continues to improve for you! It certainly is very unnerving that we have to check everything!
Thank God for Dr Google

 

Hi all, I'm new to the forum. My hearing has been totally fine through my life (age 53). However, this past January, two weeks after my 2nd dose of the Shingrix vaccine, my ears started ringing. It's been 2+ months now and it continues. I've since discovered the FDA disclosure cited in this thread, and am shocked that it was not part of the disclosure docs I was given (and I read) before getting the injections.

 

Hi @Kazmer -- I'm sorry to hear about your tinnitus onset from a shingles vaccine. Just to mention, there's a whole lot about potential vaccine "adverse reactions" that are never clearly communicated to people getting them. In my mind, it makes sense to be a "vaccine skeptic". Lots of research should be done before deciding to get one. -- Take care; the odds are that your tinnitus will improve in the coming months. I sincerely hope so!

 

Thank you @Lane!

 

Four (4) Month UPDATE since the 1st dosage of Shingrix Shingles Vaccine with pre-exisiting tinnitus & minor hyperacusis...

Four (4) months after my first dosage of the Shingrix Shingles Vaccine, I can confidently say my tinnitus is consistently louder than before the Shingrix vaccine.

I will NOT be getting the 2nd of 2 dosages of Shingrix.

Four (4) Month Symptom Update:

• Tinnitus: Consistently louder than before the Shingrix vaccine.
  • Additionally, from time-to-time I now have a 3rd tone: approx 6 kHz
  • This is in addition to the prior dual tone 12 kHz & <400 Hz tinnitus
  • I'm confident that this third tone (6 kHz) is from Shingrix because due to COVID-19, I've been cooped-up in a basement working from home and largely/consistently "stayed-at-home."
• Hyperacusis: is more present than before the Shingrix vaccine: Maybe 2-3 times a week and triggered by the pitch of certain people's voices (e.g., conversation, TV, etc.).
  
• Hearing Loss: Improvement to only "noticeable" hearing loss than before the Shingrix vaccine from "VERY, VERY noticeable" immediately following the Shingrix 1st dosage.
  • If I'm not 100% focused on listening to someone's words in conversation, ~5% of the time I still can't understand them because tinnitus is so loud. And even then, I have to ask them to speak louder.
  • ~5% may not sound like much, but before the Shingrix 1st dosage vaccine, I did could always understand someone if I focused 100% on their conversation -- it was never an issue before Shingrix.

Prior Symptoms 2-3 Days After the 1st Dosage of Shingrix Shingles Vaccine:

• Tinnitus: Tinnitus increased to raging levels never heard before (even with prior dual tone 12 kHz & <400 Hz tinnitus).
  • Tinnitus 2-3 days post Shringix was TRULY Deafening in every sense of the word. It's volume (not just the presence of tinnitus) over powered all other sounds.
• Hyperacusis: My own voice (and nearly every other sound) made my ears hurt.
  
• Hearing Loss: Very, very noticeable hearing loss in the tinnitus & hyperacusis affected ear.

Here again is the FDA disclosure for SHINGRIX (Zoster Vaccine - Recombinant, Adjuvanted):
https://www.fda.gov/media/108793/download

• The Shingrix vaccine complications include: "may result in sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus and vestibular symptoms such as vertigo and nystagmus [(Gondivkar, 2010), (Nagel, 2013)]"

 

Thank you for posting your update @JimChicago.

My tinnitus, which I believe was caused by the 2nd Shingrix shot, continues.

 

JimChicago, what you repeatedly posted concerning the FDA document is not accurate. The phrase "may result in sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus and vestibular symptoms such as vertigo and nystagmus" is not listed as a Shingrix complication. Rather, the FDA document has that phrase as a possible complication of shingles itself, not as a possible adverse effect of the vaccine. You added the words "The Shingrix vaccine complications include:" which do not precede the sentence mentioning tinnitus in the FDA document.

The phrase "may result in sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus..." is on page 10 of the FDA document (page 14 of the PDF file) near the end of section 2.1 Disease or Health-Related Condition(s) Studied.

My own tinnitus was caused by my one and only Shingrix dose. In the CDC's VAERS database, I did a quick search of reported cases of tinnitus following all vaccines administered in the USA in 2019. There were 56 cases of tinnitus reported, of which 22 (44% of all reported cases) were attributed to the Shingrix vaccine. The 2nd highest total of any vaccine was far behind with only 6 cases reported.

So while Shingrix may very well be a rare cause of tinnitus, AFAIK tinnitus is presently not listed by either the FDA or GSK (the vaccine maker) as a possible adverse effect of the vaccine.

 

Thymus - I believe your post has the effect of being misleading to readers.

I recommend that you delete your post.

At the beginning of your post you write to de-link tinnitus from Shringrix vaccine (i.e., "Zostavax, a live, attenuated VZV [Shingles] vaccine administered SC as a single dose.") by saying tinnitus is "not as a possible adverse effect of the vaccine."

