"There is so much speculation about this virus and the damage it causes, and we have shown that at least in the audio system - at the moment no damage has been observed," explains Prof. Keren Avraham from Tel Aviv University, who is partnering in the research together with Dr. Amiel Dror and Dr. Eyal Sela from Ziv Hospital and the faculty Bar Ilan medicine in Safed
Since the outbreak of the corona virus, there have been quite a few reports in the professional literature that the corona virus may cause a decrease in hearing among patients and convalescents. A new study by Tel Aviv University in collaboration with the Galil Medical Center contradicts the reports and states that in testing the quality of hearing among corona patients - no evidence of damage to the hearing system was found.
The study was conducted by Prof. Keren Avraham from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University together with Dr. Amiel Dror and Dr. Eyal Sela from the Galilee Medical Center and the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar Ilan University. The results of the study were published in the prestigious journal Otology & Neurotology.
Prof. Avraham explains that "During the outbreak of the plague, it was clear that the disease has long-term effects, such as the loss of the sense of taste. At the same time, differences of opinion began among the doctors in the field regarding the question of the sense of hearing, when some of them reported in the professional literature about a decrease in hearing among patients and those recovering from COVID-19. The question was whether the reported symptoms were caused by the disease itself, i.e. whether the disease also leads to damage to the auditory system, or whether it is a temporary hearing impairment resulting from Fluid in the middle ear and a feeling of tightness in the ears, as often happens with a cold."
In view of the importance of the issue, the researchers hurried to start the research already during the first wave that hit Israel, when the number of patients and recoveries was still relatively low. The study was conducted among eight asymptomatic corona infected people (and eight volunteers for the control group), without any background of hearing loss, and provided for the first time quantitative measures of the quality of hearing after exposure to the virus.
Dr. Dror adds: "In our research, we tested whether the corona virus could cause permanent nerve or sensory damage and we found no evidence of such damage. In order to investigate the phenomenon quantitatively and objectively, we did not limit ourselves to the subjects' reports, but used electrical recordings from the brainstem to examine the entire path of the sound waves in the ear - from the moment when an acoustic stimulus enters the ear canal, hits the eardrum, vibrates the ossicles and progresses into the cochlea until to receive the electrical waves in the brain. In addition, we tested the activity of the outer hair cells, which amplify and direct the voice, and we did not find any difference between those infected with the corona virus and the control group."
"It is true that this is a study that in the first stage included eight asymptomatic recoveries," explains Prof. Avraham, "but objective scientific research requires a lot of time - and we started recruiting our volunteers back in April, at the height of the first wave in Israel. There is so much speculation about this virus And the damage it causes, and we have shown that at least in the audio system - currently no damage is observed." These days, Prof. Avraham and Dr. Dror are conducting a follow-up, much more comprehensive study, which includes hundreds of patients - including those recovering from inhalation - with the aim of expanding the findings to additional questions.
"It is very important to base the knowledge about the virus on objective studies and to avoid hasty conclusions," says Dr. Dror. "On social media, many diseases and symptoms of various kinds have been attributed to the corona virus, when in many cases this information is unfounded and leads to unnecessary stress and a burden on the health system."
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