One of the most unusual symptoms of COVID-19 is that it’s able to temporarily dampen your senses of smell and taste. Indeed, loss of smell is often one of the initial indications of infection. But your sense of smell and taste aren’t the only sense affected by COVID-19. New findings are pointing to an uncommon, but longer-term problem: long lasting sensorineural hearing loss.
How Can COVID-19 Cause Hearing Loss?
Scientists are learning more about COVID-19 each day. But there’s still a great deal we don’t understand. 2019 is when the virus was first discovered. New pathogens usually take years or decades for scientists to describe. And COVIC-19 is particularly challenging because it effects different individuals in different ways.
You may experience a wide array of symptoms. And one of those symptoms is lasting hearing loss. Researchers still aren’t sure why that happens. It might be something known as “cellular stress” caused by the virus. According to this hypothesis, COVID puts so much stress on your body that certain cells (like those responsible for hearing) start to deteriorate. But your body’s own immune response might also be responsible for this type of hearing loss. On occasion, your immune system can go into high gear and winds up contributing to significant damage to your body.
It’s also worth mentioning that occasionally this hearing loss can first appear when other COVID symptoms are on their way out. The actual timing isn’t completely understood. Nor do we have a solid understanding of what kind of underlying circumstances might cause COVID-related hearing loss to become more or less likely to take place.
Is There Any Treatment For This Kind of Hearing Loss?
Irreversible sensorineural hearing loss is possible as a result of COVID-19. There might be some treatment options depending on specific variables. As a matter of fact, researchers have noticed already that steroid treatments seem to help protect your hearing, particularly if you undergo early treatment. If you are affected by sudden loss of hearing, you need to consult a doctor.
Either way, once you’ve totally recovered from your COVID-19 situation, it may be a smart plan to visit us and get a hearing examination.
But it’s worth pointing out that there are a couple of qualifiers to all of this. First and foremost, hearing loss does seem to be a relatively uncommon symptom of COVID. We don’t know yet how common this particular symptom is at this point. But it’s likely that the science on COVID will keep updating and changing as scientists learn more.
Can COVID Induced Hearing Loss be Prevented?
Presently, if you’re already suffering with COVID, you need to let us or your doctor know as soon as possible if you have any sudden change to your hearing. Long-term hearing loss can be decreased by rapid response.
Try to prevent getting sick: Protecting yourself from contracting COVID-19 is the best way to prevent this type of hearing loss. So with regards to things such as social distancing, social gatherings, and wearing a mask, follow the guidelines.
This symptom does happen though it’s rare. And you will be substantially better off with more insight about hearing loss and COIVID. It’s a good decision to come in for an assessment if you think you’ve suffered hearing damage.