Emekci, TuğbaDündar, Mehmet AkifKirazlı, GülceMen Kılınç, FatmaCengiz, Deniz UğurKarababa, Ercanİnceoğlu, FeyzaArbağ, Hamdi2022-07-192022-07-192022Emekci, T., Dündar, M. A., Kirazlı, G., Men Kılınç, F., Cengiz, D. U., Karababa, E., ... & Arbağ, H. (2022). Evaluation of the efferent auditory system in COVID-19 adult patients. Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 1-6.0001-64891651-2251https://doi.org/10.1080/00016489.2022.2093967https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12899/1156Received 21 Apr 2022, Accepted 20 Jun 2022, Published online: 06 Jul 2022.Background: The short- and long-term effects of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on the medial olivocochlear reflex and outer hair cells in the cochlea remain largely unclear. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the efferent auditory system effects in adult patients with COVID-19. Materials and methods: The study included 18–50 years old 44 volunteers: 26 individuals (52 ears) with COVID-19 in the study group and 18 healthy individuals (36 ears) in the control group. Otolaryngological examination, immitancemetric evaluation, distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), contralateral acoustic stimulation with DPOAE, audiometric evaluation, and high frequency audiometric evaluation were performed in all individuals participating in the study. Results: In our study, patients with COVID-19 had significantly lower DPOAE results with or without broadband noise at only 6 kHz frequency and contralateral suppression results at all frequencies compared to healthy individuals. A statistically significant difference was found between the study and control groups according to whether the participants had a response in the high frequency audiometry at 12 and 16 kHz frequencies. Conclusions: COVID-19 affects many systems in the body. As a result of the findings obtained in the present study, it is shown that the auditory efferent system may also be affected.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2Medial olivocochlear reflexOuter hair cellsHearing lossArticle10.1080/00016489.2022.20939671426509514357918012-s2.0-85133519770Q2WOS:000821394600001Q4