Diabetes takes toll on women's hearing

Diabetes is associated with hearing loss in women, especially if the blood sugar disease isn't well-controlled, new research indicates.

The study, done by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, examined the medical records of 990 men and women who had hearing tests between 2000 and 2008. Patients with diabetes were divided into two groups: well-controlled and poorly controlled.

Among women aged 60 to 75, hearing loss was 14 percent worse even in well-controlled diabetics compared with those without diabetes. That is not a clinically significant loss, noted study author Dr. Kathleen Yaremchuk, chairwoman of the department of otolaryngology at the Henry Ford Healthcare System in Detroit.
“An individual might not notice it,” Yaremchuk said.

On the other hand, poorly controlled diabetics’ hearing was 28 percent worse than the non-diabetic group’s hearing.

Younger women who had diabetes, well-managed or not, were more likely to have hearing loss than those unaffected by the illness, the study found.

Diabetes is known to affect the eyes, kidneys and other organs, Yaremchuk said.
“Our study shows it can affect hearing as well.”