Abstract
IntroductionDiabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder of various origins that occurs when the pancreas fails to produce insulin in sufficient quantities or when the organism fails to respond to this hormone in an efficient manner. ObjectiveTo evaluate the speech recognition in subjects with type I diabetes mellitus (DMI) in quiet and in competitive noise. MethodsIt was a descriptive, observational and cross-section study. We included 40 participants of both genders aged 18–30 years, divided into a control group (CG) of 20 healthy subjects with no complaints or auditory changes, paired for age and gender with the study group, consisting of 20 subjects with a diagnosis of DMI. First, we applied basic audiological evaluations (pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry and immittance audiometry) for all subjects; after these evaluations, we applied Sentence Recognition Threshold in Quiet (SRTQ) and Sentence Recognition Threshold in Noise (SRTN) in free field, using the List of Sentences in Portuguese test. ResultsAll subjects showed normal bilateral pure tone threshold, compatible speech audiometry and “A” tympanometry curve. Group comparison revealed a statistically significant difference for SRTQ (p=0.0001), SRTN (p<0.0001) and the signal-to-noise ratio (p<0.0001). ConclusionThe performance of DMI subjects in SRTQ and SRTN was worse compared to the subjects without diabetes.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder of various origins that begins when the pancreas fails to produce insulin in sufficient quantities or when the organism fails to respond to this hormone in an efficient manner
The speech reception thresholds and the speech recognition index were compared between the right and left ears of the two groups, there was no evidence of a statistically significant difference (ANOVA), which allowed pooling the results for each ear into a single sample
The speech audiometry tests were compatible with pure tone threshold, an expected result since both groups had normal hearing acuity.[29]
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder of various origins that begins when the pancreas fails to produce insulin in sufficient quantities or when the organism fails to respond to this hormone in an efficient manner. One of the less explored or reported consequences for patients with diabetes is dysfunction of the auditory system.[3] Patients with DMI do not secrete endogenous insulin or do so in a reduced manner due to the destruction of their pancreatic beta-cells This situation affects about 20% of cases and is more commonly identified in children and adolescents.[2] In Brazil there are no studies reporting the exact prevalence of chronic complications in diabetic patients, such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, arterial hypertension, cardiovascular changes, and otoneurologic symptoms such as tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss.4---6. In Brazil there are no studies reporting the exact prevalence of chronic complications in diabetic patients, such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, arterial hypertension, cardiovascular changes, and otoneurologic symptoms such as tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss.4---6 This may be due to two particular factors: affected persons being unaware of their diseases, and the fact that, aware of their chronic metabolic disorders, several affected individuals do not seek for medical care.[4]
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