Google Trends Analysis of Otologic Symptom Searches Following COVID-۱۹

Introduction:COVID-۱۹ 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 ۱۴ terms was collected, with significant changes identified in ۱۱. Six terms showed increased search interest, with the most significant rises observed for headache (r=۰.۵۸۹, p<۰.۰۰۱), dizziness (r=۰.۵۵۴, p<۰.۰۰۱), and tinnitus (r=۰.۴۱۰, p<۰.۰۰۱). Search interest decreased for five terms, with the most notable declines found in searches for migraine headache (r=۰.۳۵, p<۰.۰۰۱) and phonophobia (r=۰.۲۲, p=۰.۰۰۲). No significant changes were seen in ear pressure (p=۰.۱۴۲), neck pain (p=۰.۹۳۵), and sudden hearing loss (p=۰.۸۶۳) searches.Conclusion:COVID-۱۹ 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:

Google Trends , Pandemic , Search Interest , Otologic Symptoms , Search Trends