Indeed, we wrote about an article published this summer in the medical journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery examining these strange side effects. Dr. Eric Formmeister of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore and coauthors found 147 reports of sudden hearing loss associated with COVID-19 vaccinations from December 14, 2020 to March 2, 2021 in the Vaccine Side Effects Reporting System (VAERS). Of these 147 cases, the “most likely” association with vaccination was noted in 40 people who suddenly lost their hearing on average 4 days after vaccination. Of these, 12 were vaccinated with Moderna and 28 with Pfizer. The average age of patients is 56 years. Most of the victims (63%) are women.
Scientists noted that mainly people complained of sensorineural hearing loss (this is congenital or acquired hearing loss, which can be caused by both acoustic or mechanical trauma and viral diseases, as well as exposure to certain medications. – Ed.) And tinnitus (temporary or permanent ringing or noise in the ears. – Ed.). The causes of tinnitus are still not fully understood, but the condition can be caused by trauma or stress, or as a reaction to medication. About 80% of people with tinnitus also experience hearing loss. Tinnitus is most often reported by people aged 55 and older; it is reported that approximately 18 million Americans have seen a doctor with such a complaint at least once, and 2 million are disabled. That is, although this disease is quite rare (about 66 thousand new cases are registered annually in the United States), it is familiar to medicine.
However, by October 2021, VAERS had over 10,000 reports of tinnitus as a possible side effect following COVID-19 vaccinations. Of course, in terms of tens of millions of vaccinated people, this is a statistical “grain of sand in the sea”, but tell me honestly: who wants to be that very grain of sand?
ABC15 recently spoke about New Mexico federal government official Robert Edmonds who complained of tinnitus and headaches back in January 2021, shortly after he received his first COVID-19 vaccine.
– The doctor could not understand what was happening, and gave me antibiotics for an ear infection, – said Edmonds. – Since then, I have undergone a diagnostic examination, the doctors ruled out various reasons and concluded that vaccination probably played a role in the development of this disease.
Exactly the same story happened to our reader. On March 21, Evgenia received a second vaccination and endured it rather hard: 3-4 days with fever, drowsiness and fatigue (officially, all these reactions are now considered the norm after vaccination against coronavirus – Ed.). On the fourth day, Evgenia realized that her left ear seemed to be completely “blocked” and she hears only a constant ringing. An appointment with an otolaryngologist was only possible after three months, and our reader turned to the emergency department for help. Doctors suggested that she probably had a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics and allergy pills. Finally, in early June, Evgenia got an appointment with an otolaryngologist.
– The doctor performed several diagnostic tests and asked me: “Did this happen to you after the COVID-19 vaccination?” – says Evgenia. – The examination did not reveal any anomalies, the noise in the left ear became louder and quieter, but still did not stop.
A review article published in March 2021 in the International Journal of Audiology described three studies of patients with tinnitus that arose shortly after being vaccinated against COVID-19. The authors of the article did not deny the relationship and suggested that the hypersensitivity reaction may play a role in the development of this disease. Why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) do not take reports of VAERS side effects seriously is difficult to say. On the one hand, the very existence of VAERS is presented as a confirmation of “transparency”: they say, you see, we take seriously the safety of vaccination and collect data on its consequences. On the other hand, the CDC officially emphasizes that the VAERS data does not clearly indicate the relationship between vaccination and adverse events, since anyone can report “side effects” and, therefore, information may be inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable. Due to growing evidence, in August, the FDA and the European Medicines Agency added tinnitus to the list of potential side effects following Johnson & Johnson’s vaccination, but it still does not count as a consequence of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines (although most complaints come from humans, vaccinated with the last two drugs).
We helped our reader to find wonderful specialists who deal specifically with the problems of sudden hearing loss and tinnitus in her staff. The conclusion after the examination was unambiguous: help with sudden hearing loss is possible within 2-3 weeks, treatment with steroids is prescribed. In this case, too much time was wasted and the only way for Evgenia to continue working and living a full life is to purchase a hearing aid.
