Not only fever, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, but there are also other symptoms of Covid-19. One of which is a symptom that was recently reported. According to dr. Anton Sony Wibowo, Sp. T.H.T K.L, M.Sc., FICS., as a UGM Academic Hospital Doctor of otolaryngology (E.N.T.)/head and neck surgeons, hearing loss could be one of the symptoms of Covid-19.
Anton cited from Koumpa et al. 2020 study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that revealed a sudden, irreversible sensorineural hearing loss to the Covid-19 patients. This publication represented the first case reported last April 2020 in Thailand.
"The disorder arises as a type of hearing loss due to sensorineural hearing loss. Besides, there are sensations where the ear feels ringing and lack of hearing ability," Anton explained on Friday (26/3).
Furthermore, Anton said that up to date, there had been no exact number of cases reported. It was only taken from the cases in Iran and British. In Iran, hearing loss happened to people between 22-40 years old. Meanwhile, in British, it happened to a 45 years old man.
Anton had not known any further information related to the reasons why it affects the hearing system. However, according to Uranaka et al. (2020), there was a similar symptom case to the congestion or runny nose. In nerves and hearing organs, the virus is sticking to parts of the middle ear and inner ear.
"Currently, there has been no exact data published regarding how long patients will have the hearing loss caused by Covid-19. Based on the report in British, some cases can be treated, but it won't be recovered to normal as beforehand," he said.
Author: Ika
Photo: Illustration