Exploring the Relationship Between Diabetes and Hearing

Hearing aids are something that we anticipate needing as individuals age, but age isn’t the only reason that hearing loss occurs. Individuals with chronic health conditions are at much higher risk of hearing loss than others, including those who are dealing with diabetes. Understanding why there is a higher risk and what the relationship is between diabetes and hearing loss is important.

This will discuss the relationship between these conditions and help you have a thorough understanding of how diabetes can affect your hearing. With this knowledge, you can ensure that you are speaking to an audiologist as early as possible in your hearing health journey and gain the hearing aids for your hearing loss that you need.

What is the Relationship Between Diabetes and Hearing Loss?

Diabetes increases your risk of hearing loss, but the reasons behind it are still rather unclear. Doctors and audiologists are still not sure what the exact cause between diabetes and hearing loss is but can speculate on some of the research and factors that are involved with others who are experiencing hearing loss when they also have diabetes. Hearing loss has been shown to be at least twice as common in adults with diabetes.

Medicine has not yet found the reason behind why individuals with diabetes are more likely to develop hearing loss later in life, but there are plenty of theories. The prolonged high blood glucose levels and therefore high blood pressure that is apparent in diabetic patients. Places a lot of stress and strain on the tiny nerves and blood vessels in the inner ear. Over time this can become damage affecting so as ability to hear.

What’s the Most Common Treatment?

Most hearing loss is not curative, but it is something that can be enhanced. The most common treatment for a diabetic patient when they are experiencing hearing loss of any degree is hearing aids with the help of their audiologist. Your audiologist will discuss the three common types of hearing aids with you which will include in the ear (ITE), behind the ear (BTE) and in the canal (ITC). Hearing loss is twice as prevalent among diabetics as you now know, which means that it’s important that if you are dealing with diabetes, you are having regular checkups with your audiologist to ensure that your hearing aids are working correctly, are working the right way and your hearing hasn’t worsened overtime.

It’s important to note that just because you have diabetes doesn’t mean you’re going to have hearing loss to any degree. But it is important to be aware of the potential issues, just like you would be with your kidney health and the health of your feet. Diabetics need to take meticulous care of their health overall, and that can include hearing. It’s important to ensure that you are schedule an appointment with an audiologist as soon as possible even if you haven’t noticed a change in your hearing yet.

Contact your audiologist today and have your hearing tested and assessed for whether or not you need to have hearing aids. They will be able to find the right treatment option for you.