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COVID-19 and Hearing Loss
November 15, 2021

COVID-19 and Hearing Loss

What preliminary research is revealing

We all have many self-care choices we make daily: wearing a seatbelt, eating a healthy diet, exercising, attending to spiritual well-being, getting an annual physical, meditating, and the list goes on. The reality is that each day, we may face new obstacles in maintaining our personal well-being as well as encounter new ways that allow us to live life to the fullest. We have more resources and more technology available to us than at any other time in human history. So, when we are faced with new challenges, how do we approach our dedication to self-care? How do we adjust when the landscape around us is constantly changing? These certainly are appropriate questions during a year filled with upheaval as the entire world has been rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The current health crisis requires us to digest brand new or updated information quickly and make choices to mitigate risk to ourselves and those around us in order to stay safe and well.


Our knowledge about this strain of coronavirus seems to be increasing exponentially each week with information about how a person’s body is affected while the virus is active and after the person has recovered. Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist and owner of Johnson Audiology, said, “Evidence continues to emerge showing the wide-ranging effects COVID-19 can have on the body’s organs and systems, and it is looking like our ears and sense of hearing may also take a hit from this monster of a virus.” Preliminary research is beginning to suggest that COVID-19 may have lasting negative impacts on neural and auditory pathways, which in turn can lead to hearing loss. 


So what does this have to do with self-care? Johnson Audiology’s Dr. Kari WIckstrom shared, “It is estimated that 48 million Americans have significant hearing loss with 22 million Americans exposed to dangerous levels of sound in the workplace. That’s a little more than 14% of the total population who can’t hear all of the sounds they once heard.” In addition, Americans wait an average of seven years before addressing hearing loss. Dr. Whitney Smith with Johnson Audiology noted, “That’s seven years of a gradually decreasing quality of life, increased risk of harm and hospital stays because of falls since balance is linked to inner ear health, frustration, loneliness. Plus, without the stimulus of sound, your brain ‘forgets’ how to hear, making it even harder to adjust to hearing aids when someone finally addresses hearing loss.” These statistics make it clear that when it comes to self-care, many people minimize hearing and hearing loss. Johnson Audiology’s Dr. Susan Porter observed, “Interestingly, the pandemic has shone a light on many people’s hearing loss, making it impossible to ignore. As we all don face masks to stay safe and compliant, those with hearing loss are forced to confront how much they were lip reading. Now that people’s mouths are covered, the person with hearing loss is really struggling.” So, in the midst of a global pandemic attributed to a virus that is showing no signs of slowing down, it becomes even more important to stay vigilant about addressing your physical self-care, including your hearing.


Preliminary research is starting to be published. For example, in a recent study conducted at South Valley University in Egypt1, a group of patients who were asymptomatic and tested positive for COVID-19 were monitored for two weeks. They ranged in age from 20-50 and presented no known symptoms of the virus, nor did they have any known hearing loss prior to testing positive. This age group was chosen specifically to avoid those with age-related hearing loss. After the two weeks of testing, it was found that the hair cells inside the ear’s cochlea (the seashell-shaped structure that is part of the inner ear and allows us to hear) showed signs of damage, and response to high frequency sounds was significantly reduced. While this test group had no symptoms of the virus, it is important to note that there is still much to learn about the underlying effects of the virus being present in the body, even among those who are asymptomatic. 


In another case, a patient in Hannover, Germany was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of COVID-192. The patient was in the Intensive Care Unit for 13 days during his battle against the virus. Prior to contracting COVID-19, the patient was in good health and had no known hearing loss. After his treatment in the ICU, the patient presented as completely deaf on his right side and with profound hearing loss on his left side. MRI’s showed the patient had suffered from inflammation in and around the cochlea. This inflammation can lead to the cochlea becoming solidified like bone, no longer flexible and functioning. 


Additionally, in most cases of the treatment of symptoms and the effects of COVID-19, the drugs commonly used in fighting the virus can be toxic to the ear and/or the nerves connected to the ear. Doses of certain drugs are known to cause hearing loss and create complications throughout the ear and the functions that the ear provides. It is these drugs, however, that are necessary to treat the symptoms of many known viruses, like COVID-19, as well as various bacterial infections. 


Many unknowns exist with the presence of a new virus or disease, and it can take years to fully understand its origins and its lasting effects. In a time of so much uncertainty, but also so much emphasis on self-care, why not address your hearing loss now? Audiologist Darnell Scafe, with Johnson Audiology, suggested asking these questions: “Are there certain sounds that you have noticed you can’t quite hear as well as you used to? Do you find yourself frustrated in crowded situations because you are always asking people to repeat what was said? Are you struggling in public settings because people are wearing face masks, and you can no longer read their lips? She encouraged, “As the landscape of self-care and health care are ever-changing, why not change your approach to caring for your ears?”


