Sudden sensorineural hearing loss after COVID-19 vaccination

"Introduction

... Rare serious adverse events, including Guillain-Barré syndrome, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome after adenovirus-vector Janssen COVID-19 vaccination, and myocarditis after messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations have been reported. Otolaryngologic adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination were observed, including several cases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) reported in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) in the United States. 

SSNHL is defined as hearing loss ≥30 dB over three consecutive frequencies within three days... We report three patients with SSNHL within three days after COVID-19 vaccination and consider an association between them...

Discussion

... SSNHL within three days after COVID-19 vaccination has the possibility that vaccination is the significant cause.

Referring to the association between COVID-19 vaccination and Bell's palsy, which is an acute idiopathic peripheral facial palsy with similar etiologies to SSNHL, might be useful. There have been more reported cases of Bell's palsy after COVID-19 vaccination than those of SSNHL after COVID-19 vaccination...