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

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.