Thread by @stormchaseguide

My comments today about #tinnitus with #covid #vaccines during the Open Public Hearing at #CDC's #ACIP meeting. A thread 🧵:

1/21

Dear Committee,

My name is Robert Edmonds, I am an admin of one of the actually smaller tinnitus adverse event focused support forums for COVID vaccines with nearly 1000 members.

2/21

The topic is of course of personal interest to me because I developed chronic tinnitus after my COVID vaccination.

3/21

This adverse event though isn't foreign to this committee, a prior member of yours, Dr Gregory Poland, continues to experience it as well, along with variability after being rechallenged as he has communicated in news sources.

4/21

So, please excuse this somewhat off topic diversion to discuss tinnitus, a symptom already mentioned on the label of some other vaccines.

5/21

Note, my following comments are not being made to dissuade vaccination, but to encourage official recognition so as to lead to research and early treatment of tinnitus with COVID vaccination.

6/21

With that being said, I will now review some important recent findings, to motivate this issue:

In a recent WHO Pharmaceutical Newsletter we find:

"the UMC identified hearing loss and tinnitus following COVID-19 vaccination as a preliminary signal"

7/21

& in JAMA Oto about recent analysis of data from Israel:

"This study suggests that the Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine might be associated with increased risk of SSNHL" & "Patients with SSNHL might experience permanent hearing loss and tinnitus"

8/21

Now, while I understand the VSD has not seen a clustering of cases for tinnitus, in Laryngoscope in an analysis of TriNetX Analytics Network data resulted in a finding that:

9/21

"patients with a predisposition to vaccine-related tinnitus may be more vulnerable after the first dose than after the second dose"

10/21

& In Drug Safety in another article but with FDA coauthors:

11/21

"investigation enabled us to discover 2 potentially new AEs (herpes zoster & tinnitus), which are yet to be recognized by health authorities, but which have overwhelming statistical support in VAERS & are supported by published case reports & studies"

12/21

& finally, while the prior papers mostly examined mRNA vaccines, in the meeting highlights of EMA's PRAC we have the statement that they:

13/21

"Concluded that cases of dizziness and tinnitus are linked to the administration of COVID-19 vaccine Janssen"

14/21

This is supported in part by a 15 versus 4 imbalance in COV3001, and their later recognition of another COVID vaccine of the same platform having this issue at an uncommon frequency.

15/21

With these repeated signals for tinnitus it is beyond time for US federal funding of research into this adverse event for COVID vaccines, and not just to tell us rates, but to investigate mechanisms and treatments.

16/21

& there may be a treatment for some with quick utilization of corticosteroids after onset, but so many miss out, if so.

17/21

That is why there is urgency for this issue, because we may be able to improve outcomes for others. I therefore call on you to advocate for research and recognition. Let us now help those that follow, help them find peace and quiet.

Thank you for your time.

18/21

A thread about the sources for my comments:

https://twitter.com/stormchaseguide/status/1577349853385891840?s=20&t=6f9UvUumBsIynfJtbNKHXA

19/21

My prior OPH comments about tinnitus:

https://twitter.com/stormchaseguide/status/1455708693257981955?s=20&t=6f9UvUumBsIynfJtbNKHXA

20/21

If you have tinnitus, BTW:

https://twitter.com/stormchaseguide/status/1582911075862781952?s=20&t=6f9UvUumBsIynfJtbNKHXA

21/21

https://twitter.com/stormchaseguide/status/1585847583368392704?t=5BM2dxl3oFEzzEgILg7J5g&s=19

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