One of the most uncommon symptoms of COVID-19 is that it’s able to temporarily dampen your senses of taste and smell. We recognize that one of the first symptoms is loss of smell. But COVID-19 impacts more than just your sense of taste and smell. New discoveries are uncovering an unusual, but longer-term problem: long lasting sensorineural hearing loss.
How Can COVID-19 Cause Hearing Loss?
Every day scientists are learning more about COVID-19. But we’re really in the dark in many ways. 2019 is when the virus was first discovered. New pathogens normally take years or even decades for scientists to describe. One thing we do know about COVID is that it impacts different individuals in a lot of different ways (making it a really difficult and challenging problem).
You might experience a wide range of symptoms. And irreversible hearing loss is sometimes one of them. Why this occurs is still not known. It may be something called “cellular stress” caused by the virus. Based on this hypothesis, COVID places so much stress on your body that certain cells (such as those responsible for hearing) begin to deteriorate. But this kind of hearing loss could also be the result of your body’s own immune response. Occasionally, your immune system can go into overdrive and winds up causing considerable damage to your body.
Additionally, when other COVID symptoms are going away, this hearing loss can still become apparent. Again, we’re not quite certain why this occurs. We also don’t have a solid grasp of what kind of underlying circumstances might cause COVID-related hearing loss to be more or less likely to occur.
Can This Hearing Loss be Managed?
Irreversible sensorineural hearing loss is possible as a result of COVID-19. Of course, there are countless variables, and there are some treatments, too. It’s already been observed that early steroid treatments seem to help protect your hearing from added damage. If you do experience sudden loss of hearing, you need to see a doctor.
In either case, once you’ve fully recovered from your COVID-19 situation, it may be a good move to visit us and undergo a hearing examination.
There are several qualifiers to all of this that should be pointed out. Hearing loss, first off, isn’t a very common COVID symptom. We don’t know yet how common this particular symptom is yet. But it’s likely that the science on COVID will keep updating and changing as scientists discover more.
Can You Avoid COVID-Induced Hearing Loss?
If you have sudden changes in your hearing and you have COVID-19 contact your doctor and schedule a hearing exam with us. An early response could help lessen lasting hearing loss.
Try to stay healthy: The best way to prevent COVID-related hearing loss is to do everything possible to steer clear of contracting COVID in the first place. This means sticking with guidelines when it comes to social gatherings, physical distancing, and wearing a mask.
This symptom does occur though it’s rare. And you will be a lot better off with more insight about hearing loss and COIVID. It’s a good choice to come in for an evaluation if you think you’ve suffered hearing damage.
