Middle ear status - structure, function and pathology: A scoping review on middle ear status of COVID-19 positive patients.
Ben Sebothoma, Katijah Khoza-Shangase
PMID 35924607WHAT IT FOUND
Middle ear symptoms like otalgia and aural fullness occurred in some COVID-19 patients, but evidence is limited to eight mostly small studies.
Type B tympanograms and conductive hearing loss were reported, though causality is unproven. Hearing health professionals should remain vigilant for these signs.
Key findings
01Six of the eight included studies reported middle ear-related symptoms such as otalgia and aural fullness.
02Type B tympanograms were the most common acoustic immittance finding, present in three studies.
03Conductive hearing loss was reported in six studies, with one multicentre study finding mild CHL in 3.2% of participants.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The review included only eight studies, most of which were case reports or case series with very small sample sizes. There was no control group comparison in most included studies, making it difficult to attribute middle ear pathologies directly to COVID-19. The evidence is limited by the lack of longitudinal data and large-scale studies. Some studies did not report the severity of conductive hearing loss.
Declared interests
No specific funding or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume a causal link between COVID-19 and middle ear pathology. The evidence is based on eight small, mostly observational studies without control groups, and the authors state that further research is needed to establish this association.