No COVID-19 in Patients With Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL)
L. Bengt van Rijssen, Wynia Derks, Ruth Hoffmans, Marjolein A. van Looij, J. Peter van Maanen, Hester S. van Monsjou, Heike J. Nyst, Peter M. van Rijn, Lenka Vermeeren, Nico de Vries, Madeline J. Ravesloot
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Various case reports have described sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in patients with the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Our aim was to determine the incidence of COVID-19 in patients with SSNHL. METHODS: All consecutive patients with audiometric confirmed SSNHL between November 2020 and March 2021 in a Dutch large inner city teaching hospital were included. All patients were tested for COVID-19 by polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) and awaited the results in quarantine. RESULTS: Out of 25 patients, zero (0%) tested positive for COVID-19. Two patients had previously tested positive for COVID-19: at three and eight months prior to the onset of hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest series to date investigating COVID-19 in SSNHL patients. In this series there is no apparent relationship between SSNHL and COVID-19.