COVID-19 has a few uncommon symptoms including dampening your sense of smell and taste. We know that one of the first signs is loss of smell. But COVID-19 impacts more than just your sense of taste and smell. Sensorineural hearing loss is an unusual and permanent issue according to new studies.
How Can COVID-19 Lead to Hearing Loss?
Scientists are discovering more about COVID-19 each day. But we’re really in the dark in a lot of ways. The virus itself was only first observed in late 2019. Normally, scientists work for years, even decades, to fully identify a new pathogen. And COVIC-19 can be especially challenging because it effects different people in different ways.
You may experience a wide variety of symptoms. And irreversible hearing loss can be one of them. Scientists still aren’t sure why that happens. It might be something called “cellular stress” caused by the virus. Certain cells (such as the cells in your ear) will start to deteriorate, according to this hypothesis, because the virus places so much strain on the body. But your body’s own immune response might also be responsible for this kind of hearing loss. Sometimes, your immune system can go into overdrive and ends up contributing to considerable damage to your body.
It’s also worth noting that sometimes this hearing loss can first appear when other COVID symptoms are almost gone. The exact timing isn’t really understood. We also have no clue why it’s more or less likely to happen.
Is There Any Treatment For This Type of Hearing Loss?
Permanent sensorineural hearing loss is possible as a result of COVID-19. There might be some treatment possibilities depending on certain variables. It’s already been observed that early steroid treatments seem to help protect your hearing from further damage. If you do experience sudden loss of hearing, you need to talk to a doctor.
In either case, once you’ve completely recovered from your COVID-19 experience, it might be a smart move to visit us and have a hearing examination.
But it’s worth mentioning that there are a few qualifiers to all of this. Hearing loss, first off, is not a very common COVID symptom. At the moment, we’re not certain how prevalent this symptom is. But as scientists learn more about COVID-19 the science will change.
Can You Prevent COVID-Related Hearing Loss?
If you have sudden changes in your hearing and you have COVID-19 get in touch with your doctor and schedule a hearing exam with us. Long-term hearing loss can be reduced by rapid response.
Try to stay healthy: The best way to protect against COVID-related hearing loss is to do whatever you can 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 happen though it’s rare. And the more information you have about COVID and hearing loss, the better. If you think you’ve already had hearing damage, it’s probably a wise decision to come in and get checked.