A Link Between Hearing Loss & Diabetes

When you think about diabetes, what comes to mind? You might think about blood sugar levels, testing kits, or even insulin injections. You might think about diet and exercise changes that a person needs to follow in order to manage their blood sugar levels. Most likely hearing loss is not the first thing to come to mind when you think about diabetes, but a recent study has discovered a powerful link between these two conditions. Let’s take a closer look at this study linking the two conditions, as well as the nature of the relationship between them. 

Comorbidities and Risk Factors

When two chronic health conditions are present in a person at the same time, they are considered comorbidities. These two conditions are not necessarily a direct cause of one another. It’s not as if hearing loss is directly making blood sugar spike, as is the risk for those with diabetes. However, comorbidity works at the level of the whole population as a tendency to have two conditions at the same time. When you look at a large group of people, you can see patterns and tendencies that connect one condition to another. 

Hearing loss and diabetes are considered comorbidities because a person with hearing loss is more likely to have diabetes than a person who has normal hearing ability. This higher likelihood is considered a risk factor. If you receive a diagnosis of hearing loss, your primary care physician might even use that information as a warning sign that you should be tested for elevated blood glucose levels or pre-diabetes. 

Recent Findings

A recent study found that hearing loss and diabetes are powerful comorbidities. The study was conducted at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and the researchers recruited a group of women over the age of 60. They found that those who had hearing loss were significantly more likely to have Type I and Type II diabetes than their demographic counterparts who had normal hearing ability. This elevated statistical relationship makes the two comorbidities a risk factor for one another. Although this information is helpful to cue doctors to check blood glucose levels, it does not explain exactly how the conditions are connected. 

Interpreting the Results

How can we explain this connection between hearing loss and diabetes? The link might work in both directions. In the first place, those who have hearing loss are more likely to become socially isolated. Their difficulty communicating can cause some of them to prefer to stay home rather than engage in social life. A lack of mobility can make diabetes more likely in some people, so social isolation can be a link in the causal chain between hearing loss and diabetes in some cases. 

The link might also work in the other direction. Those who have diabetes have elevated blood glucose levels. That composition of the bloodstream means that the cardiovascular system is not able to deliver as much of the oxygen and nutrients that are necessary to keep the body functioning well. The tiny, hairlike organelles of the inner ear called stereocilia are quite sensitive to the flow of oxygen in the bloodstream. If they don’t get what they need to function, they can easily become bent, broken, or otherwise damaged, leading to hearing loss. The same sensitivity that makes the stereocilia able to detect differences in sound also makes them susceptible to damage from a lack of oxygen and nutrients. Diabetes might contribute to hearing loss in just this manner, as well. 

Addressing Hearing Loss

As researchers continue to explore the relationship between hearing loss and diabetes, there are steps you can take to improve your health. Getting a balanced diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables and low in sodium, trans fats, and sugars is a good way to prevent diabetes and promote healthy hearing at the same time. Getting enough physical activity is also crucial to your health, whether that activity comes in the form of a trip to the gym or a lunch-hour walk around the block. If you are concerned about the possibility of hearing loss, you can also schedule a hearing test to find out if you have a need for treatment.