Then you go on to say that "My own [your] tinnitus was caused by my one and only Shingrix dose."

I believe such play-on-words is misleading -- something I expect from a politician.

Regardless of whether Shingrix, "a live, attenuated form of the VZV (shingles virus)" triggers tinnitus, a physiological response, or if it is triggered by the live virus contained within the vaccine, the take-away for readers is the same:

• One is at risk of encountering tinnitus symptoms after receiving the vaccine.

Readers' response (including your response above) triangulates that statement that a (side) effect of taking the Shingrix vaccine is tinnitus.

 

JimChicago, you posted 3 times in this discussion which you initiated, something which is flat-out false. You wrote 3 times that an FDA document contains the following explicit language:

"The Shingrix vaccine complications include: "may result in sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus and vestibular symptoms such as vertigo and nystagmus [(Gondivkar, 2010), (Nagel, 2013)]"

The FDA document does not say that Shingrix vaccine complications include tinnitus. You inserted those 5 words "The Shingrix vaccine complications include" in front of the remaining words which you extracted from the FDA document. Instead of fessing up to your false post, you have the nerve to tell me I should delete my post which contains the truth about what the FDA document actually says. That tells me that you deliberately posted something which you knew was inaccurate, and your intent was, and is, to mislead.

Furthermore, you wrote something else in your last post which is false:

"Regardless of whether Shingrix, "a live, attenuated form of the VZV (shingles virus)" triggers tinnitus, a physiological response, or if it is triggered by the live virus contained within the vaccine, the take-away for readers is the same"

Shingrix is not a live vaccine. The older shingles vaccine, Zostovax (no longer available in the USA), was a live vaccine, but Shingrix is not. How can you post these things which are simply not true? It does not help anyone.
===========================================================
This entire thread should be removed because the OP repeatedly wrote false information about an FDA document. While the OP's personal experience and my personal experience with the Shingrix vaccine are reasonable things to write about, it is unacceptable and unhelpful to lie about what the FDA wrote about a vaccine in their official public documents.

 

Thymus - Your posts are very misleading - they can lead a reader to believe they are not at risk of tinnitus or exacerbated tinnitus symptoms resulting from the Shingrix vaccine.

As I learn more, my wording from the 158-page FDA document was in error not scientifically precise.

But the fact still remains (which you yourself even state above "My own tinnitus was caused by my one and only Shingrix dose.") that taking the Shingrix vaccine can (and did for both you and I) result in either new onset of tinnitus (for you which you state) or exacerbated tinnitus (which I state).

Allow me to modify my position to be more precise:

"Regardless of whether tinnitus is a direct Shingrix side effect or whether the body's process of developing a VZV immune response via Shingrix results in the documented VZV (shingles virus) physiological response/complication of tinnitus, the take-away for readers is the same: A Shingrix recipient is clearly at risk of experiencing tinnitus as reported by past recipients".

And yes, the 158 page FDA document above (a Shingrix Clinical Review) explicitly states that tinnitus is a complication of VZV.

That's too bad you wish this post to be deleted because you yourself state a causal relationship above "My own tinnitus was caused by my one and only Shingrix dose."

For readers of Tinnitus Talk who are suffering tinnitus, that is important information.

I'm sorry that is an inconvenient truth for GSX (maker of Shingrix) and its related interested parties that may have wishes to hide that.

I encourage all who experience this tinnitus side effect (including yourself) to report vaccine adverse events to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Visit www.vaers.hhs.gov to file a report, or call 1-800-822-7967.

Cheers.

 

JimChicago, please stop claiming that my posts are misleading. I have freely stated that I believe (and I'll add that my doctor believes) that my own tinnitus resulted from my single Shingrix dose. But it did nobody any good when you repeatedly falsely claimed that an FDA document says that the Shingrix vaccine may cause tinnitus. Maybe the FDA will conclude that in the future, but not as of today. It is important to be accurate and honest when talking about medicine.

It may or may not be true that the Shingrix vaccine can cause a worsening of tinnitus. Your own experience leads you to that conclusion, and I am certainly not questioning your own experience.

After doing searches on the VAERS database, I believe that a disproportionate number of reported new cases of tinnitus occurred following receipt of the Shingles vaccine relative to all other vaccines, along with a disproportionate number of cases of deafness relative to other vaccines. The fact remains, however, that these cases were quite rare and I was one of the unlucky few.

I am not a medical professional and I am not recommending to anyone that they either get, or not get, the Shingrix vaccine. The risks of getting shingles, which are very real risks, needs to be weighed against the risk of adverse effects from the vaccine, which are also real.

I would urge you to remove this thread if that's possible, or ask the moderators to remove it. Then you can start a new, accurate thread describing your personal experience after receiving the Shingrix vaccine, and omitting your incorrect statements concerning the FDA document, as well as the incorrect statement describing the Shingrix vaccine as a live vaccine. And the vaccine maker is GSK (GlaxoSmithKline).

