Objective: Iron deficiency anemia is a common disorder, which has been reported to affect the auditory system. However, there are some conflicting points related with the pattern of hearing impairment. The aim of this study is to analyze the outer hair cell activity of the cochlea in patients with iron deficiency anemia.
Method: Pure-tone audiometry (PTA) (250-6000 Hz) and distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) results of 42 patients with iron deficiency anemia and 22 healthy, age and sex matched subjects for the control group were compared. Cubic DPOAEs (2f1-f2) were obtained at 65 and 55 dB sound pressure level (SPL). DP grams were plotted as a function of f2 and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was specified as the difference in decibels SPL between DPOAE amplitude and the ambient noise level at a given f2. In DP grams, DP amplitudes and noise levels obtained from the baseline measurements were presented as the upper and lower limits of DP amplitude and noise level that were the 10th and 90th percentiles calculated by adding and subtracting standard deviations and from mean baseline DP amplitude and noise level. Independent-samples t-test is used for comparison of the groups.
Results: Pure-tone audiometry was normal in patients with iron deficiency anemia and control subjects and there was no significant difference in comparison of DPOAE in both groups and both sides and the results were between two percentiles (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: The results of the present study did not support a casual relationship between the iron deficiency anemia and the auditory dysfunction on the basis of DPOAE.