I had the old Zostavax. Not yet had the Shingrix. I did read through the threads above and did not see a discussion of the relative effectiveness and presumed that most people were talking about the rep of Zostavax - for instance, donnie17048 just mentions “the shingles vaccine” - so I wanted to make a point that it is no longer “the shingles vaccine” and the new one is far more efficacious. Everyone should get that one, even if they’ve had the old one, and you’ve set a good example for us all by doing both! 
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The Wikipedia article on Zoster vaccines is pretty good. It discusses the relative efficacy and the side effects of Zostavax (the old one ) and Shingrix (the new one). It does say that for the new one (Shingrix) some temporary side effects are likely but that’s a relatively mild price to pay for >90% efficacy, according to the Wikipedia article.
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Since we are so OT as it is, 13 years ago on this coming Halloween day, I had two stents placed in my heart. I always stayed active, ate well, took care of myself, or so I thought. When I saw the cardiologist five days after the cardiac cath, he stated I was very lucky, since the LAD is known as the “widowmaker” and one does not usually get warning (I did thanks to ongoing hard physical exertion and paying careful attention to “insignificant” body signs).
He told me I might have celebrated Thanksgiving, but not Christmas.
That pushed me to be more deeply involved in assuring I did everything possible to take the best care of myself possible. Knowing you were weeks away from your “final scene” is powerful motivation.
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Shortly after I received Zostavax I started losing my hearing. It is now profound. Not saying that was the cause but very suspicious
The really big puzzle in life is cause vs. correlation. Hearing loss may happen sometime in life. Many things will be happening at the same time. Many people will get a shingles vaccine and some will invariably get it at the same time as a sudden profound hearing loss. So for a lot of people out of the total population, there will be a time correlation between the vaccination and the hearing loss. Being able to affirm that there is a definite causal relation is another can of worms. The other side of the coin is when causal relationship is real but it only happens to a small group of people out of the whole because of genetics or whatever, a real effect can unfortunately get lost in the noise.
But the poster child for unmerited conclusions about causal relationships is the British doctor who created a worldwide scare about autism and childhood vaccinations - same deal there on time correlation being taken for cause. Many parents unfortunately discover a very young child is not developing normally and has autism - and whaddya know, young kids get a number of childhood vaccinations - so the kid got vaccinated last week and this week, the poor parents realize that she is autistic. British doctor who inspired worldwide vaccine scare banned | Need to Know | PBS This doctor by inducing parents to not vaccinate their kids based on extremely flimsy evidence (12 children) caused lots of harm and sorrow in the world. It’s not good to reach a strong conclusion or suspicion based on one patient (yourself). Just like the good ol’ doc, if you start spreading the word that you’re pretty sure the shingles vaccine caused your hearing loss, as time goes by, you may be replicating the “good” doctor’s wrong by inducing others to skip the vaccine and maybe someone will suffer the consequences from a blinding attack of shingles, etc.
I think even where there is a risk of side effects for something that A PRIORI one must play the high/low game and personally decide. High benefit but high risk?, high benefit but low risk?, low benefit but high risk?, or low benefit and low risk, etc. That’s why most FDA drug disclosures have a risk section on observed side effects (correlation, not cause) and the risk section usually tells you how often an observed risk is seen relative to its occurrence in placebo or alternative treatment controls so if there is any gambling involved, you can decide yourself how you want to roll the dice.
My hearing loss came very quickly after the Shingles vaccination I mean like a period of weeks. Well, at least I will not get Shingles At 80 years of age and living by myself I really only need hearing for TV. The TV Link works great and also the Phone Clip
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I tried to look up via the CDC how to report a possible adverse vaccine reaction event. On the following page, down in the lowering right, is a link about reporting but it is unfortunately broken. However, the broken link initiates a web search by my ISP, instead of giving me an HTML 404 error, to other sites related to the text in the broken link. Maybe one of those other links would provide a way to report to the CDC your adverse event, either by yourself or even better with the help of your provider. That way if there were an overlooked connection between whichever of the two vaccines you took and your hearing loss, your contribution would help elucidate something that’s so far been over looked.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/index.html
Thanks for the tip on the value of the accessories. It’s so great to get the reassurance of experienced forum members that the accessories are worth acquiring!
I am from Taiwan,My English language is not good. SORRY
I found this
http://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/otolaryngology/about-the-department/faculty-and-staff/faculty/hinrich-staecker.html
I do not know is it helpful?
Since the Shingrix vaccine has been discussed in this forum and a lot of us are old folks who perhaps should get this far more effective shingles vaccine (better than the original Zostavax), I thought the following Washington Post article on the incredible demand for the vaccine might be of interest:
UPDATE: Actually, the most important lines out of the article might be on how the vaccine scarcity is making it hard or impossible for users to get the 2nd required booster shot at the recommended interval. A bit contrary to the article, my wife (an M.D.) says of the numbers of patients that she has prescribed the shot to, none have yet been unable to get it in central Texas. Quote from article:
"Complicating the situation is the recommendation for consumers to get their second dose within two to six months of the first. Many consumers are struggling to find their second dose. Pharmacies are supposed to give priority to those patients. Some pharmacies are requiring consumers to get their second dose at the same place they got their first shot. Others will give the second shot if consumers show proof they have gotten the first one, regardless of where. GSK said preliminary data show that more than 70 percent of people have completed the series.
