Can Abnormal Iron Cause Tinnitus?

[Carol27]

My iron levels are pretty high (184 H). The range that the iron level should be is between 37-145. I was doing some research and having high iron has a lot of symptoms such as:

• chronic fatigue.
• joint pain.
• abdominal pain.
• liver disease (cirrhosis, liver cancer)
• diabetes mellitus.
• irregular heart rhythm.
• heart attack or heart failure.
• skin color changes (bronze, ashen-gray green)
• loss of period
• loss of interest in sex
• osteoarthritis
• osteoporosis
• hair loss
• enlarged liver or spleen
• impotence
• infertility
• hypogonadism
• hypothyroidism
• hypopituitarism
• depression
• adrenal function problems
• early onset neurodegenerative disease
• elevated blood sugar
• elevated liver enzymes
• elevated iron (serum iron, serum ferritin)

Can that somehow contribute to tinnitus? I am curious because having tinnitus can sometimes be a cause of another serious problem.

 

[astaff14]

I'm sure it could though I don't know for certain. Tinnitus is such a garbage thing, I believe it can be caused by almost anything. Low or high minerals in the body. Poor diet. Stress. Head injury. Noise trauma. Chemical exposure, mold exposure. Colds. Sinus infections. Spinal/skull/jaw misalignments. TMD. It's really fucked up.

 

[Carol27]

I'm sure it could though I don't know for certain.

If it is my high iron levels then maybe there is a chance that it can go away. I just want to know how it's going to feel when tinnitus disappears. Does it like slowly fade away or does it just randomly stop.

 

[astaff14]

If it is my high iron levels then maybe there is a chance that it can go away. I just want to know how it's going to feel when tinnitus disappears. Does it like slowly fade away or does it just randomly stop.

From everything I've seen on here and experienced myself tinnitus doesn't usually randomly stop unless you have a very clear cause that is fixed by something specific. For instance my initial cause of noticing tinnitus was an earwax blockage, when I got it properly removed it changed my tinnitus immediately from a loud ring to a softer hiss. It seems for most that when it gets better it happens more gradually as you get used to it or your ears get better.

 

[pinklights98]

If it is my high iron levels then maybe there is a chance that it can go away. I just want to know how it's going to feel when tinnitus disappears. Does it like slowly fade away or does it just randomly stop.

If you have no clear cause of your tinnitus, then yes maybe mineral imbalance can be an issue. It could be if you get this issue fixed, then gradually the tinnitus will fade away.

 

[Carol27]

From everything I've seen on here and experienced myself tinnitus doesn't usually randomly stop unless you have a very clear cause that is fixed by something specific.

I really hope that overtime it will stop. I just want to find my cause because not even my doctors know what caused my tinnitus. We have done so much trying to find the cause. I just randomly woke up with it.

 

[Carol27]

If you have no clear cause of your tinnitus, then yes maybe mineral imbalance can be an issue.

Yeah I have no clear cause of my tinnitus. Tomorrow I have more appointments for another testing to see what my doctors can find. But so far, my doctors have no clue what triggered my tinnitus.

 

[oceanofsound26]

My iron levels are pretty high (184 H). The range that the iron level should be is between 37-145.

Your serum iron is super high. Do you also get TIBC and %Saturation done? There are several things in this list that can cause tinnitus - general liver problems, (cirrhosis, liver cancer/disease, elevated liver enzymes; also search hemochromatosis and iron overload - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4922827/) , heart disease and possible associated blood flow problems, hyperthyroidism, elevated blood sugar leading to diabetes (due to effects on blood thickness/viscosity making it harder for blood to flow), and adrenal function problems.

Major things you have overlooked are potential hematological problems. Iron is used to make red blood cells which carry oxygen all over the body. High Iron could be an indicator of high RBC, high Hemoglobin, high Hematocrit, and high Red Cell Mass. These are also hallmarks of Polycythemia Vera (also causes tinnitus and enlarged spleen is also a symptom of this) - primary (the condition itself), secondary (caused by another health issue), or stress (Gaisbock's Syndrome).

If the gas exchange efficiency inside your lungs is reduced (due to conditions like COPD or asthma), red blood cells also will have to carry excess CO2 in your blood . More red blood cells requires more iron, so then loop the hematological problems back in here as well.

The way forward for you will be determine what the cause of your high iron is. High iron is a hallmark of several conditions that cause tinnitus so if you can identify what the cause of your high iron is, you might pinpoint the cause of your tinnitus at the same time. Tinnitus is always caused by an underlying condition and is never something that occur on its own.

You should get more bloodwork done if you have not already - Complete Blood Count, Complete Metabolic Panel to look at Kidney & Liver markers and Blood Electrolytes, TSH, and Glucose/A1C. If anything else is anomalously high or low, your doctors should know if your high iron is related in anyway and can advise further. Sustained high serum iron levels are not good.

Immediate actions like dietary changes can help lower your serum iron. Eat less red meat and reduce intake of Vitamin C which enhances iron absorption (if you consume excessively high levels daily) at a minimum.

Be careful not to self-diagnose. I suffered a TIA shortly after my tinnitus onset over the summer from doing this and the psychosis that ensued. Always seek the opinions of medical professionals moving forward whenever possible.

Good luck and all the best.

 

[Kriszti]

Can low iron level be in connection to tinnitus? It's not dangerously low, 8,2 umol/l. Reference levels are 10,7-32,2.