Google Trends Analysis of Otologic Symptom Searches Following COVID-19

Document Type : Original

Authors

1 School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States and Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.

2 Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.

3 Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States and Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.

10.22038/ijorl.2024.75617.3532

Abstract

Introduction:
COVID-19 infection was accompanied by otologic symptoms, a pattern that was captured early by Google Trends. The objective of this study is to investigate searches for otologic symptoms and identify correlations with the pandemic onset.
Materials and Methods:
Search interest for otologic symptoms was gathered using Google Trends from two years before and two years following the pandemic start date. A two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test was used to identify significant changes and effect size.
Results:
In total, search interest for 14 terms was collected, with significant changes identified in 11. Six terms showed increased search interest, with the most significant rises observed for headache (r=0.589, p<0.001), dizziness (r=0.554, p<0.001), and tinnitus (r=0.410, p<0.001). Search interest decreased for five terms, with the most notable declines found in searches for migraine headache (r=0.35, p<0.001) and phonophobia (r=0.22, p=0.002). No significant changes were seen in ear pressure (p=0.142), neck pain (p=0.935), and sudden hearing loss (p=0.863) searches.
Conclusion:
COVID-19 infection is often accompanied otologic symptoms and holds a diagnostic role. Fluctuating search interest may be attributed to a true increase in cases, media trends, or people’s desires to stay informed. Google Trends robustly captured trends in search interest and presented itself as a valuable epidemiological tool.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Iranian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
Volume 36, Issue 3
May and June 2024
Pages 475-482

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