Hearing risk for diabetics

DIABETICS are more likely to have hearing problems than people who don’t have the disease, researchers have found.

According to a study of more than 250,000 people, diabetes increases the risk of hearing difficulties by an average of 36 per cent, and the figures rise with elevated blood sugar levels.

The subjects of the study were tracked over a period of 12 years, during which scientists compared hearing-test results with incidence of diabetes and elevated blood sugar levels – also known as ‘pre-diabetes’. During the period of the study, reported in the International Journal Of Epidemiology by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and other centres, nearly 3,000 developed hearing loss.

People with pre-diabetes had a four per cent increased risk, and those with diabetes a 36 per cent higher risk compared with those with normal glucose levels. The risk increased progressively with glucose levels.

It is thought diabetes may lead to hearing loss due to blood sugar damaging nerves and blood vessels of the inner ear.