Short-term Effects of Radioiodine Therapy on Auditory Function.

OBJECTIVE Radioiodine therapy (RIT) is frequently utilized as an adjunctive treatment option for differentiated thyroid carcinoma following surgical intervention. The side effects of RIT are considered to emerge as a result of radioiodine accumulation in non-thyroidal tissues capable of iodine uptake. We aimed to evaluate the effects of RIT on auditory function. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients who had undergone total thyroidectomy and diagnosed to have differentiated thyroid carcinoma were analyzed. Those who were given RIT were included. Pure-tone audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emission (DP-OAE) results were recorded along with patient demographics, RIT dose, and thyroid hormone profiles, both before and 3 months after RIT. RESULTS Here, 63 patients were enrolled. Following RIT, audiometric thresholds at 0.25, 0.5, 4, and 8 kHz in addition to pure-tone average increased significantly; however, the change in DP-OAE results was not statistically significant at any frequency. The RIT dose had no effect on auditory function. CONCLUSION In this study, we found some deleterious effects of RIT on audiometric thresholds, with no significant effect on DP-OAE results.