DIAGNOSIS
A general physician may seek the help of clinical doctors or otolaryngologists to assess the structure of the inner ear and see if there is a presence of thyroid. These physicians will also determine the pattern, amount, and timing of the patient’s hearing loss. Hence, for the diagnosis, they may conduct the following:
- MRI. This process utilizes inner ear imaging techniques to describe the traits of the said syndrome. The traits may include cochlea with too few turns.
- Computed tomography. It is somehow similar to the MRI procedure— it is used to look for the characteristic of the syndrome.
- Medical History. The physician may ask you different questions like “When did the hearing loss occur?” and “Is it a progressive hearing loss or is it inborn?”
Diagnosing the syndrome is needed to help the physicians give proper treatment and medications.
TREATMENT
Treatments are accessible to patients who have Pendred syndrome. Since the syndrome includes balance problems, thyroid, and hearing conditions, two or more physicians are needed to perform the treatment of the syndrome. Thus, your physicians in the whole treatment may include the following:
- Endocrinologist
- Primary care physician
- Audiologist
- Speech-language pathologist
- Clinical geneticist
- Otolaryngologist
- Genetic counselor
To delay the progression of having hearing loss, prevent from involving in games, sports, and events that may result in head injury and other serious conditions. If ever you will be participating in some sports, wearing a head protection is required to protect your head from any bumping or impact.