Covid may cause sudden, permanent hearing loss - UK study

[Eugene]

Related: Sudden irreversible hearing loss post COVID-19 (BMJ Case Reports)

______________________________________________________________________

Source: The Guardian

Covid may cause sudden, permanent hearing loss – UK study

Study team says Covid-19 patients in intensive care should be asked about hearing loss

Nicola Davis Science correspondent
@NicolaKSDavis
Tue 13 Oct 2020 23.30 BST

Covid-19 may cause sudden and permanent hearing loss, experts have found, adding that such problems need early detection and urgent treatment.

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.

Writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, 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.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/13/covid-may-cause-sudden-permanent-hearing-loss-uk-study

[appalachiablue]

1. Awful. More from the article:

..Kevin Munro, professor of audiology at the University of Manchester, who was not involved in the work, said it is known that other viruses, including measles and mumps, can affect hearing, while he has been contacted by a large number of Covid survivors reporting a change in their hearing or tinnitus.

Work from his team previously found that 16 of 121 patients admitted to hospital with Covid, and who completed a survey, reported hearing problems about two months after discharge.

Munro said his team is now investigating the prevalence and causes of such problems, noting it is unclear whether they are down to the virus itself, the immune system response, stress, or even treatments for Covid – or whether it could simply be that hearing problems become apparent in a noisy hospital where individuals wear masks.

“I think there’s likely to be lots of explanations for why people were reporting problems,” he said.

[AZ8theist]

2. Too bad it doesn't cause the sudden, permanent speech loss along with inability to twitter....

Many American lives would be saved ....