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). 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.