Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41683839›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of molecular sciences2026

Audiovestibular Dysfunction Related to Long COVID-19 Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Characteristics, Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management.

Jiann-Jy Chen, Chih-Wei Hsu, Hung-Yu Wang, Brendon Stubbs, Tien-Yu Chen, Chih-Sung Liang, Yen-Wen Chen, Bing-Syuan Zeng, Ping-Tao Tseng

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of molecular sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jiann-Jy ChenProspect Clinic for Otorhinolaryngology & Neurology, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan.
Chih-Wei HsuDepartment of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan.ORCID 0000-0002-8650-4060
Hung-Yu WangKaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung 802, Taiwan.
Brendon StubbsDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
Tien-Yu ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical University, Taipei 114, Taiwan.ORCID 0000-0001-8462-1311
Chih-Sung LiangDepartment of Psychiatry, Beitou Branch, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical University, Taipei 114, Taiwan.
Yen-Wen ChenProspect Clinic for Otorhinolaryngology & Neurology, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan.
Bing-Syuan ZengDepartment of Internal Medicine, E-Da Cancer Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan.
Ping-Tao TsengProspect Clinic for Otorhinolaryngology & Neurology, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan.ORCID 0000-0001-5761-7800

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Long COVID-19 syndrome (or so-called post-COVID-19) is indicated by miscellaneous symptoms, usually starting 3 months from the COVID-19 infection and lasting for at least 2 months, which cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis. There has been more and more reports addressing the audiovestibular dysfunction related to long COVID-19 syndrome. Emerging evidence suggests that the linkage between audiovestibular dysfunction and long COVID-19 syndrome might rely on (a) direct inner ear system damage related to viral invasion and consequent inflammation, (b) micro thromboembolic events, which might result from the COVID-19-induced autoimmune reaction against endothelial cells, and consequent transient-ischemia and hypoxia of the auditory pathways, (c) the disturbed nerve conduction in vestibulocochlear nerves due to viral invasion, and finally (d) altered auditory cortex function, either imbalanced central gain or neurotransmitter disturbance. However, most of the aforementioned mechanism remained hypothetic and still needed further studies to approve or refute. This systematic review synthesizes current evidence on the characteristics, pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches, and management of audiovestibular dysfunction related to long COVID-19 syndrome. Literature searches across PubMed, Embase, ClinicalKey, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect (up to 15 December 2025) were conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Through this systematic review, we provided a schematic diagram of the physiopathology of long COVID-19 syndrome-related audiovestibular dysfunction. Further, we summarized the currently available diagnostic tools to explore the audiovestibular function in such patients. The currently available treatment, either pharmacotherapy or nonpharmacotherapy, mainly tackles idiopathic audiovestibular dysfunction but not specifically long COVID-19 syndrome-related audiovestibular dysfunction. Timely recognition and intervention may prevent progression to permanent hearing loss or vestibular disability, improving quality of life. Trial registration: PROSPERO CRD420251265741.

Indexed as

COVID-19Vestibular DiseasesHumansPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSARS-CoV-2cochleopathylong COVID-19 syndromesensorineural hearing losstreatmentvestibular

Identifiers

PMID41683839
PMCPMC12898127

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.