AUTHOR=Alhanbali Sara , Alkharabsheh Ana'am , Alanati Wafa'a , Joudeh Khader , Munro Kevin J. 

TITLE=Insights into perceived listening difficulties post COVID-19 infection: no measurable hearing difficulty on clinical tests despite increased self-reported listening effort

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1172441

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2023.1172441

ISSN=1664-2295

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.