Study of cochlear function in neonates and infants with congenital hypothyroidism

Objective: To investigate the signal amplitudes of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) in neonates and infants diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism (HC) and verify their association with clinical and laboratory aspects. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of 22 individuals with congenital hypothyroidism and a group of 22 individuals without the disease, neonates and infants, aged 0-12 months. The TEOAE amplitudes were evaluated in both groups and compared using the Mann-Whitney test. The existence of association between TEOAE amplitudes and clinical-laboratory variables was verified through the Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between TEOAE amplitudes between the two groups. There was an association between the amplitudes of TEOAE and serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (T4) in the diagnostic test. Conclusions: The existence of an association between serum levels of TSH and free T4 in the diagnostic test and the amplitudes of TEOAE suggests the influence of these hormones on the auditory function.