A coronavirus infection can cause dangerous lung or brain damage.
Other parts of the body can also be immensely damaged, such as the middle ear.
British ear, nose and throat doctors have described the first case of sudden and permanent hearing loss as a result of Covid-19, according to the Pharmazeutische Zeitung (PZ).
A 45-year-old man with asthma was hospitalized for a coronavirus infection and suffered sudden hearing loss as a result of the illness.
In such a case, the following medical measures are particularly important, as the researchers strongly advise.
An international team of researchers came to the conclusion in a publication in November 2020 that Covid-19 can trigger the development of tinnitus *.
A current case report published by scientists from University College London also suggests that
coronaviruses can damage the ears
.
In the specialist journal BMJ Case Reports, the British researchers described the case of a 45-year-old asthmatic who suffered from sudden hearing loss as a result of Covid-19 disease.
Except for his asthma, the 45-year-old was considered healthy and fit, as described in the case report.
The patient had to be treated in a clinic due to a severe course of Covid disease, where he was transferred to the intensive care unit because of shortness of breath.
He was given mechanical ventilation there for 30 days.
The patient's therapy also included the administration of Remdesivir, intravenous corticosteroids and a blood transfusion, as reported by the Pharmazeutische Zeitung (PZ).
His condition improved,
but the patient developed tinnitus in the left ear one week after discharge from the intensive care unit, followed by sudden complete hearing loss in the same ear.
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Causal relationship between corona infection and hearing loss
After therapy with steroid tablets and injections, the hearing came back to some extent, as the PZ informed.
However, when looking for the cause of the sudden hearing loss, the treating doctors initially groped in the dark: Neither an inflammation in the ear could be found, nor any other possible causes such as rheumatoid arthritis or an influenza or HIV infection that lead to sudden hearing loss can have.
Doctors therefore suspect a causal connection between a Sars CoV-2 infection and sudden hearing loss
.
This is supported by the fact that corona viruses could attack the epithelial cells in the middle ear.
"SARS-CoV-2 also creates an inflammatory response and an increase in substances that have been associated with hearing loss," says the BMJ case report.
Reports of hearing loss as a result of Covid-19 are rare, but British researchers advise medical professionals to monitor their patients for possible hearing loss.
This is especially important because a rapid therapy with corticosteroids can reverse the hearing loss
, as stated in the case report.
(jg)
*
Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network
.
More sources: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.592878/full
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