Audiological Evaluation in Goitrous Hypotyhroidism

M. K. Aggarwal, Gautam Bir Singh, Ranjan K. Nag, S. K. Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Mayank Yadav

Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, Varanasi, India.
Lady Hardinge Medical College & Associated Hospitals, New Delhi, India.

DOI: 10.4236/ijohns.2013.25042                

Abstract

Objective: To determine the incidence of deafness in patients suffering from goiterous hypothyroidism exclusively and to evaluate the role of L-thyroxine therapy in improving the hearing in this group of patients. Study Design: A prospective cohort study. Materials and Methods: Hearing status was evaluated in a sample size of 100 consecutive patients reporting to the ENT/Endocrinology department of Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP with the diagnosis of goitrous hypothyroidism. The study group included patients in the age group of 5 to 65 years belonging to either sex. Patients with detected hearing loss were categorized into group A, and all other patients were designated group B. L-Thyroxine treatment for goitrous hypothyroidism was initiated in all the cases. At the end of 6 months, a repeat audiogram was done in all the patients in order to evaluate the efficacy of the said treatment protocol on the hearing in these patients. The data were tabulated and statistically analysed using Paired Students “t” test. Results: An overall 39% hearing loss was observed in patients with goitrous hypothyroidism. 15% cases had sensorineural hearing loss, 13% had mixed hearing loss and 8% had a conductive hearing loss. A statistically significant hearing improvement was recorded in this study by L-thyroxine treatment in group-A, and no deterioration of hearing was recorded in group-B. Conclusions: The incidence of sensorineural hearing is less in patients with goitrous hypothyroidism (15%) as compared with the overall incidence of sensorineural hearing loss reported for hypothyroidism (30%-40%). Further, there is a definitive improvement in hearing with the use of L-thyroxine treatment of goitrous hypothyroidism.

Keywords

Hypothyroidism; Goitre; Hearing Loss; L-Thyroxine Treatment

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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