Iron Deficiency Anemia Linked to Hearing Loss

​A new study found that sensorineural hearing loss and conductive hearing loss are associated with iron deficiency anemia (JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2016). Of the 305,339 patients aged 21 to 90 in the study, 4,807 (1.6%) had hearing loss and 2,274 (0.7%) had iron deficiency anemia. Researchers from the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center used logistic regression analysis to confirm that there are increased odds of sensorineural hearing loss (82%) and combined hearing loss among people with iron deficiency. This retrospective cohort study included data from Jan. 1, 2011 to Oct. 1, 2015.

Lead author Kathleen M. Schieffer, a doctoral candidate at Pennsylvania State University, emphasized in an interview with the New York Times that this study did not prove a causal relationship between iron deficiency anemia and hearing loss, only an association. "I would not recommend that anyone take iron supplements prophylactically without consulting a physician."​

Published: 1/6/2017 9:08:00 AM

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