Hearing status in vitamin B12-deficient children.

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of vitamin B12 deficiency on hearing in school-aged children by pure-tone audiometry.

Methods: Forty-three vitamin B12-deficient children and 37 age-matched control subjects were enrolled in the study. Tympanometric evaluations and pure-tone audiometry including high frequencies were performed on the subjects. The results were compared between the two groups.

Results: Both right and left ear pure-tone hearing thresholds (PTHTs) at 0.25-4 kHz, and four-frequency pure-tone average values were significantly better in the control group compared with the patient group (P < 0.05). However, PTHTs at 8-16 kHz were not different between the two groups (P > 0.05). Vitamin B12 level also did not show any significant correlation with the PTHTs at 0.25-16 kHz (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: This study indicates that vitamin B12 deficiency may contribute to hearing impairment at low frequencies as a possible aetiological factor in children.