New research takes a closer look at the connection between elevated blood sugar and hearing lossand the science behind it
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People with type 2 diabetes have a much higher likelihood of hearing loss than those without.
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The research reviewed 17 studies and found hearing difficulties occur most often at higher sound frequencies.
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Longer diabetes duration and poorer blood sugar control were linked to greater hearing impairment.
Most of us think of diabetes in terms of blood sugar, diet, and maybe eye or nerve issues but hearing?
A new comprehensive analysis published in OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery suggests we might want to change that.
Researchers found a strong link between type 2 diabetes and hearing loss, particularly in the higher pitch ranges that help us understand speech and enjoy music.
How did the study work?
The research team from Hospital Clnic and Universitat de Barcelona in Spain sifted through thousands of published studies, ultimately selecting 17 that met rigorous scientific standards.
In total, data from 3,910 adults with type 2 diabetes were compared with 4,084 people without diabetes. The researchers looked at hearing test results especially pure-tone audiometry, a common way to measure the quietest sounds a person can detect across different frequencies and analyzed how often hearing loss occurred in each group.
They also examined subgroups, such as how long a person had lived with diabetes and how well their blood sugar (HbA1c) was controlled, seeking clues about who might be at higher risk.
What did they find?
Across the studies analyzed, hearing loss showed up in 40.6% to 71.9% of people with type 2 diabetes far higher than in the non-diabetic comparison group. Overall, individuals with diabetes were more than four times as likely to have measurable hearing impairment.
Interestingly, the difference in hearing was most noticeable at higher frequencies, which can affect how clearly someone perceives speech and certain sounds in noisy environments. On average, people with diabetes needed sounds to be about 3.2 decibels louder to hear them compared to controls.
Duration of diabetes and blood sugar control seemed to matter too: people with diabetes for more than 10 years had a notably higher risk of hearing loss, and those with poorer glucose control tended to have more severe impairment.
The researchers proposed that changes in the tiny blood vessels of the inner ear similar to the microvascular damage diabetes can cause elsewhere in the body might underlie the hearing difficulties.
Top takeaways
If youre living with type 2 diabetes or caring for someone who has it this research adds one more area to keep on your radar: hearing health.
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Dont ignore subtle changes in hearing. Because the study found differences most often at higher frequencies, difficulty following conversations or hearing clearly in noisy settings may be worth mentioning to a healthcare provider.
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Talk with your care team about hearing checks. Given the higher rates of hearing loss found in people with type 2 diabetes, especially those with longer disease duration, asking whether a baseline or routine hearing evaluation makes sense could be a practical next step.
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Stay focused on blood sugar management. The analysis found that longer duration of diabetes and poorer glucose control were associated with greater hearing impairment, reinforcing how closely overall diabetes management is tied to broader health outcomes.
Posted: 2026-02-23 20:46:24


















