Hearing Impairment in Relation to Severity of Diabetes in a Veteran Cohort

Abstract

In a cohort of Veterans with type 2 diabetes and relatively good hearing, significant effects of disease severity were found for hearing thresholds at a subset of frequencies and for one of the three QOL subscales. Significant differences were concentrated among those with poorly controlled diabetes based on current HbA1c. Results provide evidence that the observed hearing dysfunction in type 2 diabetes might be prevented or delayed through tight metabolic control. Findings need to be corroborated using longitudinal assessments.