Patients with thyroid eye disease (TED) are more likely to experience hearing loss, according to a presentation at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2025 annual meeting, held in Orlando, FL, October 18 to 20, 2025.
Led by Jason Brant, MD, an associate professor and neurotology research director in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health’s Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, led the research team, which also included Vinaya Manchaiah, the otolaryngology professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and some Amgen employees.
Research suggests TED is linked with hearing impairment for some patients, and pathophysiology is unclear as patients with TED do not usually receive routine hearing screening.
The investigators reviewed data from the Merative MarketScan Research Claims Database from 2014 to 2019 of adults with Graves’ disease (GD) and at least 1 eye sign or symptom of TED in the past year (n=38,723), patients with GD (n=171,831), and control individuals (n=20,283,009). Control individuals tended to be younger and were more likely to be women. The researchers used multivariable Cox regression to analyze the link between hearing loss and TED and machine learning methodology to hearing loss risk factors, and cumulative incidence (CI) was adjusted for age and gender.
These findings underscore the importance of early audiologic screening and increased clinical vigilance for hearing impairment in the comprehensive care of patients with TED, especially given the multifactorial nature of hearing loss.
Patients with thyroid eye disease were the most likely to have hearing loss. Multivariable analysis indicated they were 60% more likely to have hearing loss compared with control individuals. Those with GD possessed the second-highest risk
Men were 30% more likely to have hearing loss. Patients with tinnitus were 5.2 times more likely. Dry eye, dyslipidemia and ototoxic drug use (macrolide and NSAIDs) also raised the odds.
“These findings underscore the importance of early audiologic screening and increased clinical vigilance for hearing impairment in the comprehensive care of patients with TED, especially given the multifactorial nature of hearing loss,” the presenters explained.
Study limitations include those common in retrospective analyses.
Disclosure: Multiple study authors declared affiliations with the biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies, including Amgen, which sponsored the study. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.