- Home
- Medical news & Guidelines
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology and CTVS
- Critical Care
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Diabetes and Endocrinology
- ENT
- Gastroenterology
- Medicine
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Obstretics-Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics
- Pediatrics-Neonatology
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology
- Radiology
- Surgery
- Urology
- Laboratory Medicine
- Diet
- Nursing
- Paramedical
- Physiotherapy
- Health news
- Fact Check
- Bone Health Fact Check
- Brain Health Fact Check
- Cancer Related Fact Check
- Child Care Fact Check
- Dental and oral health fact check
- Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
- Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
- Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
- Fitness fact check
- Gut health fact check
- Heart health fact check
- Kidney health fact check
- Medical education fact check
- Men's health fact check
- Respiratory fact check
- Skin and hair care fact check
- Vaccine and Immunization fact check
- Women's health fact check
- AYUSH
- State News
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Andhra Pradesh
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Chandigarh
- Chattisgarh
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli
- Daman and Diu
- Delhi
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Ladakh
- Lakshadweep
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Odisha
- Puducherry
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Sikkim
- Tamil Nadu
- Telangana
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttrakhand
- West Bengal
- Medical Education
- Industry
Neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes associated with hearing loss
Punjab: A recent study in the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India has found an association between age, neuropathy, and nephropathy with hearing loss (HL) among patients with diabetes.
With increased Hba1c (glycated haemoglobin) levels and worsening severity of neuropathy, the researchers found a worsening HL severity. They suggested that patients with moderate to severe neuropathy might benefit from screening for hearing loss.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the significant health problems affecting more than 463 million individuals globally. An increased prevalence of T2DM may likely lead to increased diabetes-related complications. Several population-based studies have linked type 2 diabetes with hearing loss. Hearing loss can significantly impact the quality of life and emotional and economic impact. Also, hearing loss and diabetes have been reported to be independent risk factors for dementia development.
Strong evidence suggests that timely diagnosis and hearing aids use can significantly improve the quality of life, reduce depression, improve communication, and rate of cognitive decline in patients with hearing loss. This makes it imperative to identify type 2 diabetes patients at risk of developing hearing loss so that effective screening can be done for diagnosis and prompt treatment initiation can follow.
Against the above background, Abin M Abraham, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, and colleagues aimed to assess the prevalence of hearing loss in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and its relationship with severity and presence of diabetic neuropathy.
After informed consent hearing threshold was evaluated using pure tone audiometry (PTA). The study included patients aged 30 to 60 years with type 2 diabetes. They were categorized into three groups; Group I included patients without neuropathy, Group II comprised patients with mild neuropathy; and Group III included patients with moderate and severe neuropathy.
The study revealed the following findings:
- Of the 200 patients recruited, the prevalence of HL was overall 81%.
- The prevalence was 66.7% in Group I, 80.9% in Group II, and 87.6% in Group III.
- Among patients with moderate to severe neuropathy (group III), 33.3% had clinically significant HL (CSHL).
- Age, presence of neuropathy, gender, and severity of neuropathy were associated with an increased risk of developing HL.
Findings showed that age, nephropathy, and diabetic neuropathy were associated with hearing loss in patients with type 2 diabetes. The severity of hearing loss worsened with increased Hba1c levels and worsening severity of neuropathy.
"Screening for hearing loss using simple and cost-effective measures like self-reported screening questionnaires might be beneficial for patients with moderate to severe neuropathy," the researchers concluded.
Reference:
Abraham AM, Jacob JJ, Varghese A. Prevalence of Hearing Loss in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Association with Severity of Diabetic Neuropathy and Glycemic Control. J Assoc Physicians India 2023;71(6):14–19
MSc. Biotechnology
Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at  editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751
Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751