Hearing and diabetes.

The results of the audiological evaluation of 47 diabetics are presented. The patients were divided into two groups: A (17/47), type I early diabetics, and B (30/47), type I chronic diabetics. The evaluation included puretone audiometry, high-frequency audiometry and auditory brainstem response. There was a control group consisting of 30 healthy subjects. In group 1 the audiological assessment was normal in all cases. In group 2 hearing loss was found in 30% of cases (9/30). Hearing loss was significantly correlated with age (p = 0.0019) and duration of diabetes (p = 0.0143), but not with diabetic microangiopathy (p = 0.1506). The authors conclude that hearing loss is not a usual feature in diabetic patients. When present, hearing loss should be attributed to the effect of diabetes on the age-related physiological impairment of the inner ear. The pathogenic mechanisms remain obscure.