Tinnitus exacerbated by covid symptoms and stress, study finds

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Coronavirus symptoms have been shown to worsen tinnitus for 40 per cent of people with the hearing condition, a new study has suggested. The researchers from Anglia Ruskin University, who published the study in the journal Frontiers of Public Health, found Covid-19 symptoms exacerbated tinnitus in 40 per cent of those surveyed. Lead author Dr Eldre Beukes, research fellow in Vision and Hearing Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, said about the findings: “This study highlights the complexities associated with experiencing tinnitus and how both internal factors, such as increased anxiety and feelings of loneliness, and external factors, such as changes to daily routines, can have a significant effect on the condition.” She added: "Some of the changes brought about by Covid-19 appear to have had a negative impact on the lives of people with tinnitus and participants in this study reported that Covid-19 symptoms are worsening or, in some cases, even initiating tinnitus and hearing loss.” Social distancing measures throughout the pandemic, that led to significant changes to work and lifestyle, were also found to worsen tinnitus in 46 per cent of UK respondents. David Stockdale, chief executive of the British Tinnitus Association and a co-author of the study, said: “With the second wave of Covid-19 and the resulting national lockdown likely to increase feelings of stress and isolation, it's vital that we don't see the same mistakes as before when it comes to community health provision for people with tinnitus.” “Poor treatment of tinnitus in the early stages often leads to much worse cases and severe tinnitus can have a huge impact on mental health,” he added.