Abstract
Objective: The aim was to use a battery of clinic-based auditory assessment procedures to compare participants with and without self-reported hearing difficulties following a confirmed COVID-19 infection. A further aim was to compare the groups on self-reported measures of listening effort and fatigue.
Methods: There were 25 participants in each group (age range 20-59 years, 80% females). Participants were recruited after a minimum of four weeks of testing positive. Hearing assessment involved tympanometry, acoustic reflex thresholds, pure-tone audiometry (PTA; 0.25-14 kHz), and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs; 0.5-10 kHz). Listening effort was assessed using the Arabic version of the Effort Assessment Scale (A-EAS) and fatigue was assessed using the Arabic version of the Fatigue Assessment Scale (A-FAS).
Results: There was no difference between groups on any measure except for greater self-reported listening effort in the perceived hearing difficulty group (p = 0.01).
Conclusion: The only difference between groups was self-reported listening effort. This could be due to a subclinical auditory deficit following COVID-19, increased listening effort due to the impact of COVID-19 on cognitive processes, or a psychosomatic response/ health anxiety.
Methods: There were 25 participants in each group (age range 20-59 years, 80% females). Participants were recruited after a minimum of four weeks of testing positive. Hearing assessment involved tympanometry, acoustic reflex thresholds, pure-tone audiometry (PTA; 0.25-14 kHz), and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs; 0.5-10 kHz). Listening effort was assessed using the Arabic version of the Effort Assessment Scale (A-EAS) and fatigue was assessed using the Arabic version of the Fatigue Assessment Scale (A-FAS).
Results: There was no difference between groups on any measure except for greater self-reported listening effort in the perceived hearing difficulty group (p = 0.01).
Conclusion: The only difference between groups was self-reported listening effort. This could be due to a subclinical auditory deficit following COVID-19, increased listening effort due to the impact of COVID-19 on cognitive processes, or a psychosomatic response/ health anxiety.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Frontiers in Neurology |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 18 May 2023 |
Keywords
- Listening effort
- fatigue
- COVID-19
- cognitive
- sub-clinical hearing loss
- psychological
Access to Document
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Insights into perceived listening difficulties post COVID-19 infection: no measurable hearing difficulty on clinical tests despite increased self-reported listening effort'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
-
Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness (ManCAD)
Munro, K. (PI), Millman, R. (PI), Lamb, W. (Support team), Dawes, P. (PI), Plack, C. (PI), Stone, M. (PI), Kluk-De Kort, K. (PI), Moore, D. (PI), Morton, C. (PI), Prendergast, G. (PI), Couth, S. (PI), Schlittenlacher, J. (PI), Chilton, H. (PI), Visram, A. (Researcher), Dillon, H. (PI), Guest, H. (Researcher), Heinrich, A. (PI), Jackson, I. (Researcher), Littlejohn, J. (Researcher), Jones, L. (PI), Lough, M. (Researcher), Morgan, R. (Researcher), Perugia, E. (Researcher), Roughley, A. (Researcher), Whiston, H. (Researcher), Wright, C. (Support team), Saunders, G. (PI), Kelly, C. (PI), Cross, H. (Researcher), Loughran, M. (Researcher), Hoseinabadi, R. (PI) & Vercammen, C. (PI)
Project: Research