Over time, blood sugar levels that are too high or too low can damage nerves that affect your hearing. Learn how you can help prevent hearing loss if you have diabetes.
Hearing loss happens for many reasons. You probably know that it can happen as you age or if you spend too much time around loud noises. You may not know that having diabetes puts you at risk for hearing loss. Managing your blood sugar is a critical part of your diabetes care. It can also help protect your hearing.
Read more about the signs of hearing loss and how you can help prevent it if you have diabetes.
The Diabetes and Hearing Loss Connection
Diabetes can lead to nerve damage that affects many parts of the body, including your hands, feet, eyes, and kidneys. Diabetes can also cause nerve damage in your ears.
Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage small blood vessels and nerves in the inner ear. Low blood sugar over time can damage how the nerve signals travel from the inner ear to your brain. Both types of nerve damage can lead to hearing loss.
Hearing loss is twice as common in people who have diabetes as it is in people of the same age who don’t. Even people with prediabetes (blood sugar levels higher than normal but not high enough yet to have type 2 diabetes) have a 30% higher rate of hearing loss than people with normal blood sugar levels.
Get your hearing tested every year if you have diabetes.
