(Newser)
– An audiology professor who co-authored an article on COVID-19 and tinnitus that was published on Monday got a good response – about 100 emails in 24 hours, according to Kevin Munro of the University of Manchester. New York News. “Almost all of them were people who said,‘ I was very happy to read about this, because my doctor thought I was crazy when I mentioned tinnitus and now I know I’m not the only one. ’The WHO or CDC doesn’t list ears as a symptom COVID-19 (the UK NHS includes it in a list of symptoms of long-haul carriers), it turns out it may be, and the possibility is to attract the next Thursday’s CEO suicide of Texas Roadhouse, Kent Taylor, whose family said he took his own life after “unbearable” suffering from COVID-19-related symptoms, including severe tinnitus.
He Time observe what evidence is emerging. There is Munro’s paper for one, published Monday in International Journal of Audiology. He reviewed COVID-19 case reports and studies through December 2020 and found that “tinnitus was the most documented audio-vestibular symptom … with an estimated prevalence of 14.8%.” That said, the authors urged caution because of several points, including that some studies relied on national tinnitus associations to reach participants. They noted that while they found no reports of coronavirus-related audio-vestibular symptoms previously known as SARS and MERS, other viruses such as measles and rubella are associated with hearing loss. He Washington Post analyzes theories of what might be at stake, including the impact of viral inflammation on the inner ear. (Read more tinnitus stories).