Tepezza Treatment Carries Hidden Hearing Loss Risk: Lawsuit

A New Jersey woman alleges in a new Tepezza injury lawsuit that she suffered permanent hearing damage after receiving the intravenous infusion to treat thyroid eye disease. According to the claim, Tepezza treatment carries a hidden risk of irreversible hearing loss that manufacturer Horizon Therapeutics failed to disclose to users and the medical community. Additionally, the plaintiff states in her Tepezza complaint that she could have avoided this risk had she or her healthcare provider been informed “how to safely monitor and identify signs of potentially serious hearing complications associated with Tepezza infusions.” If you or someone you love experienced hearing loss, tinnitus, muffled hearing, or another serious otologic symptom after receiving Tepezza infusions for thyroid eye disease or Graves’ disease, contact Consumer Safety Watch today. You may be eligible to sue Horizon for medical expenses and other damages related to your Tepezza use.

Tepezza Treatment Linked to Hearing Damage, Tinnitus

Tepezza (teprotumumab-trbw) was introduced in the United States in January 2020, as the first approved drug indicated to treat thyroid eye disease (TED), a rare, vision-threatening autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and damage to the tissues around the eye. The most common symptom of TED is proptosis, or the bulging of one or both eyes from their natural position, which gives the affected person a startled appearance that doesn’t go away. For the past several years, Horizon Therapeutics has marketed Tepezza as a safe and effective treatment for patients suffering from TED or Graves’ disease. And since it was approved by the FDA, the intravenous infusion has reached annual sales that exceed $1 billion per year. However, recent research has indicated that a significant percentage of patients prescribed Tepezza for thyroid eye disease may suffer from hearing loss, tinnitus, or other devastating hearing symptoms, some of which may persist long after the infusion treatment is discontinued.

Horizon Was Aware of Hearing Damage Risk

Horizon became aware of a possible risk of Tepezza-related hearing loss during clinical trials, when it was observed that eight out of 84 people (9.5%) in the Tepezza group suffered hearing impairment (i.e. deafness, hyperacusis, hypoacusis, autophony, and eustachian tube dysfunction) compared to zero people in the placebo group. Horizon stated in a 2022 report on a Tepezza post-marketing safety analysis meant to evaluate the overall safety profile of Tepezza (including hearing-related events) that, “approximately 10% of all cases reported to the safety database have included a hearing-related event, [t]he most frequently reported hearing event [being] hypoacusis (reduction in hearing), followed by tinnitus (ringing in the ears).” Horizon claims in the same report that the rate of hearing-related events associated with Tepezza are “mild to moderate and reversible.” However, adverse event reports from healthcare professionals and consumers nationwide indicate that hearing loss, tinnitus, and other adverse hearing events associated with Tepezza may be irreversible or permanent.

Lawsuits Claim Horizon Failed to Warn About Hearing Damage

In light of emerging evidence indicating a known link between Tepezza treatment and permanent hearing loss, a number of product liability lawsuits have been filed against Horizon, each involving similar allegations that Tepezza causes irreversible hearing loss and other injuries. In this latest Tepezza lawsuit, filed late last month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, plaintiff Amarilis Polanco alleges that Horizon knew or should have known that Tepezza causes harmful hearing loss, tinnitus, and other hearing-related symptoms when used as prescribed and intended. According to her complaint, Polanco was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and/or TED and received Tepezza infusions from November 2021 through May 2022. During that time, neither she nor her doctor were informed about the serious risk of permanent hearing loss and/or tinnitus associated with Tepezza or the importance of conducting audiological monitoring before beginning Tepezza treatment and monitoring hearing acuity during treatment.

“Numerous patient reports, including significant newly acquired reports immediately following Defendant’s launch of Tepezza, scientific studies, and even Defendant’s post-marketing studies establish that Tepezza causes hearing loss and tinnitus,” Polanco’s claim states. “Nevertheless, Defendant failed to warn, instruct, advise, educate, or otherwise inform Tepezza users, Tepezza prescribers, or United States governmental regulators about the risk of hearing loss, or the need for medical and/or audiological monitoring.” As a result of Horizon’s negligence, Polanco states, she now suffers from permanent hearing loss and tinnitus.

How to Find Out if You Qualify for Compensation

So, how do you find out if you may be eligible to sue Horizon for injuries you allegedly sustained as a result of taking Tepezza to treat thyroid eye disease? Your best course of action would be to contact a skilled product liability attorney with experience handling drug injury claims like yours. Call us at Consumer Safety Watch today and we can connect you with a knowledgeable attorney who can review your claim and determine whether you may have grounds to file a Tepezza lawsuit for compensation. With a successful Tepezza claim, you can recover compensation for any medical expenses you incurred as a result of your alleged injuries, as well as lost wages, pain and suffering, and other related damages. There may be a deadline to file a Tepezza injury claim, so don’t wait to call.