The study, conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital, indicated that Covid-19 can infect the cells of the inner ear, and may lead to hearing loss and tinnitus, in addition to problems with balance, and a sense of spinning.
According to the study, whose results were published in the Journal of Communications Medicine, the scientists found, after examining samples from the inner ear of people with Covid-19, who were suffering from dizziness and decreased hearing acuity, that auditory hair cells, and “Schwann” cells, a type of glial cell found in the nervous system. The terminal strip contained proteins that the coronavirus needs to enter and infect cells.
Scientists confirmed that the coronavirus, with its effect, causes imbalance and dizziness, as the auditory hair cells are responsible for balancing this.
The researchers pointed out that they were not able to know how the virus reached the inner ear, but they expected that it would enter through a channel connecting the nose to the middle ear, according to the British newspaper, “Daily Mail”.
Another theory that explains the arrival of the virus to the inner ear, is that it escapes from the nose through small openings surrounding the olfactory nerves, and infects the cranial nerves, including the nerve that connects to the inner ear.
In their study, the researchers called for increased attention to the auditory symptoms of corona infection, hearing-related complications, and the expansion of related experiments.
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