Diabetes & Hearing Loss

If you have diabetes, you probably know that complications can include kidney, heart, circulation and eye problems. But did you know it can also affect your hearing and sense of balance? Hearing loss is twice as common in adults with diabetes, versus those without.

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Diabetes Canada recently added educational pages on the links between ear health, balance and diabetes:

• CDC: Take Charge of Your Diabetes: Healthy Ears
• CDA: Diabetes and Hearing Loss

The CDC now recommends that people with diabetes get their hearing tested every year. “Make an appointment with a hearing healthcare provider … to check your hearing and balance as soon as you are diagnosed with diabetes,” their page states.

How diabetes can cause hearing loss

According to the CDC, high blood glucose levels from untreated diabetes can weaken the ear’s blood vessels as well as the nerve cells in the inner ear, known as the “hair cells.” Like other parts of the body, these hair cells rely on good circulation. Once they are damaged or die, hearing is permanently affected.

Diabetes and hearing loss—both common, both treatable

People with diabetes are more than twice as likely to have mild to moderate high-frequency hearing loss than those without the disease, a landmark study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) revealed.

This finding was confirmed by a meta-analysis in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Researchers analyzed results from 13 studies involving more than 20,000 participants and concluded that diabetics were more likely to have hearing loss than those without the disease, regardless of their age.

Balance problems can also occur

Diabetes damages small blood vessels in your inner ear and your vestibular system, which is the part of the inner ear that helps with balance. Dizziness and an increased risk of falls can be the result. People with even mild hearing loss are three times more likely to have a history of falling.

How to protect your hearing

• Get your hearing tested annually.
• Add exercise into your daily routine. Even a moderate amount improves circulation and blood flow.
Talk to your doctor about what type of exercise is best for you.
• Maintain an appropriate weight. Extra weight makes it more difficult for your heart to pump blood
effectively to all parts of your body, including your ears.
• Prevent hearing loss by turning down the volume on personal electronic devices, the television and car radio.
• Protect your ears from excessive noise with headphones or disposable earplugs if you engage in noisy hobbies.

Why is it important to treat hearing loss?

Hearing is vital to communication and well-being. A large body of research shows that people with untreated hearing loss have higher rates of depression, social isolation, injury-causing falls, and loneliness. They’re also more likely to develop cognitive decline earlier than people without hearing loss. Even mild hearing loss is linked to dementia.

The good news? Hearing aids boost your health in many ways, from reducing social isolation to delaying the onset of dementia. Not to mention help you hear better! Hearing well really does matter!