Just wanted to post an update. Went for my Pfizer booster last week, and was asked for the first time about whether I had any side effects from the previous injections. I spoke about the onset of tinnitus after the vaccine. I was then seen by a doctor who informed me that tinnitus is now registered as a very rare side effect of the Pfizer Vaccine, and that they would not be giving me the booster. I have now been referred to a vaccination clinic within the hospital. For those of you that don't know I had intermittant high pitched tinnitus in both ears that started after Vaccine no 1, and became a constant high pitched noise 4 days after Vaccine 2. I cannot tell you what a relief it was to finally have a professional confirm what I already knew, What is interesting though is that the tinnitus is not mentioned on the paperwork they give you regarding side effects of the Pfizer Vaccine. The GP looked it up on her PC. Now I just need to make a decision as to whether I will have any further vaccines, and I think I will take the risk and say no. Who knows this tinnitus may well fade away once the effects of the vaccines wear off. I can but hope.
Tinnitus and Pfizer Vaccine: Just wanted to post... - Tinnitus UK
Tinnitus and Pfizer Vaccine
I had my 3rd primary vaccination 2 weeks ago and now have elevated levels of tinnitus (had tinnitus for some years).
Just to say that I had two Astra Z earlier in the year and a booster Pf two weeks ago. No difference to the T. I’m writing this as extra evidence for those wondering about vaccination, bearing in mind that Covid itself could cause worse tinnitus.
Hi happy Rosie, the Astrazenica is one of the alternative options I think they are looking at for me.
Hi Catlioness41 sorry to jump on here but is Tinnitus more common after the AZ vaccine rather than the Pfizer vaccine? Can you actually decide on which vaccine you have? X
I replied a few minutes ago and pushed Reply by mistake.I meant to add, that the BTA’s website is regularly updated with the latest information on Covid, vaccines and T and is well worth reading
Thank you for your update
Thank you This is interesting to know as I believe this is what started my Tinnitus 5 months ago , I won’t be having any boosters as still have the high pitched ringing every day. This is my personal opinion & I am not saying it will be the same for others but if I could turn back the clock and known this would have happened I would not have had it. So they couldn’t offer you anything to reassure you that it may fade in time .
I had my booster Pfizer sunday. My T onset in July wasn’t vaccine related as my jabs were jan and April. So I didn’t mention T at the time. I knew that there have been some reports of T following jab. And I know that having covid can exacerbate T (friend is struggling at moment with spike following covid). So it’s always that risk and decision making. It’s tricky to know whether my louder T - (especially at night but also more noticeable during the day) is due to the booster or stress or hormones! I had had micro suction on the Wednesday which I was very very nervous about and then was experiencing increased hearing of normal everyday sounds in general - so of course was worrying about hyperacusis and was very stressed and nervous. General hearing has settled down now. My T was very loud in night after booster and nights have continued with loud T. It would help if I could stay asleep once I fall asleep. The constant waking just adds to the fun of T. But I am thinking better loud T than covid?! Especially as my daughter had a positive lateral flow yesterday…….Am making assumption spike is probably related but am also assuming it will eventually settle……
I am not suggesting that people do not have the vaccine, however I do think that it's only right that people are aware of all the up to date side effects so that they can make an informed decision. In my case I will see what the consultant has to say at the hospital and keep you all posted.
This is really interesting as all my ears issues started after my first AZ vaccine and got worse after my second. The ENT consultants I have seen all suspect there is a link. Nobody can say conclusively but for me it has to be more than just a coincidence. I have decided not to have any further vaccines, although my booster is not due until xmas anyway. It is a difficult decision.
I too have suffered tinnitus following the vaccines in Feb/Mar, my symptoms however are still with me in October!!
Thank you for your update. What I’d be interested to know is what’s in the vaccine that would set off the tinnitus, I don’t suppose they mentioned that?
Many medicines are known to have ototoxic components. Otomize for example, aspirins are another. Each different chemical component will trigger tinnitus in different people. Vaccines like any other medicine are not exempt from that. When the whole world is using the same medicine (a.k.a. vaccine) at the same time it's going to cause different reactions in different people at a larger scale. If the whole world decided to take aspirins for a week many people, many who have never before taken it, would die, get clots, get tinnitus and so on because of it. My tinnitus started when I started my blood pressure medication. I have stopped it for now. But eventually I will have to decide if I rather have the risk of dying of a stroke or heart attack or the risk of making my tinnitus worst. It's not a fair world. 😔
No they didn't, but they did say that all 3 vaccines contain polyg something or other, and that the consultant may recommend no further vaccines for me at present. We will see
That is interesting. I have had tinnitus for several years. It spiked after my first AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this year and took quite some time to settle back to it's usual level. I reported it under the yellow card scheme. It spiked again after my second AZ vaccine but not as much. I had my Pfyzer booster vaccine 10 days ago with no adverse effect at all.
Interesting…I was diagnosed with Menieres a couple years ago, the initial attack left me with tinnitus however it had calmed down to a manageable level…a couple weeks after my first vaccine I had another menieres attack completely out of the blue…having had no dizziness or sickness since the first episode in May 19 so two years later. I was so sick I had to leave work and get home to lie down. Interestingly my uncle who hadn’t had an attack for 30 years also had the same reaction 2 weeks after his first one. I rang my doctor who suggested I take my betahistine for a few days. I was reluctant as I’d completely come off it so didn’t restart taking it, and fortunately the symptoms passed after a couple of days and my tinnitus also settled back down as well. The doctor said they’d had an awful lot of reports of the vaccines causing various dizziness episodes and she said they had put it down to an inflammatory response causing temporary disruption to the inner ear. Mine are as they were now again so in hindsight I would still have the vaccine. I did have covid and it was unpleasant and has left me with various other complications so it would’ve been amazing to have only caught it having been vaccinated as much less severe in my opinion and worth a couple days discomfort
I wouldn't hesitate to take Betahistine as needed in the future. I take it long term and it is a drug that seems to have no issues with being taken long term. I take it in the hopes it will maximise what hearing I have remaining. Thank you Meniere's. When I had vertigo (11 years ago) I was living in Egypt and Meniere's was never considered. I could have done with it then!
