Month: November 2020

Tinnitus and Covid research

headache
headache

Research

New research has found that 40% of those displaying symptoms of Covid-19 simultaneously experience a worsening of their tinnitus.  Also tinnitus could be a “long Covid symptom”.

Tinnitus affects an estimated one in eight adults in the UK and is associated with reduced emotional wellbeing, depression, and anxiety.

Internal worries such as fear of catching COVID-19, financial concerns, loneliness and trouble sleeping have contributed to making tinnitus more bothersome for 32% of people overall, with external factors such as increased video calls, noisier home environments, home schooling and increased coffee and alcohol consumption also cited by respondents.

Females and the under-50’s found tinnitus significantly more bothersome during the pandemic.

The study noted that as well as increasing the severity of tinnitus symptoms, the COVID-19 pandemic has also made it more difficult for people to access healthcare support for the condition. This could further increase emotional distress and worsen tinnitus symptoms, creating a vicious cycle.

David Stockdale, Chief Executive of the British Tinnitus Association said: “With the second wave of Covid-19 and the resulting national lockdown likely to increase feelings of stress and isolation, it’s vital that we don’t see the same mistakes as before when it comes to community health provision for people with tinnitus”.

“Poor treatment of tinnitus in the early stages often leads to much worse cases and severe tinnitus can have a huge impact on mental health.”

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For full details of the report click here

Covid link to hearing loss research

mask and germs graphic
Covid link to hearing loss

To help answer whether Covid really does cause hearing loss The UK’s Manchester Biomedical Centre has received funding from 2 charities, Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID, until recently known as Action on Hearing Loss) and the Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Trust.

Professor Kevin Munro, Director (research) of the Manchester Centre of Audiology and Deafness (MacCAD), has become the go-to UK expert between COVID and other health conditions.

The basis for the research is the premise that viruses such as measles, mumps, and meningitis are known to damage hearing, so it is possible that this coronavirus can also result in hearing loss. In an earlier 2020 study by the Manchester researchers, adults with COVID-19 were followed up eight weeks after hospital discharge, more than one in ten of them self-reporting a deterioration in their hearing or the presence of tinnitus.

The proposed further research will involve use of a mobile test facility to assess 218 patients who have been discharged from hospital, half with COVID-19.

The Effects Of Coronavirus

The coronavirus has been found to affect the body in myriad ways, from a loss of taste and smell to organ damage. Now doctors have reported fresh evidence that Covid could also affect hearing.

Experts at University College London report the case of a 45-year-old man with asthma who was admitted to intensive care with Covid, ventilated, and given drugs including the antiviral remdesivir and intravenous steroids.

A week after leaving intensive care he developed a ringing sound – tinnitus – and then hearing loss in his left ear.

The team say none of the medications the man was given would be expected to cause damage to his hearing, while he had no problems with his ear canals or ear drums. Further investigation showed no sign of autoimmune problems, while he did not have flu or HIV – conditions previously linked to hearing loss. What’s more, the man had never had hearing problems before.

Subsequent tests revealed the man had sensorineural hearing loss in his left ear – a situation where the inner ear or the nerve responsible for sound is inflamed or damaged. This was treated with steroids with partial success.