This is what happens when the corona virus enters the ear

The symptoms and effects of the corona virus on our body continue to accumulate and multiply, as for example in a new study that examined why corona patients report impaired hearing and balance and discovered how deep the virus can reach

Walla!

health

22/11/2021

Monday, 22 November 2021, 06:59

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Among the prominent and main symptoms of coronary heart disease (loss of taste and smell, fever, cough, sore throat, etc.) over the past two years have also appeared less conventional effects - such as nail damage, hair loss, and even a specific effect on the toes.

But even two years into the epidemic, we continue to discover new things about the virus and the disease it causes.

A new study is now being published on the effect of covid-19 on hearing and ears.

People who have had corona report symptoms such as hearing loss and tinnitus (chronic wheezing in the ears).

Alongside this, there are also reports of other ear-related symptoms, such as impaired balance.

To test these reports and understand whether the corona virus is particularly harmful to the ear, researchers collected 10 cases of corona patients who experienced ear or hearing problems.

In addition to testing the recoverers, the researchers also performed tests on mice.

Their findings were recently published in the journal Communications Medicine.

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Overall a pretty comfortable environment for the virus.

Ear (Photo: ShutterStock)

The researchers were first able to produce in vitro extracellular models under laboratory conditions that demonstrate an infection in the inner ear, to try to establish the mechanism by which covid-19 is contagious and harmful to the ear and ear canal.

In this way they discovered that within our ear there is a receptor called ACE2 that has already been identified in past studies as a possible pathway for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes coronary heart disease.

In addition, they identified in the cell model two other factors known to aid in the penetration of viruses: PRSS2TM and FURIN.

Which means that overall the corona virus has quite favorable conditions for ear injury.

Inside our ears there are also Schwan cells, another type of cell that the corona virus is quite fond of, and there are also hair cells that are also known as a favorite penetration point for pathogens.

When all of these points are put together, the ear is portrayed as a really friendly environment and allows for the corona virus.

"In our study we see that the ear cells in humans and mice are above a molecular structure that allows the penetration of the corona virus," the researchers wrote. Weight that Corona patients and recoverers suffer from. "

Tinnitus, hearing loss and impaired balance.

Woman holding ear (Photo: ShutterStock)

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Although the study examined only 10 cases of corona patients with ear or hearing problems, it is possible to infer from them the possible symptoms that corona patients may experience in their ears. For all ten cases, fairly similar symptoms were recorded that included significant moderate hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo.

In terms of how the virus causes these damages, the researchers identified 3 main courses of action: First, the virus infects and consequently destroys hair cells in the auditory cochlea, which play a critical role in hearing. Second, the virus infects and kills vestibular hair cells, tiny bristles whose job it is to notice changes in movement (for example, when turning the head, increasing or slowing down speed, etc.) - this damage may manifest itself in balance problems. And third, damage to the vestibular or auditory nerve cells, two cells whose function is to report back to the brain what they are perceiving.

If the explanations in the last paragraph made you feel like a match and you do not really know what to do with all this information, here is a practical tip from us - in the near future it is less advisable to share your Airfoods with other people.

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• ears

• ear

• hearing

• Equilibrium

• Corona

• covid-19