By Dr. Noël Crosby, Au.D.
At Advanced Hearing Solutions, we understand that hearing and balance problems don’t exist in isolation. One significant yet often overlooked connection is between diabetes and auditory health. If you’re living with diabetes, understanding this relationship is crucial for protecting your overall wellbeing.
Understanding the Link
Research shows that people with diabetes are twice as likely to experience hearing loss compared to those without the condition. This connection exists because high blood sugar levels can damage the small blood vessels and nerves in the inner ear, similar to how diabetes affects other parts of the body. The delicate hair cells responsible for transmitting sound signals to your brain require proper blood flow and nerve function to work effectively.
When blood glucose levels remain elevated over time, it can lead to diabetic neuropathy, which doesn’t just affect your extremities. The auditory nerve can also sustain damage, resulting in gradual hearing deterioration. Many people don’t realize their hearing is declining until the problem becomes significant, making regular hearing evaluations essential for those managing diabetes.
Balance Problems and Diabetes
Your inner ear does double duty, managing both hearing and balance. The vestibular system, located within the inner ear, helps you maintain equilibrium and spatial orientation. Diabetes can compromise this system through similar mechanisms that affect hearing: damaged blood vessels and nerves.
People with diabetes may experience dizziness, vertigo, or unsteadiness, particularly when standing up quickly or changing positions. These balance issues can increase fall risk and impact quality of life. Additionally, diabetic peripheral neuropathy affecting the feet and legs can compound balance problems, as reduced sensation makes it harder to gauge your footing.
Taking Preventive Action
The good news is that managing your diabetes effectively can help protect your hearing and balance. Maintaining stable blood sugar levels through proper diet, exercise, and medication compliance is your first line of defense. Regular monitoring and working closely with your healthcare team are essential.
At Advanced Hearing Solutions, we recommend comprehensive hearing evaluations for all diabetes patients, even if you haven’t noticed any hearing changes. Early detection allows for timely intervention, which can prevent further deterioration and improve outcomes. Annual hearing tests should be part of your diabetes management routine, just like eye exams and foot checks.
When to Seek Help
If you notice difficulty understanding conversations, frequently asking people to repeat themselves, or experiencing ringing in your ears, don’t wait to get evaluated. Similarly, unexplained dizziness or balance problems warrant immediate attention.
Advanced Hearing Solutions specializes in identifying and treating hearing and balance disorders in patients with diabetes and other underlying conditions. Our comprehensive assessments can detect early changes and provide solutions ranging from hearing aids to balance therapy.
Remember, protecting your hearing and balance is an integral part of managing diabetes. Schedule your evaluation today and take control of your auditory health.
ABOUT Advanced Hearing Solutions
Using the latest and most sophisticated technology, we determine if you have hearing loss–and, if you do, we determine the degree and type of hearing loss. If your hearing loss requires medical or surgical intervention, we can refer you to a physician (otologist or neurologist) for appropriate treatment. If your type of hearing loss can best be treated with the use of hearing aids and/or other assistive listening devices (which is true in the great majority of cases), we can select any of a wide range of hearing devices and custom fit them to your ear, programmed to augment your hearing at those frequency levels where your hearing loss is greatest.
Call Advanced Hearing Solutions today at (941) 474-8393.