Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct;278(10):3725-3730.
doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-06440-7. Epub 2020 Oct 23.

Tinnitus and equilibrium disorders in COVID-19 patients: preliminary results

Pasquale Viola  1 , Massimo Ralli  2 , Davide Pisani  3 , Donatella Malanga  4   5 , Domenico Sculco  1 , Luigi Messina  1 , Carla Laria  6 , Teodoro Aragona  7 , Gianluca Leopardi  8 , Francesco Ursini  9   10 , Alfonso Scarpa  11 , Davide Topazio  12 , Antonia Cama  13 , Viviana Vespertini  14 , Francesco Quintieri  14 , Lucio Cosco  14 , Elio Maria Cunsolo  15 , Giuseppe Chiarella  1
Affiliations

Tinnitus and equilibrium disorders in COVID-19 patients: preliminary results

Pasquale Viola et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: Tinnitus and equilibrium disorders such as dizziness and vertigo have been reported by patients with COVID-19; however, they have been rarely investigated. The aim of this study was to study the prevalence of subjective tinnitus and dizziness in a sample of COVID-19 patients using an online 10-item close-ended questionnaire.

Methods: A multicentric study that included 15 Italian hospitals in different regions was conducted using an online 10-item close-ended questionnaire developed to identify the presence of tinnitus and balance disorders in patients with COVID-19 between May 5 and June 10, 2020. The questionnaire was administered to 185 patients in a period of > 30 - < 60 days after diagnosis of COVID-19; responses were recorded in an online Excel spreadsheet. The questionnaire was composed of three sections: (1) demographic information; (2) presence and characteristics of tinnitus and dizziness after COVID-19 diagnosis; (3) possible association with migraine.

Results: Thirty-four patients (18.4%) reported equilibrium disorders after COVID-19 diagnosis. Of these, 32 patients reported dizziness (94.1%) and 2 (5.9%) reported acute vertigo attacks. Forty-three patients (23.2%) reported tinnitus; 14 (7.6%) reported both tinnitus and equilibrium disorders.

Conclusion: This study suggests that the presence of subjective otoneurological symptoms such as tinnitus and balance disorders can affect COVID-19 patients; further studies are necessary to investigate the prevalence and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these subjective symptoms in COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dizziness; Screening; Tinnitus; Vestibular disorders.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Equilibrium disorders in our sample after COVID-19 diagnosis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Tinnitus in our sample after COVID-19 diagnosis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gentile I, Abenavoli L. COVID-19: perspectives on the potential novel global threat. Rev Recent Clin Trials. 2020 doi: 10.2174/1574887115999200228100745. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tian S, Hu N, Lou J, Chen K, Kang X, Xiang Z, Chen H, Wang D, Liu N, Liu D, Chen G, Zhang Y, Li D, Li J, Lian H, Niu S, Zhang L, Zhang J. Characteristics of COVID-19 infection in Beijing. J Infect. 2020;80(4):401–406. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.02.018. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ahmad I, Rathore FA. Neurological manifestations and complications of COVID-19: A literature review. J ClinNeurosci. 2020;77:8–12. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.05.017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mao L, Jin H, Wang M, Hu Y, Chen S, He Q, Chang J, Hong C, Zhou Y, Wang D, Miao X, Li Y, Hu B. Neurologic manifestations of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan. China: JAMA Neurol; 2020. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Paniz-Mondolfi A, Bryce C, Grimes Z, Gordon RE, Reidy J, Lednicky J, Sordillo EM, Fowkes M. Central nervous system involvement by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) J Med Virol. 2020;92(7):699–702. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25915. - DOI - PMC - PubMed