Hearing loss may be associated with coronavirus, study suggests

Researchers are investigate the possible long-term impact of coronavirus on hearing among people previously hospitalised with the virus, writes Samuel Lovett

A healthcare worker uses an ear thermometer to take the temperature of a patient (AFP via Getty Images)

Smell, taste, sight — if you’re Dominic Cummings — and now, it seems, hearing too.

The effects of Covid-19 on the body’s senses are well documented, but new research has suggested that hearing loss and other auditory problems may also be strongly associated with coronavirus.

Pooling data from 26 studies on Covid-19 and the auditory and vestibular systems, British researchers estimated that the prevalence of hearing loss among those infected is 7.6 per cent.