9 Truths about Diabetes and Hearing Loss
In honor of Diabetes Awareness Month here are 9 Truths about Diabetes and Hearing Loss reposted from the Audiology Project:
1.) Anyone with type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar causes tiny blood vessels in the inner ear to break, disrupting sound reception.
2.) Pre-Diabetes and Diabetes patients experience microvascular changes, which often lead to nephropathy and retinopathy in diabetic patients and can affect the cochlear vasculature (inner ear blood supply).
3.) Study indicated diabetes was associated with a 100% increased odds of low/mid-frequency hearing impairment and a 67% increased odds of high frequency hearing impairment in preliminary models after controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, and occupational noise exposure.
4.) Creatinine level is a rough indicator of kidney function and tends to be elevated in diabetic patients. Increased creatinine levels in diabetic patients have also been correlated with increased hearing loss.
5.) Hearing loss is an invisible handicap. A patient with diabetes need to have their hearing tested when first identified. Thus, patients must be at least screened to determine if there is a hearing problem and monitored.
6.) Best practices for a diabetic patient is ongoing assessments of hearing levels, at least annually. It has been proven that hearing loss – due to diabetes – can be progressive.
7.) People with hearing loss often show signs of withdrawal, cognitive loss, depression, social isolation, or psychosis. The psychosocial effects of diabetic hearing loss should not be underestimated.
8.) A new hearing aid wearer usually needs 6-12 weeks to become adjusted to hearing aids. Patients with diabetes need to be encouraged to obtain and continue the use of hearing aids if recommended from results of a complete hearing evaluation.
9.) A recent National Council on Aging study of 2,069 people with hearing loss and 1,710 family members provides compelling evidence of the benefits of hearing aids, including improvement in emotional stability, interpersonal relationships, overall health, and cognitive function, and a reduction in anger, frustration, anxiety, social phobias, and depression. A person with diabetes should not avoid use.