Impacts of covid-19 on the peripheral and central auditory system of children and adolescents

Abstract

COVID-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a new virus in the coronavirus family. The transmission occurs mainly through the respiratory route, but some studies have shown the possibility of vertical transmission. The transmission via placental can affect the formation of the auditory system and cause hearing damage in the fetus. Some researchers have described alterations in the auditory system in adults who tested positive for COVID-19, however, there is no information about hearing changes in children and adolescents who had COVID-19. The early diagnosis of alterations in the child's auditory development allows therapeutic intervention as soon as possible, which contributes to reducing damage to the child's communication and social interaction. This study aims to analyze the motor, cognitive, language and auditory development of children whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy, through an auditory and developmental monitoring of children over the first 12 months of life. Also aims to peripheral and central audiological evaluation of children and adolescents who tested positive for COVID-19. The study sample will consists of two experimental groups and respective control groups. Experimental Group 1 will consist of infants up to one year old, whose mothers were infected with SARS-CoV-2, selected during the newborn hearing screening at the Hospital da Mulher Prof. Dr. Aristodemo Pinotti- CAISM/Unicamp. The Experimental Group 2 will be formed by children and adolescents between one and 18 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19 through laboratory tests. For Experimental Group 1, it is intended to do an audiological evaluation and monitoring of auditory and language development until the first year of life, through behavioral observation for verbal and non-verbal sounds, Visual Reinforcement Audiometry, Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA), Tympanometry, Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAE) and Otoacustic Emissions by Distorcion Products (DPOAE). For the assessment of global development, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development and the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development - Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS) questionnaire will be applied. For Experimental Group 2, peripheral and central audiological evaluation will be performed through behavioral and electrophysiological tests with verbal and non-verbal sounds. The results found in the groups will be compared within and between subjects. Subsequently, they will be typed through a data entry program specially prepared for the research and sent for statistical analysis in the Statistics sector of the Research Commission of the Faculty of Medical Sciences - UNICAMP. Tables and graphs will be created to present the results. (AU)