Is Diabetes Affecting Your Hearing?

Diabetes can cause serious damage to your blood vessels. This is why diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and heart disease in America. But did you know that the same type of diabetes-related blood-vessel damage can affect your ears, diminishing your ability to hear?

Diabetes can cause nerve damage that diminishes hearing. And some research suggests that diabetes can cause a shortage of a type of protein important to ear health. Add it up and people with diabetes are about twice as likely to experience hearing loss as people of the same age and background who don’t have the disease. “Hearing loss may be an under-recognized complication of diabetes,” the National Institutes of Health declared in a 2008 report.

Chances are, you are reading this thinking, “My hearing is just fine.” But is it? Believe it or not, it’s rarely obvious to you if you’re losing your hearing. For most people, hearing loss happens very gradually; to them, the sounds of the world still seem plentiful and relatively clear, even if their hearing is in decline. Loved ones and friends are often the first ones to notice your hearing loss, not you.

There are a lot of myths surrounding hearing loss. The biggest is that you have to be “older” to have it. But most people with hearing loss are under 65 years old. And the percentage of younger people with hearing issues is getting larger, as modern audio technology and headphone use continues to increase.

Do you frequently ask others to repeat themselves? Are you constantly turning up the TV or radio volume? Do you have trouble following conversations in loud restaurants or big groups? Do you think that people are always mumbling? If you answer “yes” to more than one of these questions, you might want be screened for hearing loss.

People with diabetes should be diligent about getting routine hearing tests. At your next physical, ask your doctor to screen your hearing and even if you pass, share any concerns you may have. It can be easy to pass a hearing test in a quiet room but your day-to-day experiences are the real test.