Hearing loss in middle-aged subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
BACKGROUND
Complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can result in hearing loss, which is characterized by high-frequency sensorineural hearing impairment and accelerated age-related decline of the right ear advantage. This investigation aimed to determine which auditory functions are affected in middle-aged subjects with T2DM and the change of the right ear advantage.


METHODS
We assessed the auditory function of 50 diabetic and 50 healthy subjects using pure-tone audiometry, auditory brainstem response and otoacoustic emissions.


RESULTS
Diabetic subjects showed elevated thresholds at 4000 Hz and 8000 Hz (p <0.01) and increased wave V and interwave I-V latencies (p <0.01) when compared to healthy subjects. Consistently, subjects with diabetes also had smaller distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitudes at 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 kHz (p <0.01) and smaller transient otoacoustic emission amplitude in the right ear when compared to healthy controls (p <0.05). Meanwhile, the right ear transient otoacoustic emission amplitude of subjects with T2DM was smaller than the left ear at 4.0 kHz (p <0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that middle-aged subjects with T2DM have subclinical hearing loss, impaired auditory brainstem response and diminished otoacoustic emissions, and the peripheral right ear advantage is being lost in middle-aged subjects with T2DM.
Ren
Jianmin
J
Department of Endocrinology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
Zhao
Peng
P
Chen
Li
L
Xu
Anting
A
Brown
Stacey N
SN
Xiao
Xiaoyan
X
D000328:Adult; D001299:Audiometry; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged