Man has permanent hearing loss after fighting COVID-19 in the UK. Here’s what we know
Aside from asthma, a healthy 45-year-old man in the U.K. experienced sudden permanent hearing loss as a result of his coronavirus infection, doctors say. It’s the first official case in that country.
Although uncommon in coronavirus patients so far, this side effect has been reported a handful of times since the pandemic began. Still, experts say there’s not enough evidence to draw direct connections between SARS-CoV-2 and hearing problems because these issues can be caused by outside factors, including certain medications.
“Despite the considerable literature on COVID-19 and the various symptoms associated with the virus, there is a lack of discussion on the relationship between COVID-19 and hearing,” the report published Tuesday in BMJ Case Reports says. “Hearing loss and tinnitus [ringing in the ears] are symptoms that have been seen in patients with both COVID-19 and influenza virus, but have not been highlighted.”
The man in the report had been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days and was admitted to a hospital intensive care unit, where he was put on a ventilator for 30 days.
After receiving the antiviral medication remdesivir, intravenous steroids and blood transfusions, the man was released from the hospital. But a week later, the man noticed a ringing in his left ear and then sudden hearing loss, according to the report.
The doctors say his ear canals showed no blockages or inflammation, yet a test revealed he had “substantially lost” hearing in the affected ear. Steroid tablets and injections helped him to partially recover, the report reads.
Hearing loss is common with some viral infections
It’s pretty common for some viral infections to bring about hearing problems such as the flu, herpes, or other upper respiratory tract illnesses, Dr. Elias Michaelides, medical director of audiology and otolaryngology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, told AARP, a nonprofit organization that focuses on issues facing aging adults.
That’s because mucus membranes “tend to get very stuffy,” so fluid can build up behind the eardrum, Michaelides said.
However, the U.K. man tested negative for rheumatoid arthritis, flu and HIV, leading his doctors to conclude his hearing loss is associated with his COVID-19 infection and not other illnesses, the report said.
The doctors note it’s important to dig deeper into the issue of hearing loss and COVID-19 because a quick steroid treatment can reverse the “disabling condition” before it’s too late, according to the release on the report.
It’s known that some medications such as remdesivir, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine — drugs currently being used to treat coronavirus patients — can cause ear damage.
Past research also shows that the cochlear hair cells that process sound vibrations in the ear are vulnerable to restricted oxygen and blood supply, a common complication in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the AARP article reports.
A study out of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found evidence of the coronavirus lodged in the middle ear of deceased COVID-19 patients through autopsies, suggesting this virus might have some resemblance to the others known to cause hearing loss.
What’s more, the doctors said in their report that the inflammatory response from SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to drive a spike in chemicals that have been linked to hearing loss. A separate report published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings explains how a healthy 60-year-old man who suffered deafness with loud tinnitus after his symptoms improved.
