Risk of hearing loss after COVID-19 vaccination inconclusive

Editor's Note

According to JAMA Network May 3, two recent studies examined the risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) after COVID-19 vaccination; however, the statistical value of the US-based study was not significant and the absolute risk remains inconclusive.

In the first study, JAMA explains, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a “slightly higher risk of SSNHL” in Israel. The study included 2.6 million individuals, of whom 2.4 million received 2 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. SSNHL was detected in 91 vaccinated individuals after the first dose and in 79 after the second dose, which the researchers deemed “a higher ratio of observed to expected cases based on prior years’ data.”

But the second study, published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, found no increased SSNHL incidence after vaccination in the US. This study analyzed 555 reports of SSNHL in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System over 7 months. “For all 3 authorized COVID-19 vaccines, an estimated 0.6 to 28 SSNHL cases occurred per 100,000 people per year, reflecting no increased risk compared with the general population.” JAMA concluded.