Objective To explore the differences in clinical characteristics of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) between patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and those without-COVID-19. Methods 31 SSNHL patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in a department during the COVID-19 epidemic period (from December 2022 to January 2023) were included as the study group, and 12 SSNHL patients without COVID-19 who received treatment during the non-COVID-19 epidemic period (from December 2021 to January 2022) were co-llected as the control group. Two groups of patients received standardized treatment, and their clinical characteristics and prognosis were compared. Clinical characteristics of SSNHL patients with COVID-19 during the COVID-19 epidemic period were analyzed. Results The time interval from patients developed COVID-19 to the onset of SSNHL in the study group was 3-30 days. The time interval from onset to consultation were 3 (1, 7) days and 5 (4, 6) days in the study group and the control group, respectively, with no significant difference (P>0.05). The average age of patients in the study group was (44.16±13.54) years, which was higher than that of the control group (35.23±9.24) years, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The hearing at damaged frequency of the study group improved by 6.5 (0.5, 24.5) dB after therapy, which was lower than that of the control group (36.0 ［27.0, 38.0］dB), with statistically significant difference (P<0.05). There was a negative correlation of the interval of consultation with the average improvement level of hearing at damaged frequency (r=-0.318, P=0.033). The longer the interval, the less the hearing improvement and the worse the therapeutic effect. Correlation analysis was further conducted on the time interval from development of COVID-19 to SSNHL onset and the time interval of consultation in patients in the study group, which showed no correlation (r=-0.337, P=0.059). There was no statistically significant difference in the types and degree of SSNHL between two groups of patients (both P>0.05). After standardized treatment, the rate of ineffective patients in the study group was 56.25%, which was higher than that in the control group (15.38%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion After adjusting the COVID-19 prevention and control policies, there are more hospitalized COVID-19 patients with SSNHL, with a higher proportion in patients of older age, with poorer efficacy, and ineffective treatment. The earlier the treatment for SSNHL patients, the better the effect can achieve. COVID-19 may be a potential inducement and/or etiological factor of SSNHL, and further research is needed.