{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,25]],"date-time":"2026-03-25T11:31:04Z","timestamp":1774438264222,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,25]],"date-time":"2022-07-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1658707200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["SAJCD"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the latest public health emergency that has presented challenges globally. Limited evidence exists on the association between COVID-19 and middle ear pathologies, regardless of the respiratory nature of some of the core symptoms.Objective:\u00a0This scoping review aimed at exploring evidence on the effects of COVID-19 on middle ear functioning as part of symptom mapping and preventive planning for ear and hearing care.Method:\u00a0Electronic bibliographic databases, including Medline, ProQuest, PubMed, Science Direct, ERIC and Scopus, were searched to identify peer reviewed publications, published in English, between December 2019 and January 2022, related to the effects of COVID-19 on middle ear functioning. The keywords used as MeSH terms included \u2018middle ear pathology\u2019, \u2018middle ear disorder\u2019, \u2018otitis media\u2019, \u2018hearing loss\u2019, \u2018hearing impairment\u2019, \u2018audiology\u2019 and \u2018COVID-19\u2019 or \u2018coronavirus\u2019.Results:\u00a0From eight studies that met the inclusion criteria, the findings revealed that middle ear pathologies occur in this population, with the occurrence ranging from 1.15% to 75%. Tympanic membrane structural changes, otitis media and conductive hearing loss (CHL) were commonly reported. The current findings must be interpreted with caution given that most of the studies reviewed had extremely small sample sizes or were case studies or series, thus limiting generalisability.Conclusion:\u00a0The findings highlight the value of strategic research planning to collate data during pandemics, ensuring that future studies use appropriate and well-designed methodologies. Trends and patterns of middle ear pathologies in this population must also be established to determine the need for periodic monitoring.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/sajcd.v69i2.910","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,1]],"date-time":"2022-08-01T11:26:15Z","timestamp":1659353175000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Middle ear status \u2013 structure, function and pathology: A scoping review on middle ear status of COVID-19 positive patients"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"69","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4773-3204","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ben","family":"Sebothoma","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6220-9606","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katijah","family":"Khoza-Shangase","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,25]]},"container-title":["South African Journal of Communication Disorders"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/sajcd.org.za\/index.php\/sajcd\/article\/viewFile\/910\/1746","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/sajcd.org.za\/index.php\/sajcd\/article\/viewFile\/910\/1747","content-type":"application\/epub+zip","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/sajcd.org.za\/index.php\/sajcd\/article\/viewFile\/910\/1748","content-type":"text\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/sajcd.org.za\/index.php\/sajcd\/article\/viewFile\/910\/1749","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/sajcd.org.za\/index.php\/sajcd\/article\/viewFile\/910\/1749","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,1]],"date-time":"2022-08-01T11:26:21Z","timestamp":1659353181000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/sajcd.org.za\/index.php\/sajcd\/article\/view\/910"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,25]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,18]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/sajcd.v69i2.910","relation":{},"ISSN":["2225-4765","0379-8046"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2225-4765","type":"electronic"},{"value":"0379-8046","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,25]]}}}