COVID-19 has a few uncommon symptoms such as dampening your sense of taste and smell. Indeed, loss of smell is often one of the first signs of infection. But COVID-19 impacts more than just your sense of smell and taste. Sensorineural hearing loss is an uncommon and permanent issue according to new findings.
How Can COVID-19 Result In Hearing Loss?
Every day scientists are learning more about COVID-19. But there’s still a lot we don’t understand. 2019 is when the virus was first discovered. Usually, scientists work for years, if not decades, to thoroughly describe a new pathogen. And COVIC-19 is particularly difficult because it impacts different people in different ways.
You might experience a wide range of symptoms. And one of those symptoms is permanent hearing loss. Why this happens is still not evident. It may be something known as “cellular stress” caused by the virus. Certain cells (like the cells in your ear) will begin to deteriorate, according to this theory, because the virus puts so much stress on the body. But your body’s own immune response could also be responsible for this type of hearing loss. Considerable damage can be done to your body when your immune system overcompensates.
Also, when other COVID symptoms are almost gone, this hearing loss can still become apparent. The exact timing isn’t completely understood. Nor do we have a good understanding of what sort of underlying circumstances might cause COVID-related hearing loss to be more or less likely to take place.
Is There Any Treatment For This Kind of Hearing Loss?
Sensorineural hearing loss caused by COVID-19 can certainly be permanent. There may be a few treatment possibilities depending on certain variables. It’s already been discovered that early steroid treatments seem to help protect your hearing from additional damage. It’s important to see a doctor right away if you experience sudden loss of hearing.
Either way, once you’ve completely recovered from your COVID-19 experience, it might be a smart plan to visit us and have a hearing test.
But it’s worth mentioning that there are a few qualifiers to all of this. First of all, hearing loss does seem to be a fairly uncommon symptom of COVID. We don’t know yet how widespread this particular symptom is at this point. But it’s likely that the science on COVID will continue to update and change as scientists learn more.
Can You Prevent COVID-Related Hearing Loss?
Right now, if you already have COVID, you should let us or your doctor know as soon as possible if you have any sudden change to your hearing. An early response might help minimize lasting hearing loss.
Try to remain healthy: The best way to protect against COVID-related hearing loss is to do whatever you can to steer clear of getting COVID in the first place. This means sticking with guidelines in regards to social gatherings, physical distancing, and wearing a mask.
This symptom does occur though it’s rare. And the more information you have about COVID and hearing loss, the better. It’s a good decision to come in for a test if you think you have suffered hearing damage.
