Department of Physical Therapy, Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Department of Physical Therapy, Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2024 Aug 3;79:100472. doi: 10.1016/j.clinsp.2024.100472. eCollection 2024.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the peripheral and central auditory pathways in adult individuals after COVID-19 infection.
A total of 44 individuals aged between 19 and 58 years, of both genders, post-COVID-19 infection, confirmed by serological tests, with no previous hearing complaints and no risk factors for hearing loss, were assessed. All the participants underwent the following procedures: pure tone audiometry, logoaudiometry, immitanciometry, and Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials (BAEP), in addition to answering a questionnaire about auditory symptoms.
Thirteen individuals (29.5 %) had some hearing threshold impairment, mainly sensorineural hearing loss. In the BAEP, 18 individuals (40.9 %) presented longer latencies, mainly in waves III and V. According to the questionnaire answers, 3 individuals (9.1 %) reported worsened hearing and 7 (15.9 %) tinnitus that emerged after the infection. As for the use of ototoxic drugs during treatment, 7 individuals (15.9 %) reported their use, of which 5 showed abnormalities in peripheral and/or central auditory assessments.
Considering the self-reported hearing complaints after COVID-19 infection and the high rate of abnormalities found in both peripheral and central audiological assessments, it is suggested that the new COVID-19 may compromise the auditory system. Due to the many variables involved in this study, the results should be considered with caution. However, it is essential that audiological evaluations are carried out on post-COVID-19 patients in order to assess the effects of the infection in the short, medium, and long term. Future longitudinal investigations are important for a better understanding of the auditory consequences of COVID-19.
本研究旨在探讨 COVID-19 感染后成年个体的外周和中枢听觉通路。
共纳入 44 名年龄在 19 至 58 岁之间的成年 COVID-19 感染者（通过血清学检测确诊），男女不限，无听力障碍既往史，也无听力损失风险因素。所有参与者均接受以下检查：纯音听阈测试、言语测听、声导抗测试和脑干听觉诱发电位（BAEP），同时还需填写一份有关听觉症状的问卷。
13 名患者（29.5%）存在一定程度的听力阈值损害，主要为感音神经性听力损失。BAEP 结果显示，18 名患者（40.9%）潜伏期延长，主要表现为 III 波和 V 波潜伏期延长。根据问卷回答，3 名患者（9.1%）报告听力下降，7 名患者（15.9%）报告感染后出现耳鸣。在治疗期间使用耳毒性药物方面，7 名患者（15.9%）报告使用过此类药物，其中 5 名患者在外周和/或中枢听觉评估中存在异常。
鉴于 COVID-19 感染后出现的听力主诉以及外周和中枢听觉评估中发现的异常率较高，提示新型冠状病毒可能会损害听觉系统。鉴于本研究涉及许多变量，结果应谨慎考虑。但是，对 COVID-19 患者进行听觉评估至关重要，以便在短期、中期和长期评估感染的影响。未来的纵向研究对于更好地了解 COVID-19 的听觉后果非常重要。
