Does a patient with acquired arbovirus infection have a hearing impairment? A scoping review of hearing changes in an adult with Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika

Objectives: To identify and understand the evidence regarding hearing changes related to acquired Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika virus infection in adult individuals.

Methods: A scoping review was performed according to the recommendations of The Joanna Briggs Institute and guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews in the Embase, PubMed/Medline, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science databases without restriction on language and year of publication. Case studies, observational studies, and clinical trials reporting hearing loss in adult subjects (>18-60 years of age) of both sexes with DENV, CHIKV, or ZIKV diagnosed by positive molecular/serological examination by RT-PCR or IgM/IgG by ELISA method were included.

Results: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were selected for review. The occurrence of auditory symptoms caused by arboviroses and the presence of permanent or transient sensorineural hearing loss was variable in adults.

Conclusions: Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika infections in adults are associated with a variety of auditory symptoms. The frequency of permanent or transient sensorineural hearing loss is low but not negligible.