Did Increase of Rates of Sudden Hearing Loss During COVID-19?

Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cases of sudden hearing loss (SHL). Methods: We examined two patient groups diagnosed with SHL at Düzce University Medical Faculty Hospital and Düzce Atatürk State Hospital in Turkey. The first group, diagnosed between March 2019 and March 2020, represents pre-Covid-19. The second group includes patients diagnosed from March 2020 to March 2021, corresponding to the initial year of the Covid-19 pandemic in this region. We evaluated patient numbers, age, and gender across these groups to identify any increase in SHL cases potentially associated with the pandemic. Results: The ratio of SHL cases per population in Group 1 was 51 out of 450,000, or approximately 0.011333. In Group 2, this ratio was 32 out of 450,000, or roughly 0.007111. Statistical analysis (p=0.037) revealed a notably higher SHL rate in the pre-Covid-19 period than during the pandemic. Conclusions: The suggested etiological explanations for SHL remain hypothetical. Although COVID-19 has been widely considered a possible factor, our findings do not support increased SHL cases due to the virus.