Thyroid Biology and Disease

SAT-400 - TSH Receptor Haploinsufficiency Impairs Auditory Function without Altering Thyroid Hormones

Saturday, June 13, 2026

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM CT

Location: ENDOExpo; Poster Floor

Abstract Poster Presenter(s)

Steven Sims, MS (he/him/his)

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY, United States

Co-Author(s)

MM

Maryam Mansoori, PhD (she/her/hers)

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
New York, NY, New York, United States
Vitaly Ryu, Ph.D. (he/him/his)

Associate Professor
Mount Sinai
New York, NY, United States
AG

Anisa Gumerova, MD, PhD (she/her/hers)

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York, NY, New York, United States
GP

Georgii Pevnev, MD

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
NEW YORK, New York, United States
FS

Farhath Sultana, PhD

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
NEW YORK, New York, United States
WZ

Weibin Zhou, PhD

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York City, New York, United States
OM

Ofer Moldavski, PhD

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York, NY, New York, United States
DL

Daria Lizneva, MD, PhD

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
NEW YORK, New York, United States
KG

Ki Goosens, PhD

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York, NY, New York, United States
TY

Tony Yuen, PhD

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
NEW YORK, New York, United States
PX

Pin-Xian Xu, PhD

Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York, New York, United States
SK

Se-Min Kim, MD (he/him/his)

Associate Professor
Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York, New York, United States
RL

Rauf Latif, PhD

Associate Professor
Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York, New York, United States
TD

Terry Davies, MD

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York, New York, United States

Senior Author/Primary Investigator(s)

MZ

Mone Zaidi, MD, PhD (he/him/his)

Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
New York, NY, New York, United States

Disclosure(s):

Steven Sims, MS: No financial relationships to disclose

Vitaly Ryu, PhD: No financial relationships to disclose

Hearing loss is a recognized yet understudied complication of thyroid dysfunction, despite the well-established association between thyroid disease and auditory impairment. Historically, auditory deficits observed in hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism were attributed to altered thyroid hormone (TH) levels. However, recent clinical observations of hearing loss in patients with Thyroid Eye Disease (Graves’ ophthalmopathy) following therapy with an IGF-1 receptor monoclonal antibody (teprotumumab) have highlighted this association. Highly suggestive evidence of a mechanism for such an association has come from emerging evidence of thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) expression within the auditory pathway. Such an observation challenges this paradigm and suggests a direct role for TSHR signaling in auditory function independent of TH levels. Here, we investigated the expression and functional role of the TSHR in the auditory system using our TSHR haploinsufficient mouse model. Auditory function was assessed by measuring summed electrical activity generated by the auditory nerve using Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) and acoustic signals generated by the outer hair cell of the cochlea by Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE). Auditory outcomes were compared with age- and sex-matched C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) controls. RNAscope and GFP immunofluorescence were used to localize TSHR expression in the auditory pathway. TSHR haploinsufficient mice exhibited ABR threshold values significantly higher compared to WT, particularly at higher frequencies, including 22 kHz (p-value= 0.000272) and 32 kHz (p-value= 0.000011). DPOAE amplitudes were also reduced, by 12 dB at the highest frequency, 32 kHz (p-value= 0.0164), indicating impaired auditory sensitivity and outer hair cell dysfunction. These auditory deficits occurred independently of systemic TH alterations as confirmed by thyroid function testing. Consistent with these functional findings, we detected Tshr mRNA expression and TSHR immunoreactivity in auditory structures along the peripheral and central auditory pathways, including the cochlea and key brainstem nuclei involved in auditory transduction, such as the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCP) and the lateral (LSO) and medial superior olive (MSO). Tshr expression is localized to specific cochlear cell types and neuronal populations, suggesting a prominent role for TSHR in sensorineural auditory processing. Together, these findings identify TSHR as a previously unrecognized regulator of auditory function and a potential mediator of hearing loss in thyroid related conditions. This work highlights TSH receptor signaling as a critical determinant of auditory function with implications for the understanding of hearing impairment in patients with thyroid disease and potential development of novel therapeutic strategies.

*Unless otherwise noted, all abstracts presented at ENDO must not be released to the press or the public until the date and time of presentation. For oral presentations, the abstracts are embargoed until the session begins. The Endocrine Society reserves the right to lift the embargo on specific abstracts that are selected for promotion prior to or during ENDO.*