Role of Diabetes Mellitus on Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Health Center: A Clinical Audit of Four and a Half Years

Objective: The current study aimed to analyze the occurrence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) among diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and to correlate the degree of hearing loss with the duration and type of DM. Methods: This was a hospital-based retrospective observational study, using data collected from 7382 hearing-impaired patients from January 1, 2016 to July 30, 2020. The data collected were blood glucose levels and hearing thresholds through pure-tone audiometry (PTA). The association between SNHL type/severity and the types of diabetes mellitus (DM) were measured. Results: Diabetic SNHL was observed in 2786 (37.74%) of the patients. Of the 2786 patients with diabetes, 315 (11.3%) had type 1 DM and 2471 (88.7%) had type 2 DM. According to the PTA readings, SNHL was recorded in 2786 DM patients (37.74%) and 4596 non-diabetic patients (62.25%) (P < .001). The mean duration of DM was significantly high in the diabetic patients with SNHL [11.7 ± 7.6 years] than in those without SNHL [7.3 ± 5.4 years] (P = .001). The mean fasting blood glucose was higher in the diabetic patients with SNHL than in those without SNHL [175.3 ± 83.3mg/dL vs. 157.7 ± 54.9 mg/dL] (P = .247). A lower age at DM onset (P = .042) and a longer duration of diabetes were related to a higher severity of SNHL (P = .007). The age at onset and the duration of diabetes were associated with SNHL. Conclusion: The study reveals high prevalence of SNHL in type 2 DM. Diabetes mellitus acts as a more significant initiating and progression factor of hearing loss than other factors. By using PTA, the early detection of hearing loss in type 2 DM may help to avoid the deafness or its further progression.

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