COVID-Related Tinnitus Timeline

NCT ID: NCT07199972

Last Updated: 2025-09-30

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 233 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-02-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-08-01

Brief Summary

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, for which the first cases were reported in China, by December 2019. Previous studies reported cases of tinnitus following COVID infection, most of them mild and with similar characteristics to other forms of tinnitus. Our aim is to further explore the relationship between COVID-19 and tinnitus. For this purpose we analyzed people in the city of Volta Redonda, Brazil after a COVID-19 infection. In detail we compared those with new onset tinnitus during or after COVID-19 with those without tinnitus and those with tinnitus onset before the COVID-19 infection. Moreover we analyzed the prevalence of post-COVID tinnitus along the pandemic timeline, from 2020 to 2024.

Detailed Description

Two-hundred and thirty three patients over 18 years old and previously diagnosed with COVID-19 confirmed by either a RT-PCR, antibodies or antigens test were included. Patients were subdivided in three groups: no tinnitus (NT), tinnitus that already existed before COVID-19 (chronic tinnitus, CT) and tinnitus that arose during or after COVID-19 (post-COVID-19 tinnitus, PCT). Data concerning COVID-19 symptoms, drugs prescribed for COVID-19, tinnitus characteristics, comorbidities and other otological symptoms were collected. Tinnitus assessment included pure tone audiograms, the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), visual-analog scales (VAS) for loudness and distress as well as the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). Patients with CT were additionally asked whether their tinnitus worsened after their COVID-19 infection.

Conditions

Hearing Disorders; COVID-19 Pandemic

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: OTHER
• Study Time Perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• previous COVID-19 infection

Exclusion Criteria

• < 18 yo
• not willing to give informed consent

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Faculdade de Medicina de Valenca

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Ricardo Rodrigues Figueiredo

MD,MSc,PhD

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Norma O Penido, MD,PhD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Universidade Federal de São Paulo

Locations

OTOSUL, Otorrinolaringologia Sul-Fluminense

Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Countries

Brazil

Other Identifiers

TinCOVID

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id