Diabetes and Hearing Loss
Protect Your Hearing While Managing Diabetes
In the U.S., hearing loss affects approximately 48 million people. "Age is the strongest predictor of hearing loss among adults aged 20-69, with the greatest amount of hearing loss in the 60 to 69 age group. The prevalence of diabetes also increases with age." Type 2 diabetes occurs most often in middle-aged and older adults. Of the 30.3 million people in the United States with diabetes, an estimated 29.2% or 15.9 million seniors have diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association now recognizes hearing loss as more common in people with diabetes. In the January 2021 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, the association added audiology to its table on referrals for initial diabetes care management.
Researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease found that hearing loss is twice as common in adults with diabetes when compared to people without diabetes. The association between diabetes and hearing loss was independent of known risk factors for hearing loss, including exposure to noise, ototoxic medication use and smoking.
Researchers suggested that diabetes may contribute to hearing loss by negatively impacting nerves and blood vessels in the inner ear, similar to the way diabetes can damage the eyes and the kidneys. The study also found that people with prediabetes (higher blood sugar levels than normal but not type 2 diabetes levels) have a 30% higher rate of hearing loss than people with normal blood sugar levels.
Some medications patients are prescribed for diabetes are known to impact hearing and/or vestibular function." In fact, it is estimated that up to 30% of older patients with hearing impairment are taking potentially ototoxic drugs. A study of Aging and the Auditory System indicated that ototoxic drug-related hearing loss in older adults could be more significant as a cause of hearing loss than in younger groups due to the high use of ototoxic drugs to treat chronic diseases, such as diabetes, and an increased vulnerability to ototoxic drugs because of age-related impaired renal function.
The study also found that people with prediabetes have a 30% higher rate of hearing loss than people with normal blood sugar levels.