Thalidomide anomalies of the ear.

Eighteen 12- to 16-year-old patients with thalidomide embryopathy were examined otologically and neurotologically to clarify both morphological and functional ear anomalies. Ear anomalies were found in the external, middle, and inner ears. However, the inner ear, especially the vestibular portion of the labyrinth, was more extensively undeveloped both morphologically and functionally. Dysfunctions were concomitant in the oculomotor and the vestibular systems.