Dear Living Well Daily Reader,
Do you find yourself having a hard time keeping up with conversations?
Is your spouse always begging you to turn the volume down on the television?
If this sounds familiar, you may be suffering from hearing loss.
And while this frustrating condition may seem hopeless, there’s good news.
You see, scientists have recently discovered an all-natural way to fight hearing loss without annoying, expensive hearing aids.
Plus, it’s cheap and easy to get your hands on.
This ear-opening miracle is iron.
That’s right — the common mineral found in your favorite foods (or that you can buy dirt-cheap as a supplement) could be the key to keeping your ears in top-notch shape well into your golden years.
In a recent study, scientists analyzed the health records of over 300,000 U.S. adults between the ages of 21 and 90.
The researchers found that 1.6 percent of the participants were experiencing some type of hearing loss — sensorineural, which is caused by damage to the inner ear, certain nerves, or the brain; conductive hearing loss, which happens when sound can’t properly travel through the ear; and combined hearing loss, which is a combination of sensorineural and conductive.
After taking a closer look, the scientists found something unbelievable — folks who had anemia, a condition caused by low iron levels, were at greater risk of suffering from hearing loss.
In fact, they were a whopping 2.4 times more likely to have combined hearing loss and 1.8 times more likely to have sensorineural hearing loss than those who weren’t suffering from iron deficiency anemia.
Experts believe iron’s role in blood vessel health could attribute to sensorineural hearing loss. Anemia is linked to several blood disorders that can affect blood vessels, including the delicate ones in the inner ear.
Additionally, iron is essential for healthy red blood cells. Too little iron can affect how these cells work, and may even kill them. Without red blood cells, oxygen cannot travel to remote parts of the body, like the inner ear.
To get more iron in your diet, eat foods like red meat, poultry, seafood, beans, dark leafy greens and eggs.
Or you can pick up an iron supplement at your local pharmacy. But check with your doctor first for an appropriate dose.
Live well,
Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily
Ed. Note: Please send your feedback: nmoore@lfb.org – and click here to like us on Facebook.
Sources
