Iron Deficiency Anemia Associated with Hearing Loss

In a new study assessing medical records of over 300,000 adults, researchers found a significant positive association between iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and hearing loss, including sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

Because IDA is a common and easily correctable condition, further understanding of the association between IDA and all types of hearing loss may help to open new possibilities for early identification and appropriate treatment. For this study, Kathleen M. Schieffer, BS, of Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine (Hershey, PA, USA), and colleagues investigated the potential association using data obtained from deidentified electronic medical records from the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (Hershey, PA, USA). IDA was determined by low hemoglobin and ferritin levels for age and sex in 305,339 adults ages 21-90 years.

Of the patients in the study population, 43% were men; average age was 50 years. There was a 0.7% prevalence of IDA and a 1.6% prevalence of “combined hearing loss” (defined as any combination of: conductive hearing loss [hearing loss due to problems with the bones of the middle ear], sensorineural hearing loss [SNHL; when there is damage to the cochlea or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain], deafness, and unspecified hearing loss).

Both sensorineural hearing loss (present in 1.1% of individuals with IDA) and combined hearing loss (present in 3.4%) were significantly associated with IDA. Analysis confirmed increased odds of SNHL and combined hearing loss among adults with IDA.

“An association exists between IDA in adults and hearing loss. The next steps are to better understand this correlation and whether promptly diagnosing and treating IDA may positively affect the overall health status of adults with hearing loss,” the researchers wrote.

The study, by Schieffer KM et al, was published online December 29, 2016, in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.

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Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine