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COVID-19 can infect the ears, suggests research by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Scientists warn that before undergoing middle ear treatments, tests for coronavirus should be performed.
Previous studies have already shown that COVID-19 may be related to ear infections and hearing loss. One of them was carried out on 20 asymptomatic patients who had never had problems with hearing. After being infected with the coronavirus, their hearing ability deteriorated.
A team from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that the coronavirus can infect the ear and the mastoid, the part of the temporal bone behind the auricle.
They drew such conclusions when examining three deceased people diagnosed with COVID-19. The ears of two of these people were colonized by coronavirus – a woman in her eighties and a man who turned 60 (the third victim of the coronavirus was not located in the ears).
According to the researchers, the virus entered the right middle ear in the deceased woman. In the man, the right and left mastoid processes were infected, as well as the middle and right and left middle ear.
- What are the symptoms of the disease caused by the coronavirus?
What conclusions from the research of scientists?
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine recommend that patients undergo testing for COVID-19 before undergoing ear surgery.
“The presence of an active virus from middle ear fluid in the operated patient would have consequences for the surgeons and equipment operating personnel,” the authors of the study warned. The researchers added that the presence of a virus in the middle ear or mastoid process does not necessarily indicate present or future otological symptoms.
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus primarily affects the respiratory system. The longer the pandemic lasts, the more we learn about other health consequences of COVID-19 infection. Patients often have changes in the heart, kidneys, liver, bone marrow and a malfunction of the nervous system.
- How does the coronavirus affect the organs of our body?
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