Deafness in Myxoedema

Deafness has been demonstrated in 41 (85 per cent) of a consecutive series of 48 patients with myxoedema. There was no difference between the incidence of high and low frequency hearing loss. Severe myxoedema was associated with a higher incidence of deafness than mild myxoedema. Hearing was retested when patients were euthyroid following treatment with thyroxine. Improvement in hearing was found in 55 out of 75 deaf ears (73 per cent) and return to normal hearing occurred in 17 (23 per cent) of the 75 deaf ears.