Diabetes and Hearing Loss: What’s the Connection?

If you have diabetes, protecting your hearing may be more important than you realize. Adults with diabetes are about twice as likely to experience hearing loss as people without diabetes. Over time, high blood sugar can damage the small blood vessels and nerves in the inner ear, similar to how diabetes can affect the eyes, kidneys, and nerves elsewhere in the body.

“Hearing health doesn’t always get the same attention as other complications of diabetes, but it should be part of the conversation,” says Shawn Denham, AuD, Doctor of Audiology and Audiology Program Director at Boulder Medical Center. “Hearing changes can develop gradually, so a person may not recognize them right away. A hearing evaluation gives us a baseline and can help identify changes over time.”

In this article, Dr. Denham explains the connection between diabetes and hearing loss, signs of hearing changes to watch for, and when to consider scheduling a hearing test.

How Can Diabetes Affect Your Hearing?

Your inner ear contains tiny blood vessels and delicate nerves that help you hear. Over time, high blood sugar can damage blood vessels and nerves throughout the body, including those involved in hearing.

This is similar to the way diabetes can affect the nerves, eyes, and kidneys.

Hearing changes related to diabetes may develop gradually, which means you might not notice them right away. Often, family members or friends recognize a change before the person experiencing hearing loss does.

Signs of Hearing Loss to Watch For

Consider having your hearing checked if you:

• Have trouble following conversations, especially in restaurants or other noisy places
• Frequently ask people to repeat themselves
• Feel like people are mumbling
• Turn up the television or phone volume more than you used to
• Have difficulty hearing higher-pitched voices or sounds
• Feel unusually tired after conversations because you are working hard to understand what is being said

Even if you aren’t noticing problems, a baseline hearing test can give you a useful starting point for monitoring your hearing over time.

Why Hearing Health Matters

Hearing affects much more than your ability to detect sounds. Untreated hearing loss can make conversations more difficult, interfere with work and social activities, and affect your ability to stay connected with the people around you.

Identifying changes early allows you and your audiologist to monitor your hearing and discuss options when needed.

Should People With Diabetes Have Their Hearing Tested?

If you have diabetes and have never had a comprehensive hearing evaluation, consider talking with your healthcare provider or an audiologist about whether a baseline test makes sense for you.

You should also schedule a hearing evaluation if you notice a change in your hearing or find it increasingly difficult to understand conversations.

A hearing evaluation is quick, noninvasive, and painless. It can identify whether you have hearing loss, what type you have, and whether monitoring or treatment may be appropriate.

Let’s Talk

The Doctors of Audiology at Boulder Medical Center provide comprehensive hearing evaluations and hearing care for adults and children. Appointments are available in Boulder and Louisville.

Sources

Bainbridge KE, et al. Diabetes and Hearing Impairment in the United States: Audiometric Evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2004. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2008.

Horikawa C, et al. Diabetes and Risk of Hearing Impairment in Adults: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2013.