This photo by Airman 1st Class Anna Nolte is in the public domain
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
I’m a big advocate for preventing illness rather than treating it. Prevention is almost always both better and cheaper than treatment, which in turn is better and cheaper than rehabilitation in those cases where rehabilitation is possible.
I follow a healthy diet, exercise daily, and wear a hat and long sleeves if I’m in the California sun, regardless of how hot it is. I also get an annual influenza vaccine, and as soon as it was available got the COVID-19 vaccine. My affiliated hospital was offering the Pfizer vaccine, so that’s what I got, but I would have taken the first one available regardless of the manufacturer.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of vaccine skeptics who would rather run the risk of getting or spreading COVID than the extremely low risk of complications or side effects from vaccination. One of the possible adverse effects of vaccination may be sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
This report in JAMA Otolaryngology concludes that any cases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss after COVID vaccination–something that has also been investigated in relationship to influenza vaccination–are not related to the vaccine.
So please, get your COVID vaccine to prevent COVID infection in you and everyone else.
And avoid loud noise to prevent hearing loss.
