The Prevalence of Hearing Loss in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Disease: A Prospective Study

Aims: To investigate the effect of Hashimoto`s thyroiditis and Graves` disease on hearing thresholds of adult patients. Materials and methods: 75 Patients participated in this study, they were divided into two groups: Hashimoto`s thyroiditis group (n=41), and Graves` disease group (n=34). Otoscopic examination, immittance testing, and pure tone audiometry were performed for both groups. Results: All participants had normal findings with otoscopic examination and the 0.226 KHz tympanometry test. Pure tone audiometric (PTA) testing showed mild to moderate sensorineural hearing (SNHL) loss in 16 (39%) patients diagnosed with Hashimoto`s thyroiditis and 8 (23.5%) patients with Graves` thyroiditis. Conclusion: Based on our study, mild to moderate SNHL was present in 32% of the patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases. Therefore, it was suggested that thyroid autoimmunity has a negative impact on the hearing acuity, particularly at the high frequencies. Our findings are in agreement with regional and international literature regarding this manner. Hence, an annual hearing screening is recommended for patients with thyroid autoimmune disease in order to provide early management.