Diabetes and Hearing Loss

According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 26 million people in the United States have some form of diabetes.  An additional 79 million adults are pre-diabetic, often unaware that their elevated blood sugar levels may be putting them at risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, hearing loss, and premature death.
 
As you know, by altering the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that affect the nutrients in the bloodstream, diabetes can do irreversible damage to blood vessels and nerves throughout the body.  The vascular and neural systems of the inner ear are also vulnerable to inadequate metabolic functioning. 

• Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to have hearing loss compared to those unaffected by the disease.
• Individuals with prolonged elevated levels of blood sugar increase their risk for hearing loss by 30 percent.

Annual comprehensive hearing evaluations should be recommended for your patients who have or are at risk for diabetes.  

Trusted since 1942, Constance Brown Hearing Centers is your local hearing healthcare expert, where personalized service and technology meet.