Clinical Asssessment of Sensorineural Hearing Loss among Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Abstract

Background: Hearing impairment is known to hamper the quality of life among patients, especially among diabetics due to the association of neuropathy with diabetes. However, the prevalence and degree of the SNHL depends upon different factors, such as age, gender, disease duration of DM, family history and glycemic status of the patients. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the association of SNHL with DM duration and familial DM and gender preponderance among SNHL–DM patients.
 Methods: Total 140 patients with DM were assessed for hearing impairment using Rinne, Weber and Absolute Bone Conduction Tests along with pure tone audiometry. Patients’ glycaemic status was determined by estimating fasting blood glucose (FBG) and post prandial blood glucose (PPBG) levels. Independent t-test, chi-square, ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation tests along with linear regression model were used to find association and correlation using R software.
 Results: Out of 140 patients, 60 were suffering from SNHL and majority were suffering from bilateral minimal hearing loss. SNHL was significantly associated with family history, age, duration of DM, FBG and PPBG levels were(Pvalues:1.79E08, 4.41E-06 and 0.02), however, significant correlated with duration of DM, FBS and PPBG level (r value:0.14–0.41).Furthermore, significant SNHL at 500 and 8000Hz was observed in the present study (Pvalue:0.002).
 Conclusion: A conclusive proof was drawn that family history of DM serve as a valuable variable in assessing the SNHL among DM patients.