Researchers explore possible COVID-19 link

Some think hearing problems could be ‘long haul’ symptoms.

The recent death of Texas Roadhouse CEO Kent Taylor is bringing more attention to what experts say is another troublesome physical ailment that may be associated with the coronavirus pandemic: tinnitus, or the perception of a loud ringing or buzzing sound in the ears.

Taylor, 65, died by suicide last month, and his family told news outlets, including the Washington Post, that he had been battling “post-Covid related symptoms, including severe tinnitus” at the time of his death.

Though early research and anecdotal reports have documented tinnitus and sudden hearing loss in some COVID-19 patients, audiologists emphasized that there is no conclusive evidence connecting the virus to the onset or worsening of tinnitus.

The condition is “one of those things that is just so variable in every single person,” said Eldré Beukes, an audiologist and research fellow at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom, who has published research on how individuals with tinnitus have been affected by the pandemic. In the United States, more than 50 million people experience some form of tinnitus, which is often linked to hearing loss. About 20 million struggle with a chronic condition, while 2 million have extreme and debilitating cases, according to the American Tinnitus Association.

“There are at least 200 reasons” why people may develop tinnitus or feel like their existing condition is worsening, Beukes said, including factors related to hearing damage as well as stress and mental health conditions. “Some people do just get tinnitus that’s seemingly out of the blue.”

Beukes and other experts say it’s critical for people with tinnitus to understand the condition and be aware that a variety of evidence-based treatments can help. People should “not accept that their quality of life has to go down because they have tinnitus,” Beukes said. “There is hope and there are things that they can do to live the life they want to live.”

Here’s what audiologists say you need to know about tinnitus, its possible association to COVID-19 and recommended treatments.

A handful of published studies and individual case reports have suggested that hearing loss and tinnitus may be rare or potentially less frequently documented “longhaul” symptoms of COVID-19.

A case study published in the BMJ in October described a 45-year-old COVID-19 patient who, after being severely ill and hospitalized, noticed tinnitus and sudden hearing loss. The patient did not have a history of hearing problems, according to the report.

A month later, an international survey-based study examining the changes in tinnitus sufferers’ experiences during the pandemic was published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Public Health.

Of the more than 3,100 people surveyed, 237 respondents reported that they had suffered coronavirus symptoms. Among that smaller group, about 40 percent said their symptoms worsened their tinnitus.

Still, the existing research does not provide “conclusive links,” said Beukes, who was the lead author of the survey-based study.

“There is research being done that’s more robust now,” she said. “They’re doing research to look into the mechanisms of this.”

RON BATH/TEXAS ROADHOUSE The family of Texas Roadhouse CEO Kent Taylor said he had been battling post-COVID-19 symptoms, “including severe tinnitus.”