In April last year, registered nurse Kim Gibson tested positive to a mild case of COVID-19, but the symptoms that developed after were anything but.

Key points:

  • Kim Gibson suffered hearing loss, along with tinnitus and vertigo after catching COVID-19
  • She documented her experience in the BMJ Case Reports
  • Doctors hope her experience will open doors to more national research

She thought the virus was behind her, but five weeks later she developed new symptoms.

“I woke up and I could hardly stand up straight, I felt like I was on a boat,” Ms Gibson said.

“It impacted me personally and professionally, it was a real debilitating time in my life.

“I was very sensitive to any noise.”

Ms Gibson suffered hearing loss in her right ear, along with tinnitus and vertigo.

“My GP couldn’t see anything wrong with my ear drum … I was referred to an ENT surgeon,” Ms Gibson said.

She said she went through months of agony desperate for answers on what exactly caused her sudden loss of hearing.

To her surprise, doctors confirmed it was a rare side effect of long COVID.

“We had a diagnosis of exclusion, we had to exclude other pathology, which is what the MRI did,” she said.

“I was placed on a high dose of steroids for two weeks, which did improve my hearing.”

Kim Gibson’s experience has been published in British Medical Journal.(ABC News: Shari Hams)

She started to research and study the issue.

“We looked at the literature and there were case studies evolving around COVID-19 and hearing loss,” she said. 

“There were lots of other stories of tinnitus, ringing in the ears, which I still experience.

“I had no idea you could lose your hearing from COVID-19.

“What we were seeing that hearing loss was the first signs of COVID-19.”

Doctors need ‘comprehensive picture’ of long COVID

Ms Gibson documented her experience which has now been published in BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) Case Reports.

She worked in partnership with the University of South Australia and PhD researcher Micah Peters.

“We are more worried about hospitalisations and the risk of the death and now we need to refocus on the long-term impacts as we are going through this stage,” Ms Gibson said.

Micah Peters said there’s a lack of information for clinicians on long COVID.(ABC News: Shari Hams)

It is estimated between five and 10 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Australia result in long COVID symptoms, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Dr Peters said there was a lack of information for clinicians on long COVID and hoped the study would open doors to more national research. 

“It demonstrates that even when people think they are in the clear, they might have a long-term effect that arises and they perhaps might realise it’s something to do with their COVID-19 diagnosis,” Dr Peters said.

“The attention has got to be paid not only to acute COVID-19 infections — particularly with new variants emerging — but as we get a clearer understanding of the long-term effects people can be experiencing for the rest of their lives.

“Clinicians are definitely going to want to focus on these effects too.”

He said that there was a range of COVID-19 symptoms coming to light.

“Brain fog and fatigue can be common long-term effects of COVID-19, hearing loss is less common, but as more evidence comes out we are seeing more people could be affected by it,” Dr Peters said. 

“We need a better and more comprehensive picture of the long-term effects that can impact on people, in weeks or months or even years later on.”

While Ms Gibson still suffers tinnitus in her right ear, she’s grateful she was placed on medication which alleviated the hearing loss.

She encouraged anyone with concerns to see their local GP.

“Early treatment does predict outcomes,” she said.