Many things can affect our ears and contribute to hearing loss. They range from exposure to loud sounds, to side effects of drugs, or the emergence of a new strain of virus into our environment. And while many types of hearing loss are irreversible, technology continues to advance in ways that make hearing loss something that can be treated and hearing health improved. Dr. Johnson cautioned, “Don’t wait. Address your hearing loss at first onset so that you can enjoy years of sounds, conversations and being an active participant in your own life. Contact Johnson Audiology and begin a partnership with our team of audiologists that will put you on the path to healthy hearing.”


Notes:

1: ASHA Staff, COVID-19 May Damage Hearing Cells Even in Patients Without Symptoms, (https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.RIB1.25062020.14/full/ )

2: Chantel Degen, MD, Thomas Lenarz, MD & PhD, Kirsten Willenborg, MD, Acute Profound Sensorineural Hearing Loss After COVID-19 Pneumonia, (Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany, https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(20)30596-6/pdf)


March 6, 2025
Chipper Gocke, 28, has had many poignant moments in the last six weeks since his cochlear implant surgery. “A workmate commented recently that my speaking voice is the appropriate volume now. Not being able to hear myself, I probably often talked too loud before. It seems like a small thing, but it is a way to be more normalized in my professional and other settings.” His mother, Amy Gocke, also has noticed the changes. “Chipper has never called me on the phone before. With his profound lifelong hearing loss and even using powerful hearing aids, he simply couldn’t communicate by phone. Now I look forward to his calls every day after he gets off work.” These daily experiences that people often take for granted—communicating with a workmate or calling a family member to say hello—are now possible for Chipper because of his cochlear implant. Hearing loss has been a part of Chipper’s life since he was a small child. Chipper’s father, Ted Gocke, relates, “From the time he was 18 months old, Chipper had ear infections that had us in and out of the hospital. That led to tubes in his ears and the diagnosis that he had a significant hearing loss.” As a youngster, Chipper received early intervention services before he even reached school age. He also got established with local audiologist, Darnell Scafe, and they reconnected recently when Chipper sought out Darnell for hearing health care services as an adult. Darnell, who joined the Johnson Audiology team in 2018, says, “I remember Chipper as a sweet little boy who didn’t let his hearing loss slow him down. It’s wonderful to get to know the fine, capable young man he has grown into.” Last year, Darnell encouraged Chipper to consider a cochlear implant, and she referred him to Johnson Audiology’s Cochlear Implant Program Director, Dr. Hannah Dearth. Dr. Dearth then was able to complete cochlear implant candidacy testing. In November of last year, Chipper’s surgery was performed at Murfreesboro Medical Clinic (MMC) in Middle Tennessee by an otolaryngologist (ENT). A native of Chattanooga, Chipper traveled for the initial surgery since there is not currently an ENT in Chattanooga who performs CI surgeries. However, Chipper then had his cochlear implant activated at Johnson Audiology (JA) by Dr. Dearth in early January. Also, there to celebrate activation day was Darnell. “It felt like a full circle moment when Dr. Dearth activated Chipper’s cochlear implant, and he began to have those first sound perceptions.” Dr. Dearth explains, “People often wonder how a hearing aid and a cochlear implant are different. Cochlear implants are designed for patients whose hearing aids are no longer assisting them in understanding in both quiet and noisy environments. A hearing aid is designed to provide amplification for speech sounds that are unintelligible without said amplification. Cochlear implants are a surgical option for those who are no longer able to achieve meaningful understanding with a traditional hearing aid. Hearing aids rely on the ear’s natural pathway for hearing to accomplish this and so may not work well for someone with severe damage to the inner ear. A cochlear implant, on the other hand, bypasses the damaged parts of the ear by stimulating the auditory nerve directly with a mild electrical current that sends the sound signal to the brain.” Chipper is committed to his own success with his cochlear implant and in addition to listening to the speech of those around him, he is also tuning in to podcasts and audiobooks that give him even more speech exposure. Dr. Dearth says that is a huge factor in any patient’s ability to thrive with the device. “The patients who are committed to the aural rehabilitation as prescribed experience faster progress and higher success rates long term.” Chipper will continue regular follow-up appointments for the rest of his life to maintain successful progress with his CI. He gets emotional talking about the social isolation that can be a common side effect of profound hearing loss and, also, mentions the spatial awareness that better hearing offers. “Being able to pinpoint sound and localize stimuli from both sides of the head has positive effects for living a safe life,” Dr. Dearth says. Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist, founder, and owner of JA, says, “Johnson Audiology has provided support for cochlear implant patients since 2017 with care offered through the practice’s location on Lee Highway in the East Brainerd area. After implantation, every other part of a CI patient’s hearing journey can be accomplished at Johnson Audiology—from initial activation to routine mapping.”  Chipper and his parents encourage people to explore the possibility of cochlear implants since it can make such a difference in a person’s daily life and function. Johnson Audiology is accepting new patients who currently wear hearing aids but would like to pursue cochlear implant candidacy as well as those who already have a cochlear implant. Call Johnson Audiology at 423.556.7185 or visit www.johnsonaudiology.com/schedule for more information or to schedule an appointment.
