Abstract
Background Some viral infections can cause congenital or acquired unilateral or bilateral hearing
loss. It is predicted that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus, which can
affect many systems in the body, may also have a negative effect on hearing.
Purpose This study evaluated the effects of COVID-19 infection on pure-tone average.
Research Design A case–control study.
Materials and Methods A total of 104 volunteers (48 control, 56 experimental group) who applied to the
ENT clinic of Adıyaman University Training and Research Hospital were included in
this study. After the detailed clinical examination and medical history, 13 volunteers
of the experimental group and 5 volunteers from the control group were excluded from
the study. In this way, each group consisted of 43 volunteers. While the experimental
group consisted of patients who did not have any hearing problems before but had COVID-19.
The control group consisted of healthy volunteers who did not have any hearing problems
and were not infected with COVİD-19. Audiological test was applied to all volunteers
to determine their pure-tone average. On the data obtained, it was analyzed whether
COVID-19 affects the pure-tone average and how it changes according to variables such
as age and gender.
Results The evaluation of the 43 (50.0%) COVID-19-positive patients and 43 (50.0%) healthy
controls showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) at 250 and 500 Hz, whereas at 4000, 6000, and 8000 Hz, the two groups differed
significantly. In addition, significant differences were found in the left and right
ears at 1000 and 2000 Hz (p < 0.05). The differences between the two groups in the pure-tone average of the left
and right ear were statistically significant (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant sex-based differences in the pure-tone
average between males and females (p > 0.05)
Conclusion The pure-tone average of COVID-19 positive patients was significantly worse than
those of the healthy control group. Thus, COVID-19 should also be considered in patients
presenting with unexplained hearing loss. Further studies should investigate the effects
of COVID-19 on hearing and the underlying pathophysiology.
Keywords
COVID-19 - hearing loss - cochlea function - audiometry
