Thousands Are Suffering From Tinnitus Following COVID Vaccination

Although U.S. health agencies are missing in action, these alternative therapies may help improve or resolve the ringing, roaring, whooshing, hissing, humming, or buzzing in your ears.

If you’re waiting for the government to help you with the debilitating tinnitus you developed following COVID-19 vaccination, you have a higher chance of witnessing the first-ever pig take flight.

According to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, more than 26,000 people have reported developing tinnitus after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine—and this number is estimated to reflect only 1 percent of the actual number. Approximately zero people have received compensation from the government.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, roughly 10 percent to 25 percent of U.S. adults experience some form of tinnitus—making it one of the country’s most common health conditions.

Tinnitus is an often debilitating condition with no approved treatment or cure. It involves hearing sounds without an external source, meaning others can't hear them. While often described as "ringing in the ears," those with tinnitus might also hear roaring, whooshing, hissing, humming, or buzzing in one or both ears. The noise can vary in volume, pitch, and duration, from soft to loud, low to high-pitched, and sporadic to continuous.

These phantom sounds are not caused by the ear but are generated by the brain's auditory cortex—the area responsible for processing sound.

Tinnitus can be triggered by various conditions, including Ménière’s disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, heavy metal toxicity, tumors, jaw issues, noise exposure, hearing loss, and certain medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., ibuprofen and aspirin), specific antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, antidepressants, and vaccinations.

Symptoms of tinnitus can either resolve suddenly or become chronic, potentially leading to issues like sleep deprivation, concentration difficulties, psychological distress, and depression.

Dr. Gregory Poland, director of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group and editor-in-chief of the journal Vaccine, developed “unrelenting” tinnitus after receiving his second dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021 and says it feels like someone “suddenly blew a dog whistle” in his ear.

In an interview with MedPage Today, Dr. Poland said he believes that tens of thousands of people in the United States alone and potentially millions worldwide are struggling with the condition and that more needs to be done to determine the cause and the relief.

“What has been heartbreaking about this, as a seasoned physician, are the emails I get from people that this has affected their life so badly, they have told me they are going to take their own life,” Dr. Poland said.

What has the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention done to address this problem? Nothing.

In a statement to MedPage Today, here’s what Pfizer said:

"We take adverse events, that are voluntarily reported by HCPs [health care providers] and individuals following vaccination with our COVID-19 vaccine, very seriously. Tinnitus cases have been reviewed and no causal association to the Covid-19 vaccine has been established.

“To date, about 3 billion of our COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered globally. It is important to note that serious adverse events that are unrelated to the vaccine are unfortunately likely to occur at a similar rate as they would in the general population."

In other words, Pfizer is pretending that thousands of individuals just randomly woke up one morning after getting vaccinated with tinnitus. Moderna hasn’t acknowledged the issue at all. Both have adopted the “if we ignore the problem, maybe it will disappear” approach and have no incentive to do otherwise.

As is the case with all other adverse events, nobody knew when they were signing up for the shot or were forced to get vaccinated (for those who didn’t want to) that they would be trading in the equivalent of a common cold for a lifetime of motocross playing out in their heads.

Since there are currently no recommended treatments or approved drugs to treat tinnitus, medicines such as sedatives, antihistamines, antidepressants, local anesthetics, and antipsychotics are commonly prescribed for treatment. Yet these drugs can cause short- and long-term systemic side effects. 

Here are some alternative treatments and therapies you may want to consider if you’re one of the millions of people with tinnitus:

Infrared Therapy

A peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Personalized Medicine found that low-level infrared light therapy could relieve tinnitus.

Over four weeks, researchers evaluated treatment for tinnitus in more than 100 men and women aged 18 to 65 whose condition either had an unknown cause or were unresponsive to treatment and divided them randomly into 10 groups. Researchers investigated personalized treatment options involving low-level laser therapy (LLLT) using red and infrared light in the inner ear or cochlea, where tinnitus often occurs, and LLLT combined with other treatments, such as vacuum therapy and drug therapy.

LLLT uses a narrow spectral width of light close to infrared to promote tissue regeneration, reduce inflammation, and relieve pain. Whereas a high-powered laser is used to cut and destroy tissue, low-level near-infrared light penetrates more deeply than ultraviolet or visible light and doesn’t harm living tissue.

In the study, researchers looked at both red and infrared light laser therapy. Red light is visible and uses wavelengths of 630 to 700 nanometers (nm). Infrared light, at wavelengths from 800 to 1,000 nm, is invisible and penetrates deeper into the body.

Results showed LLLT with infrared wavelengths outperformed the placebo, with lasting effects observed 15 days post-treatment. The most effective treatments involved extended light therapy sessions on the cochlea and middle ear, from six to 15 minutes.

Electrical Ear Canal Stimulation

In a proof-of-concept study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, researchers found that electrical stimulation through the ear canal decreased loudness and tinnitus-induced distress in just three days, especially for women and those with tinnitus affecting both ears. Here’s how it works:

Using an electrode placed in the ear, 66 patients underwent 10 minutes of electrical stimulation for three days while researchers monitored how it affected their symptoms. They analyzed several factors, including the frequency of the stimulation current, the sequence of applying different currents, the severity of tinnitus at admission, whether tinnitus affected one or both ears, sex, and age of the patients.

Of the 66 patients, 47 percent experienced a statistically significant reduction in tinnitus loudness, and 36 percent reported improvements in symptom severity. Moreover, women reported reduced tinnitus loudness immediately after the first ear stimulation session and after subsequent sessions, whereas men didn’t respond positively until after the second and third sessions. The researchers said gender differences in sensory reactivity could explain why women responded sooner and more positively, as women are more sensitive to electrical stimulation.

In patients with tinnitus affecting both ears, symptoms responded more favorably to earlier treatments than those with tinnitus affecting only one ear. Age did not affect the success of the treatment.

Finally, the study showed that patients with compensated/habituated tinnitus responded differently to electrical stimulation than those with decompensated/unhabituated tinnitus.

Decompensated/unhabituated tinnitus is a “complex psychosomatic process” in which a person experiences considerable suffering from tinnitus and does not become accustomed to it. This sometimes leads to psychological symptoms such as difficulty falling asleep, insomnia, aggression, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Those with compensated/habituated tinnitus hear phantom sounds but become accustomed to them.

The researchers found that patients with both types of tinnitus experienced “significantly reduced loudness” after the second and third electrical stimulation sessions, but only those with compensated/habituated tinnitus experienced a significant reduction in distress after three days of treatment.

Natural Treatments for Tinnitus

In addition to infrared light therapy, the following natural remedies have been shown to be effective for some people.

Gushen Pian

In a randomized controlled trial published in Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics, Gushen Pian, a traditional Chinese herbal remedy, showed significant therapeutic results for tinnitus compared with a placebo after four weeks of treatment. The remedy had an overall effective rate of 89.2 percent versus 30.8 percent for the placebo and a symptom relief rate of 59.5 percent versus 5.1 percent for the placebo.

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba, a tree native to China, has been used as a medicinal herb for more than 2,000 years. Ginkgo biloba extract, EGb 761, is the most widely tested drug in nonclinical tinnitus models and clinical trials, according to a review published in Frontiers in Pharmacology. Bioflavonoids and flavonoids in Ginkgo biloba, terpene trilactones, such as ginkgolides and bilobalide, polyprenols, and organic acids are thought to have a vasodilatory effect and help alleviate tinnitus symptoms.

Although the treatment may not work for everyone, preclinical and clinical studies have shown that apart from its antioxidant and vasodilatory effects, Ginkgo biloba extract may improve cochlear microcirculation, protect against ototoxicity—damage to the ear caused by medicine, resulting in hearing loss, ringing in the ear, or balance disorders—and alleviate aging-associated degeneration.

Korean Red Ginseng

Studies mentioned in Frontiers in Pharmacology review show that Korean red ginseng can protect against ototoxic medications, attenuate noise-induced hearing loss, and improve cochlear damage.

In a study published in the Journal of Audiology & Otology, patients with chronic tinnitus received 1,500 milligrams per day (mg/day) or 3,000 mg/day of Korean red ginseng or 160 mg/day of Ginkgo biloba extract over four weeks. The authors found that the patients receiving 3,000 mg/day of Korean ginseng showed significant improvement in their scores and improved emotional and mental health.

Zinc

Research suggests that as many as 31 percent of patients with tinnitus are deficient in zinc.

In a study published in the Journal of Otology and Neurotology, 46.4 percent of patients given zinc reported clinically favorable progress, and 82 percent of patients experiencing subjective tinnitus experienced an improvement in symptoms; patients who received a placebo experienced no significant decrease.

Melatonin

Supplementing with melatonin—a hormone that the brain produces in response to darkness and that helps regulate your circadian rhythm—at three milligrams per day for 30 days was associated with a “statistically significant decrease in tinnitus intensity and improved sleep quality in patients with chronic tinnitus,” according to a study published in the Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology. Melatonin therapy is most effective in men without a history of depression, those with severe and bilateral tinnitus, and those with a history of noise exposure.

Dietary Therapy

Diet may affect the inner ear's susceptibility to noise, age-related tinnitus, and hearing loss.

A 2020 study found associations between single nutrients and dietary patterns in those with tinnitus and hearing difficulties. A higher intake of vitamin B12 was associated with a reduced chance of developing tinnitus, while calcium and iron increased the chances of developing tinnitus. Vitamin D intake was associated with a reduced risk of hearing difficulties, as was a diet higher in protein, vegetables, and fruit and lower in fat.

Other Therapies

Other natural therapies that may prove helpful for people experiencing tinnitus include biofeedback, heavy metal chelation, acupuncture, stress management, and, if tinnitus is related to dental grinding or temporomandibular joint dysfunction, wearing a mouth guard.