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Assessment of cochlear functions in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection

SARS-CoV-2 infection intensely increases thromboembolic events and inflammation. The inner ear can be easily damaged as a result of circulatory disorders and inflammation. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 may negatively affect the cochlea. Outer hairy cell damage in the inner ear is one of the first signs of sensorineural hearing loss. Otoacoustic emissions use is an effective, objective, and non-invasive method for early detection of hearing loss. Our study aims to determine whether the cochlea is affected in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection who did not need intensive care treatment by using Distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) measurements. This study was conducted on 26 hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection (patient group) and 25 healthy volunteers (control group). DPOAE measurements were performed on all participants in an audiometric test room. The DP-grams were obtained between 498Hz and 10000Hz. The DPOAE measurements were compared between two groups. When evaluated as a cluster, DP1 and the SNR values were found to be significantly lower in the patient group at frequencies 498, 996, 2002, 7998, 10000 Hz and frequencies 498, 996, 2002, 4004, 6299Hz, respectively. When the right and left ears of the patient group were compared, DP1 and SNR values were found to be similar at all frequencies. SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause damage to the outer hair cells and the regions of the cochlea belonging to a wide range of frequencies according to our DPOAE measurements and due to the specific characteristics of the virus.