What’s the Diabetes-Hearing Loss Connection?
Hearing loss is about twice as common in people with diabetes, so the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is urging those with diabetes to get their hearing checked and to make it a routine part of the their diabetes care and management—all in recognition of American Diabetes Association (ADA) Alert Day® on March 25. Columbia Hearing Center will also extend free hearing screenings unit Friday March 28 and we invite those who wish to participate to call and reserve their appointment.
Studies have shown that people with diabetes have a higher rate of hearing loss than people without diabetes. Although the relationship between diabetes and hearing loss is still being investigated, researchers theorize that, over time, high blood glucose levels can damage the small blood vessels and nerves of the inner ear, diminishing the ability to hear.
In a meta-analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers found that people with diabetes were 2.15 times as likely to have hearing loss. Surprisingly, when broken down by age, the younger group was at greater risk. The results showed that those 60 and younger with diabetes were 2.61 times more likely to have hearing loss, while the risk for those older than 60 was 1.58 times higher.
Unlike eye exams, hearing exams are often overlooked for people with diabetes, despite the reality that the vast majority of those with hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids. In fact, almost all of the 400 people who underwent hearing tests at the 2012 ADA EXPO in Portland, Oregon said they had never had a physician’s recommendation for a hearing test, yet more than half of these 400 individuals were found to have hearing loss. In addition, nearly all of them said they did not know that hearing loss is associated with diabetes.
Content provided by BHI