Frontiers in Neurology (Mar 2022)
The Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Tinnitus and Hearing Loss in Older Adults: Data From the LOST in Lombardia Study
- Carlotta Micaela Jarach,
- Alessandra Lugo,
- Chiara Stival,
- Cristina Bosetti,
- Andrea Amerio,
- Andrea Amerio,
- Luca Cavalieri d'Oro,
- Licia Iacoviello,
- Licia Iacoviello,
- Anna Odone,
- Anna Odone,
- David Stuckler,
- Alberto Zucchi,
- Piet van den Brandt,
- Piet van den Brandt,
- Werner Garavello,
- Christopher R. Cederroth,
- Christopher R. Cederroth,
- Christopher R. Cederroth,
- Winfried Schlee,
- Silvano Gallus,
- The LOST in Lombardia Study Investigators,
- Silvano Gallus,
- Cristina Bosetti,
- Carlotta Micaela Jarach,
- Alessandra Lugo,
- Chiara Stival,
- Gianluca Serafini,
- Andrea Amerio,
- Mario Amore,
- David Stuckler,
- Roberto De Sena,
- Simone Ghislandi,
- Yuxi Wang,
- Licia Iacoviello,
- Marialaura Bonaccio,
- Francesco Gianfagna,
- Anna Odone,
- Carlo Signorelli,
- Giansanto Mosconi,
- Giacomo Vigezzi,
- Luca Cavalieri d'Oro,
- Magda Rognoni,
- Luca Paroni,
- Alberto Zucchi,
- Roberta Ciampichini
Affiliations
- Carlotta Micaela Jarach
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Alessandra Lugo
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Chiara Stival
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Cristina Bosetti
- Department of Oncology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Andrea Amerio
- Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- Andrea Amerio
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
- Luca Cavalieri d'Oro
- ATS della Brianza, Monza, Italy
- Licia Iacoviello
- Research Center in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (EPIMED), Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
- Licia Iacoviello
- Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
- Anna Odone
- School of Medicine, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- Anna Odone
- Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- David Stuckler
- 0Department of Social Sciences and Politics, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy
- Alberto Zucchi
- 1ATS di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
- Piet van den Brandt
- 2Department of Epidemiology, GROW-School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Netherlands
- Piet van den Brandt
- 3Department of Epidemiology, CAPHRI-School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Netherlands
- Werner Garavello
- 4Department of Otorhinolaryngology, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Christopher R. Cederroth
- 5Laboratory of Experimental Audiology, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Christopher R. Cederroth
- 6Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Christopher R. Cederroth
- 7Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Hearing Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Winfried Schlee
- 8Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Silvano Gallus
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- The LOST in Lombardia Study Investigators
- Silvano Gallus
- Cristina Bosetti
- Carlotta Micaela Jarach
- Alessandra Lugo
- Chiara Stival
- Gianluca Serafini
- Andrea Amerio
- Mario Amore
- David Stuckler
- Roberto De Sena
- Simone Ghislandi
- Yuxi Wang
- Licia Iacoviello
- Marialaura Bonaccio
- Francesco Gianfagna
- Anna Odone
- Carlo Signorelli
- Giansanto Mosconi
- Giacomo Vigezzi
- Luca Cavalieri d'Oro
- Magda Rognoni
- Luca Paroni
- Alberto Zucchi
- Roberta Ciampichini
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2022.838291
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 13
Abstract
BackgroundAlthough a direct relationship between tinnitus or hearing difficulties and COVID-19 has been suggested, current literature provides inconsistent results, and no research has been undertaken in older adults.MethodsIn November 2020, we conducted the LOST in Lombardia survey, a telephone-based cross-sectional study on a sample of 4,400 individuals representative of the general population aged ≥65 years from Lombardy region, Northern Italy. Individuals with diagnosed tinnitus and/or hearing loss were asked whether their conditions had improved or deteriorated in 2020 compared to 2019.ResultsOverall, 8.1% of older adults reported a diagnosis of tinnitus and 10.5% of hearing loss. In 2020 compared to 2019, among individuals with tinnitus, those with increasing severity (5.0%) were similar to those decreasing it (5.3%). Among individuals with hearing loss, more people reported an increase (13.6%) than a decrease (3.2%) in their disease severity. No individual with a diagnosis in 2020 of tinnitus (n = 6) or hearing loss (n = 13) had COVID-19. The incidence of tinnitus was lower in 2020 (rate: 14.8 per 10,000 person-years) than in previous years (rate in 1990–2019: 36.0 per 10,000 person-years; p = 0.026). There was no change in the incidence of hearing loss (p = 0.134).ConclusionsIn this large representative sample of older adults, on average neither COVID-19 confinement nor SARS-CoV-2 infection appeared to increase the severity or incidence of tinnitus. The increased severity of hearing difficulties may totally or partially be explained by physiologic deterioration of the condition, or by a misperception due to the use of face-masks.
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