Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Patients with Long-COVID-19: Objective and Behavioral Audiometric Findings

Abstract

Introduction The symptoms of COVID-19 are primarily respiratory system disorders. Sensorineural hearing loss can be caused by COVID-19, as other symptoms in the nervous system. Hearing loss may also be the only symptom or complication of this disease or the symptoms of long COVID-19. The study aimed to assess hearing in patients after COVID-19 infection. Material and Methods The study conducted ENT and full hearing assessment in COVID-19 infection. All patients underwent complete audiological diagnostics, including threshold tonal audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions, and auditory brainstem evoked potentials (ABR) tests. The study group included 58 patients aged 23 to 75 years who were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection six months before inclusion in the present study and reported post-COVID-19 hearing impairment. Results There were statistically significant differences between the control and study groups. Sensorineural hearing loss was found in 65.5% of the tonal audiometry test. The stapes reflex was absent in almost 20% of post-COVID-19 patients. The analysis of ABRs demonstrated longer latencies of wave III, V, and time intervals I–III, I–V in post-COVID-19 patients. Conclusion COVID-19 can damage the inner ear as well as the auditory pathway. Hearing loss may be the only symptom of COVID-19 or be a late complication of the disease due to postinfectious inflammation of the nerve tissue as a symptom of long COVID-19. Prolonged conduction of the auditory pathway shows the affinity of the virus to the nervous system as a symptom of long COVID. It is advisable to perform hearing diagnostics in patients after COVID-19 and provide them with specialist care.

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Resting-State Brain Activity in Individuals with Tinnitus

“…The potential effect of COVID-19 infection on hearing loss adds another layer of complexity. There are reports of general hearing loss related to COVID-19 [37] as well as of certain other problems-for example, one preliminary report describes a higher incidence of Meniere's disease during the COVID-19 pandemic [38]. At the same time, it is well known that hearing loss may lead to tinnitus.…”

Long COVID, the Brain, Nerves, and Cognitive Function

“…In an online survey of over 3700 people, 5.2–6.4% reported hearing loss between months 4–7 after COVID-19 infection [ 71 ]. How SARS-CoV-2 affects the auditory pathway is not fully elucidated, but hearing problems may result from epithelial damage and vascular issues, such as microthrombosis [ 220 , 221 , 222 ].…”

“…Poor concentration, slowed thinking, difficulty paying attention, and focusing [181][182][183] Hyposmia/parosmia Partial or total loss of sense of smell/misperceiving odors (often pleasant odors seem unpleasant) [202,[206][207][208]210,212] Hypogeusia/dysgeusia Partial or total loss of sense of taste/altered perception of taste [202,[206][207][208]211,213] Hearing problems Hearing loss, tinnitus [76,[218][219][220]222] Ocular symptoms…”

Bilateral, Sequential Sudden Hearing Loss in a Patient With Multiple COVID-19 Infections and Potential Implications on Subsequent Cochlear Implant Performance

“…1,2 While the etiology of hearing loss due to viral infections varies by virus, it has been suggested that COVID-19 may cause inflammation of nervous tissue and affect both the inner ear and auditory pathways. 3 The link between SNHL and COVID-19 was first reported in April 2020, in a COVID-19 patient with coincident SNHL. 4 Since then, there have been other reports on the association between SNHL and COVID-19 infection.…”