Can Omicron infect the inner ear? Experts explain

New Delhi, Jan 24: The highly infectious, fast spreading Omicron variant of coronavirus has been a cuase of concern in India, with increasing cases. The most common symptoms of Omicron include loss of taste and smell, fever, and flu. However, a fresh study conducted a group of experts at Stanford University discovered a new symptom of this infection.

"Our study showed evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 can directly infect the inner ear," Stankovic said.

"During the peak of the pandemic, when patients were having more life-threatening complications, they weren't paying much attention to whether their hearing was reduced or whether they had vertigo. It was easy to dismiss these symptoms as just being a coincidence, and routine testing for SARS-CoV-2 was not yet available," the expert said.

Stankovic insisted that hearing tests be routine for anyone diagnosed with COVID-19. Or, if a patient presents with new-onset hearing loss, tinnitus, or vertigo, and has had any exposure to the virus, they should be tested and monitored for worsening symptoms by their health care provider.

When the pandemic hit, and Stankovic began seeing COVID-19 patients with hearing complaints, she and Gehrke switched gears and focused on determining whether SARS-CoV-2 could, like these other viruses, infect the inner ear.

Their first cellular models were created by transforming human skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cells and differentiating these stem cells into several types of cells found in the inner ear. The inner ear cells grew in two dimensions or self-organized into three-dimensional organoids, mini models of an organ in a dish. Next, they obtained tissue samples from the inner ears of patients who underwent unrelated inner ear surgeries.

"We initially focused on determining whether human inner ear cells express the proteins that allow the virus to infect the cells," Stankovic said.

"This isn't straightforward to do since, under normal circumstances, the human inner ear cannot be biopsied because the organ is tiny and would be irreversibly damaged in the process of tissue biopsy. We're talking about something the size of the upper part of Lincoln's face on a penny."

Symptoms of Omicron

• Fever with or without rigors
• Cough
• Irritation in the throat
• Muscular weakness
• Tiredness
• Runny nose
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Night sweats
• Loss of appetite
• Vomiting

However, the researchers didn't study how the coronavirus might be getting into the inner ear, but they speculate the nose is a likely culprit in most people. There's little concern that the virus enters through the outer ear.