The National Institutes of Health recently held a study that included 5,140 adult individuals between the ages of 20 and 69. Nearly 1 out of every 10 participants was diabetic. The study showed a link between diabetes patients and hearing issues, with 21 percent suffering from hearing loss at low and mid-range frequencies, compared to only 9 percent of non-diabetic participants. In addition, 54 percent of the diabetics had difficulty with high frequency sounds, as opposed to 32 percent of non-diabetics.
The study took age-related hearing loss into consideration, and it included a variety of ethnic backgrounds, education levels and socio-economic classifications.
Consequently, experts now believe that diabetes is a definite factor in hearing loss—a long neglected consideration. Diabetes will often damage inner ear nerves and blood vessels, so researchers recommend patients with diabetes also receive more regular hearing screens.
Source info: http://www.hear-it.org/Diabetics-twice-as-likely-to-suffer-hearing-loss