Common inner ear viruses

The results indicated that 7. Scott Shapiro , MD, an otolaryngologist ear, nose, and throat specialist at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, tells Verywell that other viruses, like those that cause colds, the flu, and measles and mumps, can all infect the inner ear as well.

According to infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja says that many viruses "are able to cause disease in the inner ear but it is unclear how many do it through direct viral infection.

Scientists have now determined that it's possible for the virus that causes COVID to infect the inner ear, which might explain why some people who get the virus have ear-related symptoms. That said, there are also other viruses and causes of ear symptoms. They can determine the cause of your symptoms and recommend the most appropriate treamtent. The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this.

Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Communications Medicine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ear Nose Throat Journal. Almufarrij I, Munro KJ. International Journal of Audiology.

Published online March 22, When one side is infected, it sends faulty signals. The brain thus receives mismatched information, resulting in dizziness or vertigo. Neuritis inflammation of the nerve affects the branch associated with balance, resulting in dizziness or vertigo but no change in hearing.

The term neuronitis damage to the sensory neurons of the vestibular ganglion is also used. Labyrinthitis inflammation of the labyrinth occurs when an infection affects both branches of the vestibulo-cochlear nerve, resulting in hearing changes as well as dizziness or vertigo.

Inner ear infections that cause vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis are usually viral rather than bacterial. Although the symptoms of bacterial and viral infections may be similar, the treatments are very different, so proper diagnosis by a physician is essential. In serous labyrinthitis , bacteria that have infected the middle ear or the bone surrounding the inner ear produce toxins that invade the inner ear via the oval or round windows and inflame the cochlea, the vestibular system, or both.

Serous labyrinthitis is most frequently a result of chronic, untreated middle ear infections chronic otitis media and is characterized by subtle or mild symptoms.

Less common is suppurative labyrinthitis , in which bacterial organisms themselves invade the labyrinth. The infection originates either in the middle ear or in the cerebrospinal fluid, as a result of bacterial meningitis. Bacteria can enter the inner ear through the cochlear aqueduct or internal auditory canal, or through a fistula abnormal opening in the horizontal semicircular canal.

Viral infections of the inner ear are more common than bacterial infections, but less is known about them. An inner ear viral infection may be the result of a systemic viral illness one affecting the rest of the body, such as infectious mononucleosis or measles ; or, the infection may be confined to the labyrinth or the vestibulo-cochlear nerve. Usually, only one ear is affected.

Some of the viruses that have been associated with vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis include herpes viruses such as the ones that cause cold sores or chicken pox and shingles , influenza, measles, rubella, mumps, polio, hepatitis, and Epstein-Barr. Other viruses may be involved that are as yet unidentified because of difficulties in sampling the labyrinth without destroying it.

Because the inner ear infection is usually caused by a virus, it can run its course and then go dormant in the nerve only to flare up again at any time. There is currently no way to predict whether or not it will come back. Symptoms of viral neuritis can be mild or severe, ranging from subtle dizziness to a violent spinning sensation vertigo. They can also include nausea, vomiting, unsteadiness and imbalance, difficulty with vision, and impaired concentration.

Sometimes the symptoms can be so severe that they affect the ability to stand up or walk. Onset of symptoms is usually very sudden, with severe dizziness developing abruptly during routine daily activities. In other cases, the symptoms are present upon awakening in the morning.

The sudden onset of such symptoms can be very frightening; many people go to the emergency room or visit their physician on the same day.

After a period of gradual recovery that may last several weeks, some people are completely free of symptoms. You may not alter the images provided, other than to crop them to size.

A credit line must be used when reproducing images; if one is not provided below, credit the images to "MIT. Previous image Next image. Many Covid patients have reported symptoms affecting the ears, including hearing loss and tinnitus. Dizziness and balance problems can also occur, suggesting that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may be able to infect the inner ear. A new study from MIT and Massachusetts Eye and Ear provides evidence that the virus can indeed infect cells of the inner ear, including hair cells, which are critical for both hearing and balance.

The researchers also found that the pattern of infection seen in human inner ear tissue is consistent with the symptoms seen in a study of 10 Covid patients who reported a variety of ear-related symptoms.

The researchers used novel cellular models of the human inner ear that they developed, as well as hard-to-obtain adult human inner ear tissue, for their studies. The limited availability of such tissue has hindered previous studies of Covid and other viruses that can cause hearing loss. Before the Covid pandemic began, Gehrke and Stankovic began working together on a project to develop cellular models to study infections of the human inner ear.

Viruses such as cytomegalovirus, mumps virus, and hepatitis viruses can all cause deafness, but exactly how they do so is not well-understood. At Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Stankovic started to see patients who were experiencing hearing loss, tinnitus, and dizziness, who had tested positive for Covid They created their cellular models by taking human skin cells and transforming them into induced pluripotent stem cells.

Then, they were able to stimulate those cells to differentiate into several types of cells found in the inner ear: hair cells, supporting cells, nerve fibers, and Schwann cells, which insulate neurons. These cells could be grown in a flat, two-dimensional layer or organized into three-dimensional organoids. Usually tinnitus noises caused by an infection will disappear without treatment, but they can be frustrating to deal with. In most cases, inner ear infection symptoms last for several days days, although in the worst cases they can last for weeks.

Unfortunately, some infections which will return until treated correctly. It's important, for this reason, for a person suffering from symptoms to visit a doctor. There are also several serious conditions that can cause similar symptoms, which is another reason why a professional medical examination is important. This can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and tinnitus, but is more serious than a regular infection.