Condições audiovestibulares e suas repercussões em recuperados da Covid-19

Abstract

Introduction: The last few years have been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted different sectors, especially human health care. The post-COVID-19 syndrome is composed of a set of symptoms, present in those who had SARS-Cov-2 infection, with different clinical manifestations. Among these symptoms, we can highlight the triggering and/or worsening of audiovestibular symptoms, already described in the literature. Therefore, further investigation of these symptoms is necessary, as well as the characterization of their impact on patients. Objective: To describe audiovestibular alterations and their impact on COVID-19 recoveries. Methodology: This dissertation is structured in two manuscripts: Article 1 “Auditory and Vestibular Symptoms After COVID-19 Infection: A Preliminary Brazilian Report”, a pilot study with an observational, descriptive and quantitative approach carried out from September 2020 to May 2021, in the state from Paraiba; Article 2 “Impact of Post-Covid-19 Tinnitus”, an observational, exploratory and cross-sectional study. Results: Participated in the study one, 173 people. Of the audiovestibular symptoms, 43.9% of the participants reported tinnitus, 35% dizziness, and 37% ear fullness after COVID-19 infection. Presentation of audiovestibular symptoms was observed, even in those who did not present them before COVID. There was no worsening of tinnitus impact scores in the post-COVID-19 population when compared to pre-pandemic scores. Final Considerations: The results point to the occurrence of auditory and vestibular symptoms, mainly tinnitus and dizziness, stable and present so far, in most cases. In addition, it can be seen that the impact of tinnitus for this population is lower than those reported in the pre-pandemic period, thus characterizing tinnitus with milder than conventional manifestations.