Impact of COVID-19 on the treatment outcomes of secretory otitis media

INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization (WHO) officially lifted the global emergency designation for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in May 2023. Nonetheless, the long-term repercussions of the pandemic-referred to as 'long COVID'-have persisted. It is also highly likely for the disease to be complicated by secretory otitis media (SOM). This study aimed to determine if there is anything particularly distinctive about SOM associated with long-COVID, and could it affect the therapeutic outcomes of the latter. METHODOLOGY: A total of 102 patients diagnosed with COVID-19-associated SOM between December 2022 and May 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Pre- and post-treatment pure-tone audiometry thresholds were assessed to evaluate therapeutic efficacy. Follow-up assessments were performed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months' post treatment, and the findings were compared with those of a control group of 98 patients who had SOM but not COVID-19 infection during the same time frame. RESULTS: All patients showed normal hearing thresholds post treatment. A comparative analysis using a two-sample t-test revealed no statistically significant difference in the average speech-hearing thresholds between the two groups post-treatment (t = 0.099, p = 0.92). No recurrence was observed in either group during the year-long follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Although COVID-19 is commonly associated with SOM, patients can expect satisfactory recovery of their hearing function with proactive treatment strategies.