| by Michael Woodhead Hearing loss can be added to the list of microvascular complications of type-2 diabetes, a major Australian research suggests.
Results from the Blue Mountains Hearing Study which ran for five years and involved more than 3500 people with diabetes show that hearing loss is more common, starts at an earlier age and is more likely to progress in people with diabetes. The findings, published in the journal Diabetic Medicine (26: 483-88) this month, show that age-related hearing loss was found in half of all patients with diabetes surveyed compared to 38% of people without diabetes, after adjusting for other factors. Hearing loss was related to the duration of a person’s diabetes, and progression was found to be significantly greater in people with newly diagnosed diabetes over the five year study period. The study authors, from the University of Sydney, say that the findings “considerably increase the plausibility that type 2 diabetes and hearing loss may share a common aetiology”. Their study did not assess whether diabetes-related neuropathy or vascular problems contributed to the hearing loss, and they note that other factors such as exposure to noise will account for a greater burden of hearing loss than diabetes. Nevertheless, they say the widespread nature of type 2 diabetes means the impact of hearing loss in diabetes is likely to be substantial, especially when combined with the impact of diabetes on eyesight. They suggest that usual care for people with diabetes include questions about hearing function and referral for hearing assessment. |
Check diabetes patients for hearing loss
15 May 2009