Thyroid Eye Disease: Who’s at Risk and Who’s on Call

By Mark Scott Brown, M.D.

Medically reviewed by Patricia Salber, MD, MBA

Although thyroid eye disease (TED) is related to thyroid conditions, it requires different specialists to best treat the disorder.

This illustration highlights the eye changes seen in thyroid eye disease (L) compare to normal (R) (Graphic source: iStock)

Imagine looking in the mirror each day and seeing your eyes slowly getting bigger and bigger, beginning to bulge out of their sockets and change your face. Not only do you not look like yourself, but the world has become blurry, watery, and disorienting. You struggle to manage daily activities with double vision, severe pain, and discomfort. In many cases, you can no longer drive, work or read, all of which can lead to social isolation and loss of independence. This is the experience of many people living with a thyroid eye disease (TED).

TED is a rare disease in which the immune system attacks the muscle and fat tissue behind the eye causing inflammation, swelling, and eye bulging. Unfortunately, getting a firm diagnosis is sometimes delayed as many people with TED are juggled from doctor to doctor for months, sometimes years.

To complicate things further, the terminology is confusing. Hyperthyroidism, also known as Graves’ disease, is a condition in which patients have an overactive thyroid. TED is most common in people with Graves’ disease 1. In fact…