Sudden sensorineural hearing loss as a sequela after recovery from post-COVID pneumonia on an atherosclerotic patient: A single case study

Abstract

It has recently been discovered that COVID-19 is a major contributor to ear disorders and hearing loss such as high-frequency hearing loss and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Several causes of SSNHL are cited in the literature, including loud noise, ototoxicity, trauma, metabolic diseases, and viral infections. SSNHL could be sequelae of post-COVID-19 infections in people who have metabolic problems or chronic illnesses and this could be ruled out in previously normal hearing-healthy persons. A 57-year-old male reported to the department of Audiology with the complaint of sudden commencement of reduced hearing sensitivity & ringing sensation in his left ear 2 weeks after a post-COVID history of pneumonia. The onset of hearing loss was sudden and progressive. The client’s medical history revealed that he has CAD -Acute inferio posterior wall Mayo cardial Infarction and has had H/o hyperlipemia for the previous 10 years. A battery of audiological tests was administered over the course of a year, and a diagnosis of severe unilateral sensory neurological hearing loss was made. We attempt to understand the potential mechanism of sudden hearing loss in post-COVID pneumonia patients with atherosclerosis through this single case study. SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammation may influence atherosclerotic plaques which cause prothrombotic alterations in the blood and endothelium of the cochlear region as a result of COVID-19 infection. During COVID pneumonia attack increased blood viscosity with atherosclerosis of the cochlear vessels reduces the blood perfusion of the cochlea and results in hearing impairment.