By the way, both the efficacy of the Shingrix vaccine, as well as the greater number of severe reactions relative to other vaccines, is generally attributed to the adjuvant used in Shingrix, not the inactive viral component. The adjuvant had not been used in human vaccines before, though it had been used in animal vaccines.

 

@Thymus, since you seek a forum dedicated to scientifically-proven discussion, may I direct you to both of Tinnitus Talk forums:

• Research News — "The latest on tinnitus research. Post your finds, discuss others'."
• Treatments — "Drugs, supplements, therapies & treatments that have at least some scientific study. May not be proven for use in patients with tinnitus."

You may wish to even cautiously venture into "Alternative Treatments and Research" but you might find yourself desiring to clean-up internet posts and remarks there too.

• Alternative Treatments and Research — "Treatments and research that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine. Beware: what you see here is mostly unproven and scientifically questionable."

I believe I appropriately filed this under "Support":

• Support "We are all in the same boat. Speak your mind, ask others & share your advice."

Good luck to you in your quest to correct.

JimChicago

P.S. Again, "Regardless of whether tinnitus is a direct Shingrix side effect or whether the body's process of developing a VZV immune response via Shingrix results in the documented VZV (shingles virus) physiological response/complication of tinnitus, the take-away for readers is the same: A Shingrix recipient is clearly at risk of experiencing tinnitus".

 

Thank you for your ongoing conversations @JimChicago and @Thymus.

While such exchanges can be difficult, through communication and idea exchange we learn, clarify details and improve our understanding of matters. As such, these postings should remain, as details have been clarified, and provide valuable information to tinnitus sufferers like myself.

Here are my observations / opinions:

1) While the FDA doctor may indeed refer to the virus VZV and not the Shingrix vaccine, I do find it concerning that the FDA finds it important enough to include cite this research in its document -- but GSK does not cite this possible risk in the disclosures given to those receiving the vaccine

2) My reading of the VAERS data on Shingrix do not show tinnitus to be a 'rare' side effect (this is a relative term anyway). I would rather characterize the data to indicate that the probability appears to be 'significant' at 0.57% of getting tinnitus from Shingrix. This is based on 243 occurrences out of 42,378. So, based on the 42k+ cases reported, someone has approximately a 1 out of 200 chance of getting tinnitus from the Shingrix vaccine -- rare or significant, personally I find this very high and, had I known this was the risk level, I would not have gotten the vaccine. One has to wonder what GSK's own testing showed, and what levels they deemed to be acceptable.

I encourage others to see the data for themselves and also report their own adverse side effects:

Here's how you can see the side effects of the Shingrix vaccine:

Go to: https://vaers.hhs.gov/data.html
1) click Search CDC Wonder
2) click I Agree to disclaimer
3) click VAERS Data Search
4) Under Vaccine Characteristics click Search tab
5) Enter 'Shingrix'
6) Select blue term '1192 Zoster (Shingrix)'
7) Scroll to bottom and click Send
8) You can now view full table of side effects of Shingrix

Let's please do keep this conversation going.

Thanks to all, best regards and stay healthy,
Kaz

P.S. Going on 6 months now of tinnitus following 2nd dose of Shingrix with no signs of improvement. Onset was sudden 2 weeks after 2nd dose. I had no hearing issues at all prior to this.

 

What is the total number of individuals who have received the Shingrix vaccine? You cited 243 cases out of 42,378 — but that is not the total number of people who have received the vaccine. That is the total number of VAERS reports.

The actual probability of getting tinnitus from Shingrix would be 243 out of the total who have received it. The most recent data I can find puts the number of doses at 17 million.

That puts the odds much lower. It’s a 0.00142941 percent chance.

 

I had total hearing loss and tinnitus after the first shingles shot. Lucky for me got medical attention asap and with medication (Predisone) I got my hearing back but still have the tinnitus.

 

Please correct me if wrong but the frequently cited FDA study doesn't say it's the VACCINE that causes tinnitus. Quite to the contrary, it says that SHINGLES can cause tinnitus. If you look at the definition of VZV provided in the study, it clearly states that it is referring to the Varicella Zoster Virus. The vaccine is referred to as Varicella vaccination.

When you read the document, you can clearly see it is referring to the damage that can be done by not being protected from getting shingles. Further, the quote in this thread "The Shingrix vaccine complications include:" that leads to the tinnitus complication which you do quote correctly, does not actually appear in the FDA report. So while the effect is in the report, the cause of the effect is misrepresented.

As a sufferer of tinnitus caused by an antibiotic I am vary wary of drug effects that can make it worse. That said, providing accurate information is an important first line.

Again, if you are not seeing what I'm seeing, please direct me to the citation's page and exact wording.

Best wishes.