Are tinnitus and vertigo related to covid-19 according to experts?
New research suggests that there may be a link between covid-19 and auditory problems, including hearing loss, tinnitus, or ringing in the ear, and vertigo.
From the onset of the covid-19 pandemic researchers have been studying what additional effects the novel virus could have on humans besides the respiratory ailments that have claimed so many lives. Links have been found between a number of other ailments including auditory problems.
A year on, an analysis of a pool of research by a team from the University of Manchester and Manchester Biomedical Research Centre has confirmed that 7%-15% of adults diagnosed with covid-19 report audio-vestibular symptoms. These symptoms include hearing loss, ringing in the ear, known as tinnitus, and vertigo.
Why does covid-19 cause auditory problems?
The research isn’t exactly clear on why covid-19 is causing auditory and vestibular problems. The vestibular system is the main sensory system for balance and spatial orientation and is very sensitive. Other diseases such as measles, mumps and meningitis are known to cause hearing problems.
Professor Kevin Munro, director of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness and one of the authors of the analysis says that “almost everyone will experience temporary tinnitus if they are in a very quiet environment.” However, in the absence of clinical tests to diagnose tinnitus, hearing specialists must rely on self-reporting from patients.
Professor Munro gives two possible explanations for the people reporting tinnitus, or ringing in the ear. One reason could be that the covid-19 virus attacks and damages the auditory system. The other cause could be from “the mental and emotional stress of the pandemic.”
Besides loud noises, stress can cause people to have tinnitus and once the stress is relieved the ringing in the ear usually disappears. Professor Munro points out that tinnitus is a common symptom in people with “long covid-19", which is where symptoms continue for weeks or even months after the infection has gone.
“We need to be careful when interpreting these findings as it’s not always clear if studies are reporting existing or new symptoms. What is lacking are good-quality studies that compare tinnitus in people with and without COVID-19.”
More research is necessary to understand the connection between covid-19 and auditory problems
Professor Munro welcomes the information from the analysis but cautions that “carefully conducted clinical and diagnostic studies” are needed to not “diagnose audio-vestibular symptoms where they do not exist or where they are coincidental.” The researchers will lead a year-long study on people who have been previously hospitalized with the virus to investigate the long-term effect of covid-19 on the audio-vestibular system.