Could Tinnitus Also Be a Symptom of COVID-19? Here’s What We Know – Healthline
Share on PinterestSome people are reporting symptoms of tinnitus (ringing in the ears) after developing COVID-19. Gabriel Bucataru/Stocksy UnitedTinnitus is the perception of sound when no actual external noise is present. It’s often explained as “ringing in the ears.”During the pandemic, reports of tinnitus rose, especially in people with COVID-19, according to a study.Experts explain how the connection between COVID-19 and tinnitus is biologically possible but needs more research.
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Share on PinterestSome people are reporting symptoms of tinnitus (ringing in the ears) after developing COVID-19. Gabriel Bucataru/Stocksy United
- Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no actual external noise is present. It’s often explained as “ringing in the ears.”
- During the pandemic, reports of tinnitus rose, especially in people with COVID-19, according to a study.
- Experts explain how the connection between COVID-19 and tinnitus is biologically possible but needs more research.
As scientists learn more about the prolonged effects of COVID-19, tinnitus has made it on their list of conditions to research.
Often referred to as “ringing in the ears,” tinnitus is the perception of sound when no actual external noise is present.
Of the millions of people who live with tinnitus, many report hearing buzzing, hissing, whistling, swooshing, clicking, and in rare cases, music.
“Persistent and constant tinnitus can impact overall quality of life when it interferes with concentration, hearing, sleep, and a person’s mood. Patients with clinically significant tinnitus can become stuck in a vicious cycle where their sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are out of balance, which may lead to anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep,” Julie Prutsman, audiologist, board member of the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), and founder of the Sound Relief Hearing Center, told Healthline.
The ATA states that tinnitus is a symptom of an underlying health condition. In most cases, tinnitus is caused by a “sensorineural reaction in the brain to damage in the ear and auditory system.”
According to a 2011–12 survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 20 million people deal with burdensome tinnitus on a regular basis, and approximately 2 million people have severe, sometimes debilitating, tinnitus.
“Tinnitus is very common. The older you get, the more common it is. It can be very mild, intermittent, and severe and disabling, and change your whole quality of life. It has led to people being so afflicted that they take their own life,” Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, told Healthline.
A 2021 study published in the International Journal of Audiology estimated that almost 15 percent of people with COVID-19 said they had tinnitus, often early in the course of their infection.
Audiologists like Prutsman have heard anecdotal accounts from patients who say they have experienced changes in hearing and tinnitus after having COVID-19.
Almost all viruses cause an inflammatory response to the host cells, which …….
