Audiological profile of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Sakhile Nkosi, Vuyelwa Peter, Jessica Paken
PMID 39099284WHAT IT FOUND
Hearing loss was found in 22 ears among 35 adults with type 2 diabetes, mostly sensorineural and slight.
Hypertension was related to hearing loss, but diabetes control and duration were not. Nine of 35 reported difficulty. Do not rely on self-report alone.
Key findings
01Hearing loss was found in 22 ears (31.4%), and 18 of those ears had sensorineural hearing loss.
02The study found a statistically significant relationship between hypertension and hearing loss in both ears, but not between diabetes control status or duration and hearing loss.
03Nine of 35 participants reported hearing difficulties, while hearing loss was found in 22 ears.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only 35 adults at a district hospital, so the findings may not represent people with diabetes in other settings. It used a non-experimental descriptive design without a control group, so it cannot show that diabetes or hypertension caused hearing loss. The sample was limited to adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for less than 10 years, so it says little about people with longer diabetes duration. Most participants had poorly controlled diabetes, but the study found no significant relationship between control status and hearing loss, so screening based on control status is not supported. The study did not assess vestibular function, so reported dizziness cannot be interpreted for balance-related practice. Comparison of hearing loss prevalence with other studies is difficult because the studies used different audiometric cutoffs and classification methods.
Declared interests
The study received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public or private sectors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the hypertension finding as proof that hypertension caused hearing loss. The study was descriptive, included 35 adults, and found no significant relationship between diabetes control or duration and hearing loss in either ear.