By Jan Hollingsworth May 16, 2024
Research reveals that hearing loss actually rewires your neural pathways Your Amazing Brain Your brain is an amazing organ! This wrinkly, reddish-pink mass weighs about the same as your two-slice toaster, tipping the scales at about three pounds. Acting as a master control center, your brain enables every thought, breath, eye blink, heartbeat, movement—everything—that happens in your body. Rivaling the world’s most powerful supercomputer, your brain can download, process, and react in milliseconds to the tidal wave of information coming from your eyes, skin, nose, tongue, and ears. Neuroplasticity and Your Sense of Hearing Researchers have discovered that the human nervous system—made up of the brain, spinal cord, and a complex network of nerves—has incredible capacity to modify itself, both in function and physical structure. This is called neural plasticity . Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist and owner of Johnson Audiology explains, “Neural plasticity is going gangbusters in a child’s brain as the child develops and matures into adulthood. Based on years of brain research, we also know that the adult brain is far from being fixed. It, too, changes and adapts when you learn new information or skills or as a response to stress, hormonal fluctuations, drug interactions, injury, and much more.” Dr. Johnson also relates that “your brain displays neuroplasticity when you experience hearing loss.” By measuring brain waves using an electroencephalograph, or EEG, scientists have studied how the brain of a person with hearing loss functions compared to a person with normal hearing. The results are both fascinating and sobering as studies reveal that, in those with hearing loss, the portion of the brain devoted to hearing becomes reorganized. This can be true even with early-stage, mild hearing loss, and the process happens quickly, often in months rather than years. The Hearing Center of Your Brain and Beyond What is actually happening when this takes place? Your brain has a right and a left hemisphere and six major lobes. Think of your frontal lobe as your brain’s boss, where executive functions like decision making, emotion and impulse control, and planning occur. Your temporal lobe, which contains the auditory cortex, is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to interpreting sounds and assigning those sounds meaning. The temporal lobe processes speech and language, and it is where initial learning of new information takes place, which is the first step for logging that information into memory. Dr. Johnson goes on to relate, “When the delicate infrastructure of your ear has become damaged through noise exposure, infection, etc. leading to hearing loss, your auditory cortex cries out to your frontal lobe, saying ‘Help! Help! I’m not receiving any sound to process, so I feel lost.’ The frontal lobe ‘boss’ jumps to attention, and your occipital lobe, responsible for processing vision and touch, takes over the areas in which hearing is normally processed. In other words, your other senses seek to compensate for the deficit due to the loss of your sense of hearing.” Amazing, right? So, where’s the rub? Picture a car assembly line; each worker has an assigned task. One day, the worker who installs the windshields is absent, and the worker who attaches the rearview mirrors is assigned double duty, and a duty that was not part of job training. It is easy to see how the worker left juggling both jobs is compromised, and a car might slip through minus a rear view mirror. Similarly, the areas of your brain that are being taxed to make up for a lack of hearing are overloaded and less able to do their assigned responsibilities. “This explains why so many of my patients with hearing loss relate feeling exhausted and frustrated after a big family gathering—where multiple talkers and sounds must be interpreted—rather than happy and invigorated by the experience. We call this listening fatigue ,” states Dr. Johnson. Additionally, when left untreated long enough, researchers point to the brain’s reorganization due to hearing loss as a significant correlation with dementia. Hearing Technology and Your Brain “But here's the great news!” Dr. Johnson says. When a person is fit with hearing aids or a cochlear implant and sound is restored, the brain has the ability to adjust back—partially or completely—to proper function. How swiftly that happens often depends on how long the hearing loss went untreated and is why she encourages patients to treat hearing loss sooner rather than later. “Here is what I tell patients who are downplaying the importance of hearing: If you won’t treat your hearing loss for the sake of your ears, do it for your brain!”
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