Diabetes could be harming your hearing: Why 13 crore people may be at risk
The review found that even people diagnosed with diabetes for less than 10 years were more than twice as likely to develop significant hearing loss
A recent review indicates a strong and often overlooked link between diabetes and significant hearing loss, with adults with diabetes being more than twice as likely to experience this complication.
A recent review indicates a strong and often overlooked link between diabetes and significant hearing loss, with adults with diabetes being more than twice as likely to experience this complication.
A recent review indicates a strong and often overlooked link between diabetes and significant hearing loss, with adults with diabetes being more than twice as likely to experience this complication.
About 25 per cent of adults with diabetes—roughly 13 crore people worldwide—are living with serious hearing loss.
A review of 29 studies involving more than 17,000 adults, published in Diabetes Metabolism Research and Reviews, found that people with diabetes are more than twice as likely to develop significant hearing loss compared with those without the condition.
Diabetes is the world’s fastest-growing chronic disease, affecting more than half a billion people globally. Despite its strong link with hearing loss, the condition remains an overlooked complication of diabetes.
Researchers are calling for routine hearing tests to become part of diabetes care, alongside monitoring for other known complications such as eye, kidney, and nerve damage.
"This isn't a minor inconvenience; hearing loss in people with diabetes often strikes working-age adults in their 40s and 50s, affecting daily conversations, fuelling isolation and accelerating memory loss,” the lead researcher said. “This is a hidden epidemic, and we need to sound the alarm and add a simple hearing test to every diabetes checkup."
Researchers said low-cost hearing tests could help identify problems early. Timely treatment, including hearing aids when needed, may improve communication and quality of life, while good blood sugar control may help slow further hearing damage.
The increased risk is not limited to people who have had diabetes for many years. The review found that even people diagnosed with diabetes for less than 10 years were more than twice as likely to develop significant hearing loss.
Because hearing loss often progresses slowly, many people may not notice changes until they begin affecting daily life. The researchers concluded that routine screening could help detect changes earlier and allow for timely intervention before daily communication is affected.