A new study by MIT and Massachusetts Eye and Ear reveals that COVID-19 disease causes inner ear damage. In previous research, it was revealed that the coronavirus damaged many organs and systems, such as the heart, lungs, upper respiratory tract and brain.
In this new study, the team focused on inner ear cells, including the hair cells, which are critical for hearing and balance. Because dizziness and balance problems, which are thought to be related to coronavirus, were observed in patients. Here are the findings of the study…
COVID-19 also damages the inner ear!
Viruses such as cytomegalovirus, mumps virus, and hepatitis viruses can all cause deafness. But there is little research on how viruses cause deafness. Therefore, before the start of the COVID-19 epidemic, Lee Gehrke from MIT and Prof. Dr. Konstantina Stankovic started working on a joint project. The duo set out to develop cellular models to study human inner ear infections.
Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles isolated from a patient. (NIAID)
In early 2020, researchers changed their plans after the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged. Stankovic found that in Massachusetts Eye and Ear, people who tested positive for COVID-19 experienced hearing loss, tinnitus, and dizziness. The duo then decided to use the model system they were working on to study SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Researchers have shown that the virus that causes COVID-19 disease can actually infect the inner ear, particularly the auditory hair and Schwann cells. In addition, they found that other cell types in their model were not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The human hearing hairs the team studied were vestibular cells that play a role in sensing head movement and maintaining balance. In addition, the scientists showed that cochlear hearing hairs from mice also have proteins that allow SARS-CoV-2 entry. The team published the study in the journal Communications Medicine.
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