Hearing Thresholds In Patients With Diabetes

Despite a number of studies, conflicting results on hearing function in diabetic patients with well-controlled disease are described in the medical literature. Aim of this study is to investigate hearing function in well-characterised diabetic patients and to evaluate the role of potentially relevant factors. We enrolled 38 diabetic patients, 15 with type 1 diabetes and 23 with type 2. In all subjects we evaluated the disease duration, metabolic control (HbA1c) and retinopathy degree. ENT assessment and pure tone audiometry (PTA) were performed and auditory thresholds were compared to those obtained in 38 age-matched healthy controls. Patients' mean HbA1c was 7.553% and only mild-moderate non-proliferative retinopathy was observed. Auditory thresholds in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients did not differ from controls. Auditory function in diabetic patients was not related to the type of diabetes or duration of disease. We conclude that metabolically well-controlled diabetic patients did not show reduced hearing function, at least clinically at pure tone audiometry. Possible explanations for our data are discussed.