Treatment of post-COVID symptoms with auricular vagus nerve stimulation.
Gebetsroither, Patrick, Ettenauer, Thomas, Likar, Rudolf · Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2026 · DOI
Quick Summary
Researchers tested a treatment called auricular vagus nerve stimulation (mild electrical stimulation applied to the ear) in 9 patients with long COVID symptoms. After 4 weeks of treatment, patients reported improvement in 28 out of 35 symptoms they were tracked for, with particular benefits for pain, fatigue, exhaustion after activity, sleep problems, and heart/blood pressure irregularities. Many of these improvements lasted when patients were checked again 12 weeks later.
Why It Matters
Long COVID remains poorly understood and lacks approved treatments; this study suggests vagus nerve stimulation may help manage multiple core ME/CFS-like symptoms simultaneously. The finding that benefits persisted at 12-week follow-up warrants further investigation into this non-pharmacological approach. For ME/CFS patients seeking treatment options, this provides preliminary evidence that may inform discussions with healthcare providers.
Observed Findings
28 out of 35 tracked symptoms showed improvement immediately after the 4-week treatment period.
19 of the 28 initially improved symptoms maintained improvement at the 12-week follow-up.
19 out of 22 quality-of-life domains showed improvement to varying degrees.
The greatest reported benefits occurred in pain, fatigue, post-exertional malaise, sleep disturbances, and dysautonomia (heart rate and blood pressure regulation problems).
Inferred Conclusions
Auricular vagus nerve stimulation may have therapeutic potential for managing multiple long COVID symptoms simultaneously.
Some treatment benefits appear durable, persisting beyond the active treatment period.
This approach may warrant further investigation in larger, controlled clinical trials.
Remaining Questions
Does the improvement persist beyond 12 weeks, or do symptoms eventually return?
How do results from this small group compare to a control group receiving sham treatment or standard care?
Which patients are most likely to benefit from this treatment, and what patient characteristics predict better outcomes?
What This Study Does Not Prove
This study does not prove that auricular vagus nerve stimulation is an effective long COVID or ME/CFS treatment. The lack of a control group means improvements could result from placebo effect, natural recovery, or other factors unrelated to the stimulation. The very small sample size (n=9) and retrospective design mean results may not apply to other patient populations and cannot establish that the treatment caused the improvements.