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. 2021 Aug 4:12:707207.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.707207. eCollection 2021.

Auditory Disturbances and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Brain Inflammation or Cochlear Affection? Systematic Review and Discussion of Potential Pathogenesis

Pietro De Luca  1 , Alfonso Scarpa  1 , Massimo Ralli  2 , Domenico Tassone  3 , Matteo Simone  3 , Luca De Campora  3 , Claudia Cassandro  4 , Arianna Di Stadio  5
Affiliations

Auditory Disturbances and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Brain Inflammation or Cochlear Affection? Systematic Review and Discussion of Potential Pathogenesis

Pietro De Luca et al. Front Neurol. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Patients affected by COVID-19 present a series of different symptoms; despite some of these are common, other less likely appear. Auditory symptoms seem to be less frequent, maybe because rarer or, alternatively, because they are underestimated during the clinical investigation. The hearing impairment might be related to the central or peripheral involvement of the auditory pathways; in particular, the likelihood of thrombosis might be one of the causes. To date, the prevalence of auditory symptoms such as sudden or progressive sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus is unclear in COVID-19 patients. However, their presence might be an early sign of thrombosis or spread of the infection into the brain. In this systematic review of the literature we investigated the presence of auditory symptoms in COVID-19 patients and discussed their potential origin and causal relationship with SARS-CoV-2. Results showed that, despite rarely, auditory impairment can appear in patients with COVID-19 and should always be investigated for an early treatment and potential indicator of involvement of the central nervous system.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; brain inflammation; hearing loss; sudden hearing impairment; tinnitus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer AF declared a past co-authorship with two of the authors AS and CC to the handling Editor.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prisma diagram to illustrate the method used to select the articles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Indirect Virus Effect. The images illustrates the different position of a potential trombosis, which can determine the onset of the audio-vestibular disorders because it stops the blood flow in the audiovestibular artery.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Direct Virus Effect. The image clearly shows the contiguity between the olfactory and the auditory areas. The virus can easy spread from the olfactory bulb to the olfactory area, reach the auditory area and once there inducing neuroinflammation responsible of the onset of the auditory symptoms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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