Why tinnitus is being reported in people with confirmed COVID-19 is unclear. Surprisingly, there are no clinical tests that can diagnose tinnitus, so hearing specialists rely on self-reports. This usually becomes less bothersome when the source of the stress and anxiety is removed. If people lie awake at night, stressed and anxious because of an impending deadline, financial concerns or bereavement, it is not uncommon that they will find themselves attending to noises in their ears. There are also strong links between tinnitus and stress. The hearing organ is clearly extremely sensitive because almost everyone will experience temporary tinnitus if they are in a very quiet environment. Interestingly, there are reports that tinnitus is a common symptom of long COVID, which is where symptoms last weeks or months after the infection has gone. In fact, tinnitus is often the first warning that, for instance, exposure to loud noise or drugs that are toxic to the ear has damaged the hearing system. Most people with tinnitus also have hearing loss, suggesting a close link between the two.
Tinnitus is a common condition, affecting around 17% of all adults. The most common symptom is tinnitus (ringing in the ears) followed by hearing difficulties and vertigo. Our analysis of the pooled data, published in the International Journal of Audiology, reveals that 7%-15% of adults diagnosed with COVID-19 report audio-vestibular symptoms. My colleagues and I have identified about 60 studies that report audio-vestibular problems in people with confirmed COVID-19. Now that the pandemic has been with us for over a year, more studies have been published and researchers have been able to estimate how common these symptoms might be. However, both the quantity and quality of the early studies were low. In the first few months of the pandemic, a rapid systematic review of COVID-19 and hearing difficulties revealed a possible link between COVID-19 and audio-vestibular symptoms (hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo).
Some viruses, such as measles, mumps and meningitis, can cause hearing difficulties, but what about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19?
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