Prevalence of otoneurological symptoms in individuals with congenital hypothyroidism: pilot study

Abstract Purpose To investigate the frequency of otoneurological symptoms in children with congenital hypothyroidism and correlate them to the clinical aspects. Methods Exploratory study of sectional descriptive character. The sample was composed by parents and/or caregivers of 105 children diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism and age of 5 years or more. Data collection used a structured questionnaire developed and tested by researchers. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from medical records. Results Most subjects (72.4%) showed symptoms related to vestibulocochlear disorder, in which dizziness/vertigo corresponded to 56.2% of symptoms, followed by hearing loss (43.8%) and tinnitus (12.4%). We observed statistical correlation between hearing loss (p = 0.016) and age of neonatal screening test, as well as symptoms of dizziness/vertigo with congenital hypothyroidism (p = 0.003). For hearing loss (PR = 0.49; CI = 0.31 to 0.77), the exposure factor showed a correlation with the probability of 95%. Conclusion These findings suggest a significant prevalence and association between congenital hypothyroidism and otoneurological symptoms, especially dizziness, hearing loss and tinnitus.