Covid can lead to the loss of smell and taste, but another sense may also be at risk.

A recent study published in the Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal reported that a positive coronavirus diagnosis was associated with a more than threefold increase in risk for subsequent hearing loss in young adults.

The effects of covid can linger and affect nearly every organ system, increasing the risk for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cognitive impairment.

The new research may be an “alert” that “covid-19 may be an independent risk factor for hearing loss and sudden sensorineural hearing loss among young adults,” said Hye Jun Kim, a biomedical sciences PhD candidate at Seoul National University and an author of the study.