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A review of 17 studies that included almost four thousand people with type 2 diabetes and a similar number without it found a strong link between diabetes and hearing loss. In the diabetes group, about 40 to 72 percent had some level of hearing loss. Overall, people with diabetes were a little more than four times more likely to have hearing loss than people without diabetes. The biggest differences showed up in the high-pitch ranges, where hearing was a few decibels worse in the diabetes group.
The review also found that people who had diabetes for more than ten years, and those with higher HbA1c levels, tended to have more hearing problems. This fits with the idea that long-term damage to tiny blood vessels in the inner ear (microvascular) may play a role. The authors suggest that routine hearing checks could help catch early changes and may even serve as a window into overall microvascular health for people with diabetes.
Read the article here.
