Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in COVID-19:
A Case Report and Literature Review
Short running title: Sudden hearing loss in COVID-19
Authors: Beckers Eline MD1, Chouvel Pascale
MD1, Cassetto Valérie MD2, Mustin
Vincent MD1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck
Surgery, Cliniques de l’Europe, Brussels, Belgium2Department of Radiology, Cliniques de l’Europe,
Brussels, Belgium
Corresponding author:Beckers Eline
Cliniques de l’Europe
Rue Linthout 150, 1040 Bruxelles, Belgium
0032 26143743
e.beckers@cliniquesdeleurope.be
Funding and Conflict of Interests: The authors declare that
there is no conflict of interest nor funding.
ABSTRACT This report describes the case of a 53-year-old man with SARS-CoV-2
infection and occurrence of complete unilateral sensorineural hearing
loss, adding new evidence to the association between COVID-19 and
hearing loss. Whether this is the result of endothelial cell dysfunction
in the cochlea or central auditory pathways remains unclear.
Key words: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Coronavirus, sudden sensorineural
hearing loss, deafness
Key Clinical Message: We encourage SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain
reaction in the diagnostic work-up of patients currently presenting with
sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
INTRODUCTIONSince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical profile of
patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection has been extensively investigated,
also in the otorhinolaryngological field. The virus was found to trigger
anosmia in a substantial number of infected
patients(1), and furthermore, a link with sudden
sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) has been suggested.
A first note on the link between COVID-19 and hearing loss was published
online in April 2020 by Sriwijitalai et al.(2) In June
2020, Karimi-Galougahi et al. reported three cases of SSNHL in patients
with positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR), raising the
need to closely examine this new association.(3)
Our PubMed search, conducted in November 2020 with the search terms
“COVID”, “Corona”, “Coronavirus”, “hearing loss” and
“deafness”, retrieved only 6 reports consisting of 8 audiometrically
confirmed cases of SSNHL in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients
worldwide.(3–8) The cases are summarized in Table 1.