Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in patients with Ménière's disease.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence of hypothyroidism in a population of patients with Ménière's disease (MD).

DESIGN

Retrospective case-control study comparing the use of thyroid hormone supplements between patients with MD and controls.

SETTING

Outpatient neurology clinic specializing in the management of patients experiencing dizziness.

PATIENTS

Fifty patients who met the 1995 American Academy of Otolaryngology criteria for MD and 50 controls matched for age and sex also experiencing dizziness.

RESULTS

The 50 patients who met the criteria for MD were identified from a database of more than 2000 patients with dizziness seen over a 5-year period. Of these, 16 (32%) were taking thyroid hormone supplements in contrast to 2 (4%) of the 50 matched controls (P<.001). The median age of the patients with MD was 60 years, and 5 (19%) of the 26 patients younger than 60 years were taking thyroid hormone supplements, compared with 11 (46%) of 24 patients 60 years or older (P<.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the severity of hearing loss, pattern of hearing loss, or prevalence of bilateral hearing loss between patients with MD who were taking thyroid hormone supplements and patients with MD who were not.

CONCLUSION

Ménière's disease is associated with corrected hypothyroidism.