Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss after COVID-19 vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: To provide pooled analyses on the association between COVID-19 vaccine and the incidence of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL).

Data sources: "Medline" via "PubMed", "EMBASE", and "Google scholar".

Review methods: Data sources were inspected from January 2020 to January 2024 using search terms relevant to vaccines for COVID-19. Included were papers with reported numbers of vaccinated populations and incidence if ISSNHL in those populations. Quality assessment was performed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale Criteria.

Results: Three publications encompassing more than 191.8 million patients and at least 283 million vaccine doses were included in the quantitative data synthesis. The pooled reported incidence (95%confidence interval) of ISSNHL among COVID-19 vaccine recipients was 1.2588 per 100,000 (0.1385-3.4836). This incidence is significantly lower than the incidence of 5-27 and 60 per 100,000/year reported in the United States and in the European Union, respectively (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion: There is no evidence to indicate that the COVID-19 vaccine is associated with the incidence of ISSNHL.

Keywords: COVID-19; Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss; Immunization; Sudden deafness; Vaccine.