Do antithyroid antibodies affect hearing outcomes in patients with pediatric euthyroid Hashimoto's thyroiditis?

Abstract Objectives Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is the most common autoimmune thyroid disease in children. HT is a multifaceted disease with a variable clinicopathological presentation, including hearing impairment. It is known that hearing function is negatively affected in patients with thyroid disorders. The literature includes a very limited number of studies on hearing function in euthyroid pediatric patients with HT. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between cochlear function and HT, independent of thyroid function. Materials and Methods The study included 48 children and adolescents (42 females and 6 males) aged 9–18 years that were diagnosed as HT, and 30 gender- and age-matched healthy controls. Hearing was assessed via otoscopy, tympanometry, pure-tone audiometry, and measurement of distortion product otoacoustic emissions. Results There weren't any significant differences in pure tone thresholds between the 2 groups based on pure-tone audiometry, except in the right ear at 6 kHz and 8 kHz. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions signal to noise ratios were significantly lower in the HT group than in the control group at 4 different frequencies (6 kHz [left ear], 8 kHz [left ear], 1.5 kHz [right ear], and 6 kHz [right ear]) ( P P Conclusions The present findings show that cochlear function was lower in the HT group than in the control group. Accordingly, we think that hearing in patients with HT should be monitored periodically, even if their hearing thresholds are within normal limits. Thyroid autoimmunity appears to play an important role in a decrease in cochlear activity in pediatric HT patients.