Issue 13.14
People with diabetes commonly experience a variety of serious medical complications. They are at an increased risk for high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, retinopathy, and kidney failure. Because diabetes impacts so many systems in the body, it is natural to inquire if diabetes can also impact a person’s hearing.
There is a proven link between diabetes and hearing loss in people over the age of 60. A new study released by the National Institutes of Health indicates that 21% percent of the diabetics surveyed had hearing loss, compared to only 9% of those without it. For patients over the age of 60 with diabetes, hearing loss increased from 54% compared to 32% of non-diabetics. Studies in both 2008 and 2013 also found that diabetics had a higher prevalence of hearing impairment compared to non-diabetic patients, regardless of other factors including age, significant noise exposure history, ototoxic medication use, and smoking.
Your inner ear is a sensitive, tiny microvascular system and over time high blood glucose can damage the nerves and blood vessels in the inner ear. Those same changes that occur in your body, and lead to other medical complications, can create a sensorineural (permanent) hearing loss at the same time.
Both Type I and Type II diabetes have been increasing in the last decade. While Type I diabetes cannot be prevented, Type II diabetes has been shown to be reduced by exercising and maintaining a healthy diet. By reducing a person’s risk for diabetes, their risk of hearing loss may also be reduced. Once a patient is diagnosed with diabetes, they should have their hearing tested by an audiologist and monitored annually. Diabetes may accelerate hearing loss more than aging alone. It is possible that those with diabetes can have normal or near-normal hearing at the time of the initial identification of diabetes, only to suffer from the progressive form of sensorineural hearing loss. The earlier a hearing loss is identified and treated, the better prognosis and outcome.
Kimball B. Forbes, M.C.D., FAAA is a Licensed Clinical Audiologist. If you have questions about you hearing challenges, call our Hearing and Balance Specialists at 688-8866.