Conductive hearing loss – commonly due to obstructions like excessive earwax, a problem that appears to be more common in people with hypothyroidism. Autoimmune inner ear disease, also known as AIED, which is more common in people with Hashimoto's and other autoimmune conditions.
Hypothyroidism causes many symptoms and signs like fatigue, lethargy, weight gain, cold intolerance, etc., it also causes hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus. Approximately 40% of adults with hypothyroidism have the involvement of sensorineural hearing loss in both ears.
Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism patients are also at higher risk of developing Meniere's disease, an autoimmune disease that affects the inner ear. Meniere's disease symptoms include tinnitus, vertigo, a feeling of fullness in the ear, and sensorineural hearing loss.
Patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) are at higher risk of developing audiological abnormalities as compared to the healthy individuals [1]. This auditory dysfunction can be multifactorial as indicated by case studies done on HT.
Sensitive Skin and Skin Discoloration
Thyroid hormones also influence the quality of your skin in various ways. For example, with hyperthyroidism, you may notice itchy and dry patches of skin. Your face may feel softer and swollen. You may even notice swelling around your fingertips.
A swollen fingertip, curved nail, and thickening skin above a nail are often signs of thyroid disease.
What is AIED? Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) is an inflammatory condition of the inner ear. It occurs when the body's immune system attacks cells in the inner ear that are mistaken for a virus or bacteria. AIED is a rare disease occurring in less than one percent of the 28 million Americans with a hearing loss.
Conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are linked to hearing loss and tinnitus.
Symptoms of a Hashimoto's Flare-Up
Constipation. Dry skin. Puffy face. Muscle aches.
Thyroid hormones are crucial for brain development, and influence brain function throughout life. In adults, hypothyroidism causes lethargy, hyporeflexia, and poor motor coordination (1,2), is associated with bipolar affective disorders, depression, or loss of cognitive functions (3,4).
Common signs of an underactive thyroid are tiredness, weight gain and feeling depressed. An underactive thyroid can often be successfully treated by taking daily hormone tablets to replace the hormones your thyroid isn't making. There's no way of preventing an underactive thyroid.
Conclusion. Recent studies suggest that there is an association between MD and hypothyroidism, especially hypothyroidism that is a result of autoimmune thyroiditis. This association seems to be related to an autoimmune mechanism rather than reduced thyroid hormone.
There are several signs that might indicate thyroid cancer. These include a lump or swelling in the neck; neck, throat or ear pain; difficulty swallowing and/or breathing; hoarseness; chronic cough; swollen lymph nodes and wheezing.
Tinnitus has been found in patients with hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis (10).
Excessive earwax may be caused by the shape of an individual's ear, ear trauma, scar tissue, water buildup, improper removal methods, and high amounts of ear hair. Older individuals are also more likely to have higher amounts of earwax.
There are several health conditions that cause buildup earwax: Infectious diseases like “the swimmer” ear. Autoimmune diseases like lupus.
Diagnosis. Blood tests to help confirm or rule out an underlying autoimmune disorder (ANA, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor, human leukocyte antigens, C-reactive protein). Other blood tests may include anti-cochlear antibody test, lymphocyte transformation assay, Lyme titer.
Health conditions common in older people, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, can contribute to hearing loss. Ear infections caused by viruses and bacteria (also known as otitis media), a heart condition, stroke, brain injury, or a tumor may also affect your hearing.
Some examples of autoimmune disorders that have presented with AIED are Cogan's syndrome, relapsing polychondritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, polyarteritis nodosa, Sjogren's syndrome, and Lyme disease.
Symptoms of relapsing polychondritis usually begin with the sudden onset of pain, tenderness and swelling of the cartilage of one or both ears. This inflammation may spread to the fleshy portion of the outer ear causing it to narrow. Attacks may last several days to weeks before subsiding.
Hypothyroidism is underactivity of the thyroid gland that leads to inadequate production of thyroid hormones and a slowing of vital body functions. Facial expressions become dull, the voice is hoarse, speech is slow, eyelids droop, and the eyes and face become puffy.
In hypothyroidism, the skin tends to be pale both because of the dermal mucopolysaccharides and dermal water content. In addition, increased dermal carotene may appear as a prominent yellow hue on the palms, soles and nasolabial folds.