Hi I had the Moderna vaccine but I developed tinnitus before the shot. I’m wandering can people develop tinnitus from the other two vaccines both moderna and Johnson&Johnson. Thanks for sharing that was very good information. Do you mind telling me when do you live?
I live in Plymouth.
Thanks for the update Catlioness. I hope your T settles very soon. I've opted not to have the vaccine just in case my T gets any louder. It 's a tricky decision - and a personal one.
I agree with you. I won't be having any further vaccines for now, as I don't think I'd be able to cope if my tinnitus got any louder. I know it's a risk but at the end of the day it's my choice x
I have decided not to have the vaccine either at the moment in case it affects my pulsatile tinnitus. There are just too many reports of it adversely affecting tinnitus. And it is now officially recognised as a rare side effect of the vaccine. All decisions are personal though and I understand everyone has their own circumstances and reasons.
Good news.Would imagine that with millions of vaccines given every day one has to accept that 1 every xx thousand people's immunologic system could react in a certain way so that T could develop. Almost nothing in medicine is risk free.
Problem is when people try to asure it is always a coincidence.
Thanks for sharing this. I got tinnitus as part of long covid July last year. I still have it! I had the Astra vaccine and mine did get a little worse post that. I unfortunately have had some other issues post the vaccine and not sure if definitely related (re circulation and heart inflammation) which could just be LC symptoms appearing later. I haven’t had my second vaccine as still trying to recover from these issues and have been considering if I could get Pfizer instead. It’s very helpful to hear this. I know we’ve had some people join our LC support group due to getting tinnitus post vaccine as well.
I hope yours does eventually improve. Great they checked though prior to giving you the booster.
I had the same problem, I wasn’t sure what the cause of my tinnitus was. There was no real information of tinnitus as being a side affect of COVID/vaccine at the time. I was kind of relieved to finally ave an answer when results started show that this was a side effect. Hang in there and let’s hope it does subside over time!
Hello, I'm writing this from the other side of the fence, I had Covid last year and I consider myself very lucky that I had hardly any effects on myself so at the time I had my blood tested for naturally produced anti-bodies which resulted in very high amounts produced, So I've always held back on having any vaccines, the main reason for me is the constant reading on either these causing T or making T worst, I've had T from 2018 and in all honesty, it's been a constant battle trying to keep myself happy and normal, 2020 was the worst has I did get suicidal but came out of that. I don't think I'm going to take any risk of making my T worst and will continue holding back.
Thank you all for taking the time out to share your experiences as this does help everyone else to make their own informed decisions
my story: Never had problems with my ears prior to my Covid Vaccination, after the 1st Pfizer injection i felt a slight blocking of my ears, i associated it with a sinus problem, after my 2nd Pfizer injection on day 2 i had bouts of Tinnitus in my left ear, and cluster headaches, among many other issues, on my booster Pfizer injection day 2 i had constant loud Tinnitus in my left ear, then day 3 also in my right ear, this was constant 24/7, after about a week the Tinnitus continued in the right ear, and continues until now, it is intermittent in my left ear, after many appointments with the GP, i have had 2 requests for urgent MRI's turned down by the hospital made by the GP, i now await an appointment with audiology in the hospital in March, I still continue to have cluster headaches and constant tinnitus, i have reported all my issues with the MHRA, i've had a further request for more detailed info that i have provided
same here "I think" seems about the same as first vaccine time it started..and its really bad, loud, losing sleep etc , is always there But some days its quite, usually v loud when lying down...
I've had a very similar experience. V mild, intermittent, tinnitus for about 35 years without any problems at all but was starting to happen more often after second AZ shot (didn't make the link at all). Then three weeks after having had Pfizer booster, woke up one morning with seriously loud, completely different, tinnitus in my left ear which has continued 24/7 since, with intermittent tinnitus in right ear for about a month. A week or so after that, started to get really odd neurological symptoms in my head (numb areas, odd tingling patches, occasional patches of pain - all at the back or sides of my head). Neither GP nor ENT specialist are taking any notice of me saying that I think it could be connected to the vaccine, given sudden onset. MRA/MRA all clear. Have had a clicking jaw joint (for many years without any pain or other problems but they are just pinning it on that - TMJ - but I think this is highly doubtful given sudden onset). Can cope during the day but surviving on 3 - 4 hours sleep max for the last 3 months - like others on here, I am just hoping that as the vaccine wears off, these symptoms will settle down and I would definitely not have another!
Hi, I can relate to that, and have had no further vaccines not even for flu. I had my last vaccine 12 months ago and have been hoping that the tinnitus would fade over time, but as yet no difference whatsoever. Who knows that miracle might happen where I wake up one morning to silence x
I so feel for you and everyone else on here - fingers crossed that, as the scientists start working through the list of unanticipated side effects (and this horrible condition maybe starts to get more attention in the medical press), someone will come up with a treatment that ends up being able to help everyone, irrespective of cause....x
Here's hoping x
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