Anemia doesn’t just affect your energy levels—it may also influence hearing health. Recent research has found a surprising connection between low iron levels and an increased risk of hearing loss, particularly in adults. Understanding this link is important because it highlights how whole-body health can play a role in protecting your ears and maintaining long-term hearing function.
What Does the Research Say?
Multiple studies in recent years have indicated a relationship between anemia and hearing loss. In one study, researchers found that patients with iron-deficiency anemia were 55% more likely to have hearing loss than those who did not. In this study, 90% of patients with hearing loss were also diagnosed with anemia. No studies have yet proven that anemia directly causes hearing loss, but the growing body of evidence suggests a link.
What Is Anemia?
Low levels of healthy red blood cells characterize anemia. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body and deliver it to the muscles and organs that need it to function. Because oxygen delivery is vital for every cell in the body, a deficiency can disrupt a wide range of bodily systems, including hearing.
Anemia has several subtypes. The most common is iron-deficiency anemia, in which, due to a shortage of iron, the body cannot produce hemoglobin, which is what attaches oxygen to the red blood cells. Other forms of anemia are characterized by misshapen red blood cells (like sickle cell anemia) or a shortage of red blood cells due to the bone marrow ceasing to make them (aplastic anemia).
Symptoms of anemia usually include fatigue, pale or sallow skin tone, shortness of breath, chest pain, irregular heart rate, muscle cramps and cold extremities (hands and feet).
What Is the Link Between Anemia and Hearing Health?
Research continues to be done on the link between anemia and the ear. As of now, the role of iron in the ear is unknown, meaning the exact causal link between anemia and hearing loss is inconclusive. However, it does seem clear that there is a link.
The predominant theory is about blood flow. The inner ear relies on a strong, healthy blood flow and supply of oxygen to transmit sound information to the brain. It is very sensitive to changes in blood flow and susceptible to damage if deprived of blood and oxygen. As anemia alters blood flow and oxygen levels, this seems to be a likely cause.
Moreover, anemia is frequently associated with tinnitus. When blood is low on oxygen, the heart increases the heartbeat rate, compensating for the low oxygen levels by pumping more blood faster. You may hear this elevated heart rate—as said above, the ears are sensitive to blood flow—in the form of tinnitus.
Who May Be Most at Risk?
As mentioned above, there are several different subtypes of anemia. Anyone can develop an iron deficiency. Other forms of anemia, such as sickle cell anemia, are genetic.
In the case of iron-deficiency anemia, the people most at risk are those who don’t get enough iron in their diet, menstruating women due to losing blood or those who lose a lot of blood from an injury or illness.
For most people, eating an iron-rich diet is enough to prevent iron-deficiency anemia. This involves eating foods like red meat, pork, poultry, seafood, beans, lentils, dark leafy vegetables and dried fruit.
How Can I Protect My Hearing Health?
If you’ve been diagnosed with anemia, protect your hearing health by treating the anemia. Not only will this mitigate the effects of anemia on your hearing health and other bodily processes, but there are studies showing that patients with hearing loss who received iron therapy to treat their anemia showed significant improvement in their hearing health as well as their anemia.
If you’re concerned about anemia’s effects on your hearing health, or if you feel like your hearing has changed, you should consult a hearing health professional. They can conduct a hearing test and determine your hearing levels and type of hearing loss, as well as look for possible causes. Call M.K. Larson Audiology today to make an appointment or find out more information.
