Is COVID-19 associated with self-reported audio-vestibular symptoms?

Abstract

Objective

To determine if a positive test for COVID-19 is associated with self-reported audio-vestibular symptoms.

Design

Self-reported changes in hearing, tinnitus, hyperacusis, and dizziness/rotatory vertigo were assessed in hospitalised and non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients during and after the acute phase of the disease and compared to non-COVID controls.

Study sample

There were 150 severe cases of COVID-19 requiring hospital admission and 150 mild cases that were managed at home. Controls were 267 adults, 32 of whom had been hospitalised for a non-COVID-19 condition, and a further 85 who worked in hospital settings.

Results

Deterioration in hearing and/or tinnitus was reported in 8% of the COVID-19 cases (tinnitus had resolved in 2% after the acute phase), with no significant difference between severe and mild cases. Deterioration in hearing or tinnitus was not significantly different from controls. However, rotatory vertigo was reported by 5% in the COVID-19 groups and 1.1% in the controls, and this difference was statistically significant.

Conclusions

There is no evidence that COVID-19 results in deterioration in hearing or tinnitus during the acute phase or after recovery in mild or severe cases. However, rotatory vertigo, which could be vestibular in origin, may be a clinical manifestation of COVID-19.

Keywords:

• Audio-vestibular
• COVID-19
• self-reported
• hearing loss
• tinnitus
• rotatory vertigo

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank our collaborators at the Ministry of Health and King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all of the participants in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the the Research Center of the Female Scientific and Medical Colleges, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and by the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre.