Objective To explore the differences in clinical characteristics of sudden sensorineural hearing loss(SSNHL)between patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)and those without-COVID-19.Methods 31 SSNHL patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in a department during the COVID-19 epidemic period(from December 2022 to January 2023)were included as the study group,and 12 SSNHL patients without COVID-19 who received treatment during the non-COVID-19 epidemic period(from December 2021 to January 2022)were co-llected as the control group.Two groups of patients received standardized treatment,and their clinical characteristics and prognosis were compared.Clinical characteristics of SSNHL patients with COVID-19 during the COVID-19 epidemic period were analyzed.Results The time interval from patients developed COVID-19 to the onset of SSNHL in the study group was 3-30 days.The time interval from onset to consultation were 3(1,7)days and 5(4,6)days in the study group and the control group,respectively,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).The average age of patients in the study group was(44.16±13.54)years,which was higher than that of the control group(35.23±9.24)years,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The hearing at damaged fre-quency of the study group improved by 6.5(0.5,24.5)dB after therapy,which was lower than that of the control group(36.0[27.0,38.0]dB),with statistically significant difference(P＜0.05).There was a negative correlation of the interval of consultation with the average improvement level of hearing at damaged frequency(r=-0.318,P=0.033).The longer the interval,the less the hearing improvement and the worse the therapeutic effect.Corre-lation analysis was further conducted on the time interval from development of COVID-19 to SSNHL onset and the time interval of consultation in patients in the study group,which showed no correlation(r=-0.337,P=0.059).There was no statistically significant difference in the types and degree of SSNHL between two groups of patients(both P＞0.05).After standardized treatment,the rate of ineffective patients in the study group was 56.25％,which was higher than that in the control group(15.38％),and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion After adjusting the COVID-19 prevention and control policies,there are more hospitalized COVID-19 patients with SSNHL,with a higher proportion in patients of older age,with poorer efficacy,and inef-fective treatment.The earlier the treatment for SSNHL patients,the better the effect can achieve.COVID-19 may be a potential inducement and/or etiological factor of SSNHL,and further research is needed.

Objective To explore the differences in clinical characteristics of sudden sensorineural hearing loss(SSNHL)between patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)and those without-COVID-19.Methods 31 SSNHL patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in a department during the COVID-19 epidemic period(from December 2022 to January 2023)were included as the study group,and 12 SSNHL patients without COVID-19 who received treatment during the non-COVID-19 epidemic period(from December 2021 to January 2022)were co-llected as the control group.Two groups of patients received standardized treatment,and their clinical characteristics and prognosis were compared.Clinical characteristics of SSNHL patients with COVID-19 during the COVID-19 epidemic period were analyzed.Results The time interval from patients developed COVID-19 to the onset of SSNHL in the study group was 3-30 days.The time interval from onset to consultation were 3(1,7)days and 5(4,6)days in the study group and the control group,respectively,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).The average age of patients in the study group was(44.16±13.54)years,which was higher than that of the control group(35.23±9.24)years,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The hearing at damaged fre-quency of the study group improved by 6.5(0.5,24.5)dB after therapy,which was lower than that of the control group(36.0[27.0,38.0]dB),with statistically significant difference(P＜0.05).There was a negative correlation of the interval of consultation with the average improvement level of hearing at damaged frequency(r=-0.318,P=0.033).The longer the interval,the less the hearing improvement and the worse the therapeutic effect.Corre-lation analysis was further conducted on the time interval from development of COVID-19 to SSNHL onset and the time interval of consultation in patients in the study group,which showed no correlation(r=-0.337,P=0.059).There was no statistically significant difference in the types and degree of SSNHL between two groups of patients(both P＞0.05).After standardized treatment,the rate of ineffective patients in the study group was 56.25％,which was higher than that in the control group(15.38％),and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion After adjusting the COVID-19 prevention and control policies,there are more hospitalized COVID-19 patients with SSNHL,with a higher proportion in patients of older age,with poorer efficacy,and inef-fective treatment.The earlier the treatment for SSNHL patients,the better the effect can achieve.COVID-19 may be a potential inducement and/or etiological factor of SSNHL,and further research is needed.