Submission ID 117087
| Issue/Objective | This umbrella review synthesizes and discusses systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) on auditory outcomes associated with COVID-19 infection and vaccination side effects. It is innovative in offering a comprehensive synthesis of evidence across adults and infants while summarizing vaccine-related auditory side effects. |
|---|---|
| Methodology/Approach | The systematic search followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, with no population age or symptom severity restrictions. Four electronic databases were searched from their inception to October 2024. The AMSTAR-2 checklist and ROBIS tool were used to assess the quality of evidence and the risk of bias. |
| Results | The systematic search identified 534 articles, narrowed down to 14 SRs following a full-text review: nine focused on auditory outcomes of COVID-19, two on outcomes in infants born to mothers infected during pregnancy, and three on the auditory side effects of vaccination. A random effects model revealed significantly high pooled estimates of hearing loss (5.0%, 95% CI 1.0 - 9.0, p < .012, three MAs, N = 21,932) and tinnitus (13.5%, 95% CI 5.9 - 21.1, p ≤ .001, four MAs, N = 36,236) in adults. However, current evidence in non-hospitalized patients indicates that auditory symptoms often improve after recovery. Studies also show a low rate of hearing loss in infants whose mothers contracted COVID-19 during pregnancy. Similarly, whereas COVID-19 vaccination has been linked to hearing loss and tinnitus, these effects are rare, and most patients experience improvement within weeks to months. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Evidence suggests a significantly high rate of hearing loss and tinnitus associated with COVID-19 in adults, though auditory symptoms remain rare in newborns and following vaccination. However, caution is warranted due to limitations and variability across the studies. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Isabel Lambert Dalhousie University |
