Approximately 88 million American adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 84% are not even aware of their risks associated, such as, heart disease, blindness, nerve damage, kidney failure and stroke. As hearing healthcare specialists, we are particularly concerned about the added risk to hearing, which diabetes and prediabetes pose.
This November is American Diabetes Month, an annual campaign to educate and raise awareness of this devastating disease. In 2021, the focus is on prediabetes and treatment. When we know the risks and how to keep diabetes under control, we have a greater chance of avoiding the many irreversible health risks, which threaten the quality of our lives, including hearing loss.
Understanding Diabetes
There are several types of diabetes, including type 1, which is a rare autoimmune disease in children, and gestational diabetes, which occurs in utero. However, the most common type of diabetes is type 2, making up for approximately 90% of all cases. This type of diabetes occurs due to lifestyle choices, such as level of activity and dietary choices. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t produce a sufficient amount of insulin. Insulin is a hormone, produced in the pancreas which allows blood sugar, also called glucose, to be absorbed by the cells throughout the body. Blood sugar aids in energy in the cells of your body, but when it cannot be absorbed efficiently, it creates an excess of glucose in the bloodstream, causing damage to the cells throughout the body.
Studies on Diabetes and Hearing Loss
The connection between these two conditions has been long debated, but overwhelming proof shows that the two conditions are not isolated from one another. A 2013 study from Japan combined data from 13 studies published between 1977 and 2011. The results of the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found that people with diabetes were 2.15 times as likely as those without the disease to have hearing loss. Even more interesting is that across studies, it was revealed that those who were younger, had a higher risk of hearing loss. Those 60 years old and younger with diabetes were 2.61 times more likely to have hearing loss, while for those older than 60, the risk was 1.58 times higher. They also determined that those with prediabetes had a 30% higher risk of hearing loss in compared to those with normal blood sugar levels.
How Is Diabetes A Risk Factor For Hearing Loss?
While it has long been contested by experts, how exactly hearing loss is affected by diabetes, it is believed it is connected to how diabetes damages nerves throughout the body. This is commonly referred to as diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy and is the cause of amputations and numbness in the feet and legs. Another common theory revolves around how high glucose levels affect the small blood vessels which cause kidney failure and blindness in diabetic patients. Healthy blood vessels are essential to the health of the tiny cells which transmit sound from the inner ear to the brain. When there are insufficient blood nutrients in the ears the cells can die, interrupting or limiting sound transmissions to the brain and causing permanent hearing loss.
What Can You Do To Protect Against Hearing Loss?
The number one thing you can do to protect your ears from diabetes is to keep your blood sugars at a safe level. Talk to your doctor and find out the best way to do this. Many doctors prescribe medicines to keep blood sugars at a safe level. In conjunction with regular exercise and diet, you can keep diabetes from progressing into the dangerous consequences when left undiagnosed or unaddressed.
Take Control Of Your Hearing Now
Even more important is screening for diabetes and prediabetes, so you have the chance to take action before it can progress. Know your risk and take care to screen for diabetes every three years at least once you hit the age of 45. It is also important to note that if you are diagnosed with diabetes, that hearing loss should most definitely be part of that treatment. This November, take action and join the fight against diabetes, by scheduling a hearing test now.