Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss among COVID-19 Patients-Our Experiences at an Indian Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To study the sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in patients with COVID-19 infections. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study. There were 16 COVID-19 patients participated in this study those presented with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). The study was done between March 2020 to August 2020. All these patients were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection with help of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing. Results: Out of 652 COVID-19 patients, 16 (2.45%) patients diagnosed with SSNHL. Out of 16 patients with SSNHL, 11 (68.75%) were male and 5 (31.25%) were female with male to female ratio of 2.2:1. The age ranges of the participants were 38 to 72 years with a mean age of 48.42 years. There were 14 (87.50%) patients were presented with unilateral and 2 (12.50%) were presented with bilateral SSNHL. There were left sided SSNHL in 9 patients (56.25%) and right side SSNHL in 5 patients (31.25%). Conclusion: There should be continuous monitoring of the SSNHL. Tracing COVID-19 infection is needed to ensure a detailed understanding of this inner ear pathogenesis.