Early detection of hearing impairment in type 2 diabetic patients

Abstract

Background: Hearing impairment is an under-recognized complication of type 2 diabetic patients. Exploring an appropriate technique and method to detect early hearing impairment in diabetic patients is the key to good hearing care.

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to evaluate the application effects of extended high-frequency audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions in early detection of hearing impairment in diabetic patients.

Materials and methods: The study recruited 65 type 2 diabetic patients with normal hearing thresholds detected by conventional PTA, and 60 control subjects. All subjects completed detailed medical history questionnaires and underwent ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) physical examinations and laboratory tests. Then they underwent the conventional pure tone audiometry (PTA) tests, extended high frequency audiometry (HFA) and distortion product of otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). Audiologic data and the related risk factors of audiology were analyzed.

Results: Of 65 diabetic patients, 41 patients (63.1%) suffered from high frequency hearing loss detected by HFA and 58 patients (89.2%) suffered from cochlear dysfunction detected by DPOAEs. The incidence of high frequency hearing loss was 38%, 83.3% and 42.3% at the age of 30–39, 40–49 and 50–59 years, respectively. The factors of age (p = .00) and disease duration (p = .00) were related with the high frequency hearing threshold, while the factor of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (p = .716) had no relationship with it.

Conclusions and significance: There can be cochlear dysfunction and high frequency hearing loss in diabetic patients with normal hearing thresholds of conventional frequencies. The examinations of HFA and DPOAEs are of great importance for early diagnosis of hearing loss in type 2 diabetic patients.

Chinese abstract

背景：听力障碍是2型糖尿病患者的并发症, 这种并发症尚未被充分认识。探索糖尿病患者早期听力损失的检测技术和方法是听力保健的关键。

目的：探讨扩大高频测听和畸变产物耳声发射在糖尿病患者听力损害早期诊断中的应用效果。

材料与方法：研究对象为65例正常听力阈值（由常规PTA检测）的2型糖尿病患者和60例正常人。所有受试者都完成了详细的病史调查表, 并进行了ENT（耳鼻喉科）体检和实验室检查。然后进行常规纯音测听（PTA）、扩大高频测听（HFA）和耳声发射畸变产物（DPOAEs）测试。分析听力资料及相关的听力危险因素。

结果：65例糖尿病患者中, HFA检出高频听力损失41例（63.1%）, DPOAEs检出耳蜗功能障碍58例（89.2%）。30-39岁、40-49岁和50-59岁的高频听力损失发生率分别为38%、83.3%和42.3%。年龄（p =0 .00）和病程（p =0 .00）与高频听阈有关, 而糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）（p = .716）与高频听阈无关。

结论及意义：常规频率听阈正常的糖尿病患者, 可能存在耳蜗功能障碍和高频听力损失。HFA和DPOAEs检查对2型糖尿病患者听力损失的早期诊断具有重要意义。

Keywords:

• Type 2 diabetes mellitus
• hearing impairment
• early
• extended high frequency audiometry
• evoked distortion product otoacoustic emissions

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Pillar Program during the 12th Five-Year Plan of China [No. 2012BAI12B02]. Capital Ten Major Disease Projects to Promote Scientific and Technological Achievements [Z121107006212005]. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences [KF2016-13].