The problem is that neither the FDA nor the CDC is paying close attention to such claims of hearing problems. And doctors, without proper guidance, are afraid to issue conclusions about the relationship between the vaccine and the adverse reaction – if only simply because they could be accused of spreading misinformation and this would jeopardize their license.
But if the FDA and CDC recognized such a potential adverse reaction as hearing loss / tinnitus, doctors would know what to do in such cases, and hearing, nerves and, ultimately, the health of Eugenia, Robert Edmonds and tens of thousands of other victims can would try to save.
At the same time, Evgenia is not some kind of poorly educated opponent of vaccinations. She is an intelligent person, she has a good job in one of the federal ministries. Like many of us, she does not want to get sick with coronavirus and trusts the authorities and medical officials, so she recently got a booster (and rather poorly suffered the third injection).
But in the end, she was left alone with her problems. In addition to unbearable fear (you wake up in the morning and understand that you don’t hear anything with one ear and never hear anything again!), She is forced to purchase a hearing aid; at the same time, the insurance does not fully cover its cost, and it pays for this device once every five years – that is, if something happens to the device, then the new Evgenia will buy completely for his own money. And if the device does not help, then Evgenia may lose her job.
Who will be responsible for the “side effects”?
Between December 2020 and December 2021, the year since the start of the immunization campaign, more than 200 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. With such a large number of vaccinated people, negative reactions will inevitably arise, regardless of what kind of medical preparation is used: even if it were the classic “green stuff”, someone would still have, say, an allergic reaction.
Since 1988, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has been operating in America, which covers the risks of 15 childhood vaccines and flu vaccines. Each application is considered very carefully, and during the work of VICP, about 6.6 thousand people received compensation, a little more than $ 4 billion was paid.
But with new vaccines against coronavirus, which were developed and approved on an emergency basis, the situation is completely different. Potential adverse reactions not only from vaccinations but also from covid treatments are under the jurisdiction of another program, the Countermeasure Injury Compensation Program, or CICP. In addition to coronavirus, this program also evaluates the consequences of treatment of diseases such as acute radiation syndrome, Ebola, anthrax, and Zika virus. Since the start of the program in 2010, only 29 claims have been granted with an average payment of $ 200,000 (10 more claims have been approved but not eligible for compensation). Other applications – 91.4% – were rejected.
– The CICP is currently the only way to get compensation for adverse reactions caused by COVID-19 vaccines. However, only about 8% of people who have gone to CICP with vaccine injuries in the past have ever received a payment. The CICP is not protected by the US legal system. No transparency, no court, no judge, and no right to appeal. Compensation decisions are made in the black hole by an unnamed administrator who reviews the application, according to the website of Maglio Christopher & Toale, one of the most famous law firms that is dedicated to receiving payments for its clients after vaccine injury and treatment. – Our law firm has concluded that our lawyers cannot help you in any way. This does not mean that you should not file a claim with the CICP, it is simply that we do not believe that effective legal representation plays a role in the administrative process of the CICP.
We received the same answers from other lawyers, who were contacted for a comment on the situation taking place in the life of our reader.
At this time, you can only file a claim with the CICP by completing a grievance at injurycompensation.hrsa.gov. Important: you have exactly one year from the date of vaccination to apply. If you are even one day late, you will lose the right to file a claim. But do you have a chance to get at least something? On the example of Evgenia – no. Since vaccines are new, there is no definition of the harm they can cause. That is, when the official reviews potential claims, he will examine the official statements of the FDA and CDC, see that they do not recognize these adverse reactions, and reject the claims. In other words, you have the right to file a claim – and the right to lose.
Any persuasion and demands of the authorities to get vaccinated do not work until no one is ready to take responsibility and provide assistance to the victims. Vaccine manufacturers issued a joint statement, “The safety and well-being of vaccinated people is our top priority,” but declining responsibility in advance. Law firms across the country are now making efforts to get COVID-19 vaccines on the VICP list so that victims can hope to get their case fair in court and some kind of compensation. This would be the best way to convince people that the vaccine is necessary and that adverse reactions are rare – and people would know that they will not be left in trouble if they have health problems through no fault of theirs.
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