Abstract
Hearing impairment is one of the most frequent chronic health issue. The incidence of hearing impairment and tinnitus increases with age. The aim of the authors was to determine the prevalence of hearing impairment and tinnitus in type 2 diabetic patients and to examine the possible associations between hearing impairment and/or tinnitus and increased HbA1c levels. 103 patients with type 2 diabetes (47 men, 56 women; age, 61.6±10.3 years, mean±SD; range, 33-88 years) evaluated at the 2nd Department of Medicine, Semmelweis University were enrolled in this study and the results were compared to those obtained from 589 type 2 diabetic (253 men, 336 women; age, 55.4±11.0 years, mean±SD; range, 26-97 years) and 15 622 non-diabetic patients (7002 men, 8620 women; age, 55.1±11.1 years, mean±SD; range, 26-98 years) who participated in a comprehensive health screening programme in Hungary. Hearing impairment was determined using the Interacoustics model AS608 screening audiometer in all patient groups. Tinnitus was evaluated with questionnaire. It was found that hearing impairment and/or tinnitus occurred in a very high proportion of type 2 diabetic patients evaluated at the 2nd Department of Medicine, Semmelweis University (80% of cases) as compared to type 2 diabetic (34% of cases) and non-diabetic patients (14% of cases) enrolled in the national health screening programme. There was no significant correlation between increased HbA1c levels and hearing impairment or tinnitus in type 2 diabetic patients. These results suggest that the prevalence of hearing impairment and tinnitus is higher and develop at an earlier age in patients with type 2 diabetes. The results indicate a high prevalence of hearing impairment and tinnitus in type 2 diabetic patients.
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