The analysis of more than twenty studies carried out on Covid-19 shows that the virus is associated with certain hearing disorders such as tinnitus and vertigo, but also with hearing loss.
- Hearing problems or dizziness have been seen in Covid patients
- Hearing problems, tinnitus or vertigo have been found in Covid patients
- In October 2020, a patient became deaf as a result of his infection
More than a year after the onset of the disease, certain symptoms of Covid-19 are still poorly understood or even unknown. In International Journal of Audiology, British researchers are taking stock of the links between the virus and hearing disorders. By bringing together the data accumulated in different studies on the disease and its consequences, they find that there is a correlation between pathologies related to the ear and SARS-CoV-2.
Hearing loss and other auditory problems “strongly associated” with Covid-19, new @UoMNews and @ManchesterBRC review of research suggests ????????
In @ijaonline, @KevinJMunro and @ialmufarrij found 56 studies that identified an association.????https://t.co/Kmlypyu65g #audiology #covid pic.twitter.com/OgPDXfIGBe
— Taylor&Francis News (@tandfnewsroom) March 22, 2021
Hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo
“We know that viruses like measles, mumps or meningitis can cause hearing loss, explains one of the authors of this research, Kevin Munro, but we still know little about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on hearingIn total, scientists from the University and Biomedical Research Center of Manchester, UK, found reports of hearing problems in 56 research studies on Covid-19. Of the 24 they analyzed in In detail, the prevalence of hearing loss is 7.6%, that of vertigo 7.2% and that of tinnitus 14.8%.The data collected came from medical questionnaires provided to patients or completed by medical personnel. hearing tests carried out by scientific teams would have been more reliable, specify the authors of this study.There is an urgent need for carefully conducted clinical studies to understand the effects of Covid-19 on hearing“, points out Kevin Munro.
Consequences of the disease or of the treatments?
With his team, he calls for further studies on the subject, by integrating control groups. “The work we reviewed was of variable quality, more research needs to be done“, he insists. For several months, the researcher has received numerous reports of hearing loss or tinnitus observed in patients who have contracted Covid-19. “It’s alarminghe confides, but we must be careful because we do not know if the changes in hearing are directly linked to Covid-19 or to other factors, such as treatmentsThe British team intends to continue its investigations to understand the origin of these hearing disorders in Covid-19 patients, their severity and their prevalence. Other scientists have noted this link between pathology and hearing health. In October 2020, a patient was officially recognized as having become deaf following a Covid-19 infection.
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