Fw: Hearing loss and diabetes from The Diabetic News

[Guest guest]

Hearing loss and diabetes from The Diabetic News

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> Diabetes Affects Hearing Loss, Especially in Women

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> 27-Jan-2012

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> Having diabetes may cause women to experience a greater degree of hearing

> loss as they age, especially if the metabolic disorder is not well

> controlled with medication, according to a new study from Henry Ford

> Hospital in Detroit.

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> Women between the ages of 60 and 75 with well-controlled diabetes had

> better

> hearing than women with poorly controlled diabetes, with similar hearing

> levels to those of non-diabetic women of the same age.

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> The study also shows significantly worse hearing in all women younger than

> 60 with diabetes, even if it is well controlled.

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> Men, however, had worse hearing loss across the board compared to women in

> the study, regardless of their age or whether or not they had diabetes.

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> " A certain degree of hearing loss is a normal part of the aging process

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> all of us, but it is often accelerated in patients with diabetes,

> especially

> if blood-glucose levels are not being controlled with medication and

> diet, "

> says J. Hands, D.O., with the Department of Otolaryngology-Head &

> Neck

> Surgery at Henry Ford.

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> " Our study really points to importance of patients controlling their

> diabetes, especially as they age, based on the impact it may have on

> hearing

> loss. "

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> The study was presented Jan. 26 in Miami Beach at the annual Triological

> Society's Combined Sections Meeting.

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> According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 26 million people

> in

> the U.S. have diabetes, and another 34.5 million have some degree of

> hearing

> loss. Signs of hearing loss include difficulty hearing background noises

> or

> hearing conversations in large groups, as well as regularly needing to

> turn

> up the volume on a radio or TV.

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> While the association between diabetes and hearing loss has previously

> been

> studied, Henry Ford researchers sought to learn more about hearing

> differences among patients with well-controlled diabetes, poorly

> controlled

> diabetes, and those who do not have diabetes.

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> The Henry Ford research team reviewed records for 990 patients that had

> audiograms performed between 2000 and 2008 at the hospital. Patients were

> categorized by gender, age (younger than 60 years old, between 60-75 years

> old and older than 75 years old), and if they had diabetes. Those with

> diabetes were divided into two groups: well-controlled or poorly

> controlled,

> as determined by the American Diabetes Association guidelines that use

> HbA1C

> blood levels.

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> Dr. Handzo notes that previous studies about diabetes and hearing loss

> have

> not focused on blood-glucose levels, nor did they include such a diverse

> population based on age and gender.

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> The Henry Ford team looked at patients' pure tone average, a measurement

> that determines hearing level at certain frequency, and speech recognition

> at different ages. The team evaluated pure tone average ranges that focus

> on

> the frequency at which most people speak and the very high frequencies

> used

> in music and alarms.

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> Women between the ages of 60 and 75 with poorly controlled diabetes had

> significantly worse hearing than those whose diabetes was well-controlled

> and the control group. Among the women younger than 60, those with

> diabetes

> - regardless of whether or not it was being controlled - had worse hearing

> than non-diabetic women.

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> For the men in the study, there was no significant difference in hearing

> between those with diabetes that well-controlled or poorly controlled, as

> well as those who did not have diabetes.

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> " Younger males in general have worse hearing, enough so to possibly mask

> any

> impact diabetes may have on hearing. But our findings really call for

> future

> research to determine the possible role gender plays in hearing loss, "

> says

> Dr. Handzo.

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> Funding: Henry Ford Hospital. Along with Dr. Handzo, Henry Ford study

> authors are Virginia S. Ramachandran, Au.D.; Brad A. Stach, Ph.D.; Ed S.

> , Ph.D.; and Kathleen L. Yaremchuk, M.D.

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> Source: Henry Ford Health System

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