Hearing loss it happens and there are many reasons why. About 40 million US adults suffer from a hearing impairment, according to the NIDCD. For those suffering from hearing loss, health issues such as diabetes play a major factor to causing this.
What Is Diabetes and How Can It Affect Hearing Loss?
Diabetes is a condition that affects the way your body turns food into energy. With diabetes your body is not making enough insulin or the insulin your body does make is not usable. Managing your blood sugar level is important to your diabetes journey it also helps protects your hearing loss. Nerve damage that occurs because of diabetes also causes damage to the ears. How does this happen? When your blood sugar levels are high the small blood vessels and the nerves located in the inner ear can cause damage. The same with low blood sugar. With low blood sugar the nerve that travels from your inner ear to your brain can also be compromised. Lastly, diabetes also damages your vestibular system, basically the part of your inner ear that helps your body control your balance.
In 2008, a study was done by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and found that those with diabetes that participated in the study were more likely to suffer from mild to moderate hearing loss than the participants who didn’t have diabetes. Another study was issued in 2012 by Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found the same results as the 2008 study, no matter the age of the participants.
How Can I Preserve My Hearing With Diabetes?
Here are some ways you can protect your ears when you have diabetes:
- Keep your blood sugar level to as normal as possible
- Asking your doctor about if your medicines can damage your hearing and if so, what other medicines can I take
- If diagnosed with diabetes get your hearing checked and continuously do so since it can lead to hearing loss
If you have diabetes or have recently been diagnosed with it is crucial to get your hearing checked. Call the Miami hearing aid experts at New Generation Hearing Center today!
