Covid-19 can exacerbate people’s tinnitus

29-year-old Rebecca Edgar has a hard time hearing her talk to her toddler from the backseat of the car. Most nights she struggled to fall asleep and was involved in a cycle of worry that her tinnitus might grow, recognizing that this stress exacerbated her symptoms.

“For the past two decades, tinnitus has been a constant tinnitus, and it’s arguably the worst tinnitus ever,” said Edgar of Essex County, southeastern England. “I’m very scared because I can’t hear one ear, so catching the Covid-19 can destroy the rest of my hearing.”

Her fears may not be groundless.

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Tinnitus Conditions characterized by humming, ringing, humming, and swooshing of the ears can be caused by a variety of factors, including exposure to loud sounds, damage to the inner ear, and stress. Experts say that pandemic stress may be associated with exacerbation of tinnitus symptoms, but there is increasing evidence that the virus itself may also play a role.

A study published in the journal on Thursday Public health frontier It was found that 40% of people with Covid-19 symptoms reported exacerbation of tinnitus. The survey included more than 3,000 participants who self-reported whether their hearing had changed since the pandemic began. Approximately 250 participants reported symptoms of Covid-19, but only 26 tested positive for the virus.

Approximately one-third of study participants who suffered from tinnitus before the pandemic seemed to have exacerbated tinnitus by “a combination of lifestyle, social and emotional factors during the pandemic,” said the lead investigator. Eldrebuks, Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England.

The study also identified seven participants who said they were the first to notice changes in hearing when they developed the symptoms of Covid-19, and hearing impairment may be a symptom of some people’s illness. It suggests that there is.

This is not the first time Covid-19 has been associated with hearing impairment, but the cause is still unknown.

Study published in July International Journal of Hearing It was found that nearly 15% of 138 hospitalized Covid-19 patients reported hearing impairment 8 weeks after discharge. The majority of these patients did not report hearing problems prior to the Covid-19 diagnosis.And the case report BMJ, A British medical journal described a British man. Lost hearing When hospitalized with severe Covid-19.

“Because many viruses affect the ears, infection with the SARS-Cov-2 virus can cause tinnitus in some people,” Beukes said of the virus that causes Covid-19. I will. “But people who experience really stressful times can also develop tinnitus as a result of that stress.”

Indeed, studies have long associated excessive stress with the symptoms of tinnitus. According to a Beukes study, nearly one-third report stressors such as fear of Covid-19 infection, financial anxiety, loneliness, and sleep disorders as factors that exacerbate tinnitus.

Still, other experts say stress alone cannot explain all new or exacerbated cases of tinnitus during a pandemic.

Although SARS-Cov-2 is a respiratory virus, it has also hit scientists, doctors and patients in a range of symptoms that are not related to the respiratory system and can cause it.

One of those symptoms Loss of odor, And according to Dr. Matthew Stewart, an associate professor of otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Medicine, the same mechanism behind that bizarre symptom may also contribute. Hearing loss..

When people become infected with the coronavirus, the body floods the bloodstream with platelet-producing cells that normally reside in the bone marrow, Stewart said, who was not involved in the new study. These cells are larger than most blood cells and can clog small blood vessels in the nose. In addition to these obstructions, blood clots (another complication of Covid-19) can lead to loss of nerve function in the nose. This may explain why loss of odor is a common symptom of Covid-19.

“The same thing can happen with small blood vessels in the ear,” Stewart said. “I’m worried that just as the tissue that enables odors is damaged by Covid-19, so is the tissue in the ear, which can continue after the virus is gone. “

Stewart’s own research found evidence of the virus in the inner ear. In a study published in July Journal of American Medical AssociationHe described autopsy of three patients who died of Covid-19, had a virus detected in the middle ear, and had a mastoid bone that was also part of the ear on the skull.

Another theory is that hearing loss can be an unintended result of the body’s immune system response, rather than being caused by the virus itself, and the body attacks its organs while trying to repel intruders. Possibly, director Kevin Manro said of the Manchester Center for Hearing and Hearing Impairment in the United Kingdom.

“Tinnitus is sometimes the first sign of ear damage,” said Munro, who was not involved in the new study.

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Further research is needed to determine if tinnitus is a true Covid-19 symptom or the result of stress. Munro will soon begin research aimed at better understanding whether the virus directly affects the mechanisms that enable human hearing. He also wants to determine why some people with Covid-19 have tinnitus and some do not, and which underlying condition is working.

“Currently, the number of patients with tinnitus is very high, and the people giving presentations may need additional support,” says Munro. “We need to take them seriously. The next thing is to understand if ear damage is psychological and to be able to treat it appropriately.”

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