Audiological and vestibular symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination in children aged 5-11 years.
Am J Otolaryngol
; 44(1): 103669, 2023.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2075874
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
The present study assessed the prevalence of audio-vestibular symptoms following SARS-COV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination among children, comparing the two groups. A further aim was to evaluate whether children with pre-existing unilateral hearing loss were more prone to adverse events. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
This retrospective study included children aged 5-11 years with normal hearing or a proven history of unilateral hearing loss who contracted SARS-CoV-2 or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Tinnitus, hyperacusis, aural fullness, otalgia, otorrhea, new-onset hearing loss, vertigo and dizziness were investigated as possible complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection or the COVID-19 vaccine.RESULTS:
This study included 272 children (143 boys, 129 girls), with a mean age of 7.8 ± 2.3 years. Among these, 120 were affected by pre-existing unilateral hearing loss. The most common audio-vestibular symptoms reported by children following SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination were aural fullness (33/132, 25 %) and dizziness (5/140, 3.6 %), respectively. All symptoms following COVID-19 vaccination resolved within 24 h. Compared to children who received the COVID-19 vaccine, those infected with SARS-CoV-2 had a higher prevalence of tinnitus (p = 0.009), hyperacusis (p = 0.003), aural fullness (p < 0.001), otalgia (p < 0.001), otorrhea (p < 0.001), and vertigo (p = 0.006). Two girls also experienced new-onset unilateral sensorineural hearing loss following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Children with a known history of unilateral hearing loss did not have a higher prevalence of audio-vestibular symptoms than children with normal hearing.CONCLUSIONS:
Our results suggest that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and can be recommended for children with unilateral hearing loss without fear of possible audio-vestibular sequelae.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Tinnitus
/
Hearing Loss, Unilateral
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
/
Vaccines
Limits:
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Otolaryngol
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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