Rifle Blast Exacerbating Hearing Loss in a Patient Treated With Teprotumumab for Thyroid Eye Disease

Abstract

Teprotumumab is a promising new immunomodulatory therapy for thyroid eye disease. One unique adverse effect observed in clinical trials was hearing impairment; however, all adverse auditory effects in prior clinical trials resolved spontaneously after completion of teprotumumab therapy. The authors present a case of a patient on teprotumumab for thyroid eye disease who experienced sustained hearing loss secondary to shooting a rifle without ear protection. In this case, it is suspected the teprotumumab infusions resulted in increased susceptibility of the inner ear hair cells to noise-induced trauma secondary to IGF-IR inhibition. Specific ear protection protocols may need to be implemented in the future for patients on teprotumumab therapy to prevent sustained hearing loss, especially for susceptible patient populations.