Maintenance Notice

Due to necessary scheduled maintenance, the JMIR Publications website will be unavailable from Wednesday, July 01, 2020 at 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM EST. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Who will be affected?

Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research

Date Submitted: Nov 6, 2023
Date Accepted: Mar 21, 2024

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Exploring the Prevalence of Tinnitus and Ear-Related Symptoms in China After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Online Cross-Sectional Survey

Wang D, Li P, Huang X, Liu Y, Mao S, Yin H, Wang N, Luo Y, Sun S

Exploring the Prevalence of Tinnitus and Ear-Related Symptoms in China After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Online Cross-Sectional Survey

JMIR Form Res 2024;8:e54326

DOI: 10.2196/54326

PMID: 38657236

PMCID: 11045005

Exploring the Prevalence of Tinnitus and Ear-related Symptoms in China After the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Cross-Sectional Online Survey

  • Di Wang; 
  • Peifan Li; 
  • Xiaoling Huang; 
  • Yixuan Liu; 
  • Shihang Mao; 
  • Haoning Yin; 
  • Na Wang; 
  • Yan Luo; 
  • Shan Sun

ABSTRACT

Background:

Tinnitus is a complex and heterogeneous disease that has been identified as a common manifestation of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To gain a comprehensive understanding of tinnitus symptoms in individuals following COVID-19 infection, we conducted an online survey called the “China Ear Nose and Throat Symptom Survey in the COVID-19 Pandemic” (CENTSS) among the Chinese population.

Objective:

Our objective was to investigate tinnitus and ear-related symptoms in the Chinese population after COVID-19 infection, with the aim of providing a solid empirical foundation for improved healthcare. The findings from CENTSS can contribute to the development of enhanced management strategies for tinnitus in the context of long COVID. By gaining a better understanding of the factors contributing to tinnitus in individuals with COVID-19, healthcare providers can tailor interventions to address the specific needs of affected patients. Furthermore, this study serves as a basis for future research on the long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection and its associated tinnitus symptoms.

Methods:

We conducted an exploratory cross-sectional study involving 1,262 adults aged 18 to 80 years in China who had been infected with COVID-19. Data were collected through an online questionnaire designed to identify the presence of tinnitus and its impacts. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze individuals' demographic characteristics, COVID-19 infection-related ear symptoms, and the cognitive and emotional implications of tinnitus. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to model the cross-sectional baseline associations between demographic characteristics, noise exposure, educational level, health and lifestyle factors, and the occurrence of tinnitus.

Results:

Between December 19, 2022, and February 1, 2023, we obtained responses from 1,262 Chinese participants representing 24 regions, with an average age of 37 years. Among them, 540 patients (42.79%) reported experiencing ear-related symptoms after COVID-19 infection. Only 114 (9.03%) of these patients sought medical attention specifically for their ear symptoms, while 426 (33.75%) did not seek hospital care. Tinnitus emerged as the most prevalent and impactful symptom among all ear-related symptoms experienced after COVID-19 infection. Female participants (77.78%), younger individuals (<30 years), individuals with lower education levels, participants residing in western China, and those with a history of otolaryngology diseases were more likely to develop tinnitus following COVID-19 infection in the responders.

Conclusions:

In summary, tinnitus was identified as the most common ear-related symptom during COVID-19 infection. Individuals experiencing tinnitus after COVID-19 infection were found to have poorer cognitive and emotional well-being. Different ear-related symptoms in patients post COVID-19 infection may suggest viral invasion of various parts of the ear. It is therefore crucial to monitor and manage hearing-related changes resulting from COVID-19 as clinical services resume.


 Citation

Please cite as:

Wang D, Li P, Huang X, Liu Y, Mao S, Yin H, Wang N, Luo Y, Sun S

Exploring the Prevalence of Tinnitus and Ear-Related Symptoms in China After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Online Cross-Sectional Survey

JMIR Form Res 2024;8:e54326

DOI: 10.2196/54326

PMID: 38657236

PMCID: 11045005

The author of this paper has made a PDF available, but requires the user to login, or create an account.

© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.