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Electrophysiological tests of the hearing organ in Hashimoto's disease
Wojciech Gawron1, Lucyna Pośpiech, Anna Noczyńska
1ENT Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Wroclaw, Poland. wgawron@interia.pl
Insights
Children with Hashimoto's thyroiditis show normal hearing but have central auditory pathway disturbances. Higher antithyroperoxidase antibody levels correlate with these subclinical hearing issues.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Endocrinology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Autoimmune thyroid diseases like Hashimoto's thyroiditis can affect the auditory system.
- Subclinical hearing impairments may occur even in euthyroid patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate peripheral and central auditory function in children diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
- To investigate the correlation between antithyroperoxidase antibody levels and auditory pathway integrity.
Main Methods:
- Pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) assessed peripheral hearing.
- Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) evaluated central auditory pathway function.
- Thirty euthyroid children with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and elevated antithyroperoxidase (ATPO) antibodies were included.
Main Results:
- All audiological tests, including pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, and DPOAEs, were normal, indicating no peripheral hearing loss.
- Significant abnormalities were detected in the auditory nerve and brainstem neural conduction via BAEPs.
- A positive correlation was observed between ATPO antibody concentration and the severity of central auditory pathway disturbances.
Conclusions:
- Hashimoto's thyroiditis can lead to subclinical central auditory processing deficits in children, despite normal peripheral hearing.
- These findings suggest a potential link between autoimmune thyroid disease and central auditory dysfunction, possibly related to Hashimoto's encephalopathy.
Abstract:
Thyroid gland diseases resulting from an autoimmunological process may influence the hearing organ. The aim of this study was to assess peripheral and central parts of the hearing organ in children with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Thirty children (mean age 14.9 years) with Hashimoto's thyroiditis were examined. Patients were euthyroid, and presented high blood concentration of antithyroperoxidase (ATPO) antibodies. Pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), and brain auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) were performed. None of the patients had any complaints about hearing acuity; pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, and DPOAEs were normal in all patients. There were considerable disturbances in auditory nerve and brainstem neural conduction in BAEPs. There was positive correlation between the blood concentration of ATPOA and the extent of the disturbances in the central part of the hearing organ. One should consider the possible presence of subclinical Hashimoto's encephalopathy affecting the central part of the auditory organ.
