June - 18 - 2008 

A new study reveals that hearing loss is about two times as common in adults with diabetes compared to those who do not have the disease.  The study was published early online June 17, 2008, in the Annals of Internal Medicine, and was conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, components of the National Institutes of Health, and Social & Scientific Systems, Inc.  The researchers assessed data from hearing tests administered from 1999 to 2004 to participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.  The test measured participants' ability to hear low-, middle-, and high-frequency sounds in both ears. The researchers found a link between diabetes and hearing loss across all frequencies, with a stronger association in the high frequency range.  For high-frequency sounds, mild or greater hearing impairment in the worse ear was 54 percent in those with diabetes compared to 32 percent in those who did not have the disease.  Mild or greater hearing impairment of low- or mid-frequency sounds in the worse ear was about 21 percent in 399 adults with diabetes compared to about 9 percent in 4,741 adults without diabetes.  The study also revealed that adults with pre-diabetes had a 30 percent higher rate of hearing loss compared to those with normal blood sugar tested after an overnight fast.

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