Tepezza is a treatment for thyroid eye disease that is linked to reports of hearing loss, deafness, ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and other permanent hearing problems.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Tepezza induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with hearing loss after using Tepezza, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Do I Qualify to File a Lawsuit?
Our law firm is investigating cases where the patient experienced hearing loss or other hearing problems while using Tepezza, such as:
- Hearing loss, ranging from mild impairment to deafness
- Hypoacusis and Sensorineural Hearing Loss
- Sound or noise sensitivity (Hyperacusis)
- Ringing in the ears (Tinnitus)
- Your own voice, breathing, or other sounds are unusually loud (Autophony)
- Eustachian Tube Dysfunction (feels like your ears are plugged up)
UPDATE: Horizon Therapeutics Hit With Tepezza Lawsuits
Horizon Therapeutics has been hit by a growing number of Tepezza lawsuits involving people who received infusions of Tepezza and now suffer from permanent hearing loss and/or tinnitus (ringing in the ears). All of these lawsuits accuse Horizon of failing to warn patients and doctors about the risk of hearing-related injuries. Here are just a few examples of recent lawsuits:
- In August 2022, the first Tepezza lawsuit for hearing loss was filed by a man from Arizona who accuses Horizon Pharmaceuticals of failing to warn about the risk of permanent hearing damage from Tepezza — Case Number 1:22-cv-04518.
- In November 2022, a lawsuit was filed by Donna L., a woman from Arizona who lost her hearing after receiving Tepezza infusions from June 2020 through November 2020 — Case Number 1:22-cv-06375.
- In December 2022, a lawsuit was filed by John I., a man from Virginia who now suffers from permanent hearing loss and/or tinnitus after reciving Tepezza infusions from December 2020 through August 2021 — Case Number 1:22-cv-06836.
What is Tepezza?
Tepezza (teprotumumab) is the first-ever medication approved in the U.S. to treat thyroid eye disease. It was developed by Horizon Pharmaceuticals and approved by the FDA in January 2020.
What is the Problem?
Tepezza has been linked to many reports of hearing loss since it was approved. Horizon Pharmaceuticals conducted a post-marketing study in which about 10% of patients experienced hearing loss, vs. 0% of patients on a placebo (sugar pill).
The most frequently reported hearing event was hypoacusis (reduction in hearing), followed by tinnitus (ringing in the ears). The label on Tepezza indicates that hearing loss was reversible — but there is no warning about the risk of irreversible hearing loss.
Tepezza and Hearing Side Effects
- Hearing loss
- Deafness
- Sound distortion
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Feeling like the ear is blocked or full
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Hypoacusis (reduced hearing ability)
- Patulous eustachian tube
- Autophony (hearing your own voice abnormally loud)
- And more
Study Finds 65% Risk of Hearing Loss from Tepezza
In March 2021, The Endocrine Society published a small study that found 65% of patients on Tepezza reported hearing problems.
The study included 26 patients who were treated with at least four infusions of Tepezza. Seventeen (65%) of the patients reported new hearing problems. The most common were hearing loss (23%), ringing in the ears (27%), ear plugging sensation (12%) and autophony, an unusually loud hearing of a person’s own voice (29%).
Three patients developed a long-term hearing problem called patulous eustachian tube, a disorder in which the channel that runs between the middle ear and back of the nose and throat stays open. The symptoms improved with time, but they did not go away entirely.
Case Reports of Irreversible Hearing Loss
- August 2021 — “Ototoxicity and Teprotumumab” — Case report of a 61-year-old woman who suffered irreversible hearing loss in both ears, sound distortion, tinnitus, sensorineural hearing loss. Her hearing loss was unchanged 4 months after stopping Tepezza and taking oral corticosteroids.
- January-February 2022 — “Teprotumumab and Hearing Loss: Case Series and Proposal for Audiologic Monitoring” — Four case reports of severe hearing loss in patients on Tepezza, “likely resulting from the inhibition of the insulin-like growth factor-1 and the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor pathway.”
What is Thyroid Eye Disease?
Thyroid eye disease (also known as “Graves’ eye disease”) is an autoimmune disease in which an overactive thyroid gland causes the eye muscles and fatty tissue behind the eye to become inflamed. The symptoms can include dry eyes, watery eyes, red eyes, bulging eyes, a “stare,” double vision, and more.
Do I have a Tepezza Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Tepezza induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with hearing loss after using Tepezza, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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