Consumers are understandably confused."
Wolverine,
have you ever thought of checking your genome for root of your hearing loss?
To me, they same has happened: 30 years ago, doctors claimed it must be degenerated hair cells in the cochlear.
Meanwhile I know better: Myo-6-gene mutated. This gene is a transport motor within cells, and the mutation causes signals not properly transferred in the cochlear - thus, probably all my hairs are OK - but in the end it doesn’t make much difference…
OK, meanwhile a learned a bit more about this and have to say, that my defect with Myo6 seems to exactly imply that hairs in the cochlea are not developed and maintained properly:
The Zostavax allegedly causes serious side effects, including painful rashes, hearing loss, and even blindness. If you have been given the Zostavax and suffered from any of these side effects, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, and other losses. You need to find a lawyer that deals with medical cases.
Just wanted to share the latest news on ear hair cell regeneration! Here’s a synopsis of the study:
<<The zebrafish has emerged as a powerful model for studying sensory hair cell regeneration. Like other fish, zebrafish contain a network of sensory hair cells throughout their body to detect changes in water movement. The hair cells are located in small organs in the skin called neuromasts, which also contains cell types that are remarkably similar to those found in the mammalian inner ear. To study the genetic program of hair cell regeneration in zebrafish, we sequenced the RNA of individual cells within neuromasts, allowing us to classify cell types based on their gene expression signature. This included cells transitioning from support cells to fully mature sensory hair cells, thereby identifying new genes that are expressed during hair cell development. In addition, we characterized the role of the growth factor fgf3, and found that it acts to inhibit hair cell progenitor proliferation. Our results were published in the journal eLife on Jan. 25, 2019. Future work will examine the function of these genes in sensory hair cell regeneration.>>
Having been born BALD as an EGG in my inner ears (and no wonder I have sensorineural hearing loss!), I’m always daydreaming about the day when these hairs can be regenerated.
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Did you miss this? They have been regenerated.
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^^^ YES!! I’d totally missed that news! It sure IS significant. Now to find someone to actually treat ME for the condition …
The study summary:
About the FX-322 Phase 1/2 Trial
The trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose, multi-center study to assess the safety of FX-322 in 23 patients with stable sensorineural hearing loss. Patients received an intratympanic injection of either a high-dose or low-dose volume of FX-322 or placebo in one ear. Patients were evaluated at an initial follow up visit two weeks following injection and were monitored for three months. The trial was conducted at several leading otolaryngology clinics in San Antonio, TX.
Dang I wish I’d been in San Antonio area so I could’ve participated.
Thanks for sharing!
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That might be some time off. Phases 2 and 3 still to go, assuming things go swimmingly. I’ve mentioned this before and I’m sure other people have experienced it, but my ENT told me that that there would never be a treatment for ssn hearing loss. He probably thought it better for me, if I didn’t harbour false hopes. And now we have people walking this earth with ssn hearing loss but whose hearing is better than it was six months ago. Interesting times.
Back in August, 2018, this thread went a bit off topic on shingles vaccination as one poster thought that his/her hearing loss had something to do with shingles vaccination. Several people, including me, chimed in on their experience with shingles vaccination. A couple folks recounted that the newer, more effective vaccine, Shingrix, was very painful, etc.
Just wanted to update those reports with my own experience. I had my first shot of Shingrix about 24 hours ago. I previously had Zostavax about 8 years ago. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. I experienced no unusual discomfort at the site of injection in my arm or in my overall disposition, alertness, any feeling of fatigue, etc. A little pain with the injection itself and maximum soreness, like a moderate bruise, about 4 hours after the injection. Today I feel great.
I got my shot at Walmart. Still had to get on a list to get the injection. The pharmacist who injected me told me that Shingrix is still in short supply but claimed that CDC has decided that the advised two to six month time window to get the 2nd REQUIRED follow-up shot for effectiveness is not supercritical. She said that if you can’t meet that window, it will be OK: the CDC says (she claimed) that the important thing is just to get the 2nd shot. She said that I can go anywhere to get the second shot and my insurance will still cover it. For the insurance that I have (Medicare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield), there is zero cost to me.
CDC advice to professionals on administering Shingrix: Herpes Zoster Shingrix Vaccine Recommendations | Shingles | CDC
On the following page, under “Dose Schedule” (down a bit), CDC discusses timing but I have been unable to find the advice the pharmacist gave me on the CDC website with a cursory search: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for Use of Herpes Zoster Vaccines | MMWR
Just wanted to post to note the lack of any real pain with my Shingrix injection and the pharmacist’s claim that the CDC now views the most important thing is just to get the 2nd shot (a definite waiting period is required after the first shot, though).
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Jim, My experience with my first shot was like yours–essentially no symptoms. The second one I had a day with mild flu like symptoms, achy, mild fever and lethargic. Definitely glad I did it as I’ve known enough people who got Shingles to prefer to reduce my odds. My wife got her second shot at about 6 weeks and I see CDC implies that anything after 4 weeks is ok.
Had you previously had the Zostavax shingles vaccine? Just curious if some pre-existing immunity helps clamp down on the body’s reaction to Shingrix.
Yes, I had the Zostavax previously. I think this kind of stuff is remarkably random.