Beckers Hospital Review posted an article two weeks ago about hearing loss among COVID-19 patients. Apparently, particular types of ear cells produce proteins that enable the SARS-CoV-2 virus to enter new hosts. They wondered whether this was behind some patients with the disease reporting hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo feeling out of balance. We have now investigated further and have an update.
Audiologists Now Ask Have You Had COVID-19?
Audiologists treating hearing loss have known for a while that inner ear infections can cause those vestibular symptoms. That’s because the vestibule is a tiny chamber in the inner ear spiral, which processes sound and helps us maintain balance. But they are now adding COVID-19 history to their routine assessments.
Researchers at University of Manchester Center for Audiology and Deafness interviewed 138 post-hospitalization COVID patients in July 2020. Some 13% reported a change in hearing and / or tinnitus, being persistent sounds in their ears. Their median age was 64, and 87.5% were male.
However, the Manchester researchers were unsure of the extent to which those symptoms were actually the result of aging. They thought wearing face masks could further compound their patients’ problem. They also wondered whether anxiety was a contributing factor.
A New Study of Hearing Loss Among COVID-19 Patients
Communications Medicine reported the results of a new study on October 29, 2021, under direction of Stanford post-doctoral scholar Minjin Jeong. The team decided to continue research into COVID-19 sensory side effects during the pandemic. They reasoned if these included loss of smell and taste, then why not hearing loss among COVID-19 patients too?
They examined the inner ear tissues of 10 COVID-19 patients with audio vestibular symptoms, including hearing loss, vestibular dysfunction, and tinnitus. And they discovered they had ‘the molecular machinery to allow SARS-CoV-2 entry’.
Their findings indicate inner ear infections may underlie COVID-19 difficulties with hearing and balance. Therefore, they recommend health care providers incorporate them in their checklists, which seem to be growing day by day.
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Preview Image: Spiral of the Human Inner Ear
