Hearing loss can sneak up on you, it’s true. But there are times when hearing issues suddenly pounce you like a cat rather than sneaking up on you. Here’s a hypothetical: You wake up one morning and go into the shower and when you get out you detect your hearing seems off or different. Maybe muffled.
You just suspect that you got some water in your ears, but as the day progresses, and there’s no difference, you begin to get a bit worried.
At times like this, when you have a sudden profound difference in your hearing, you should get medical attention. That’s because sudden hearing loss can frequently be a symptom of a bigger issue. At times, that larger problem can be a blockage in your ear. It might be just a bit of earwax.
And sometimes that sudden hearing loss can be caused by diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
You’d be forgiven for not immediately seeing the links between hearing loss and diabetes. Your pancreas seems a long way from your ears.
With type 2 diabetes, sugars in your body aren’t properly broken down and converted into energy. This occurs because your body either isn’t producing enough insulin or it’s not reacting to the insulin that you do produce. That’s why treatments for diabetes usually entail injections or infusions of insulin.
What is The Connection Between Diabetes And Hearing?
Diabetes is a common complex condition which can often be degenerative. With the help of your doctor, it needs to be managed carefully. So how is that associated with your hearing?
Well, it turns out that sudden hearing loss can frequently be an indication that you’re developing type 2 diabetes. The connection is based on the ability of diabetes to create collateral damage, typically to nerves and blood vessels around the extremities. Tiny tiny hairs in your ears (called stereocilia and responsible for your ability to hear) are particularly sensitive to those exact changes. So even before other more widely recognized diabetes symptoms show up (like numb toes), you might experience sudden hearing loss.
Is There Anything I Can Do?
If you’re in this scenario, and your hearing has suddenly started giving you trouble, you’ll definitely want to get checked by a medical professional. Diabetes, for instance, will frequently be totally symptomless initially, so you might not even realize you have it until you begin to see some of these warning signs.
Seeking out help as soon as possible will give you the greatest number of options, as is the case for most types of hearing loss. But you need to watch out for more than just diabetes. Here are a few other possible causes of sudden hearing loss:
- Problems with blood circulation (often the consequence of other issues such as diabetes).
- Growth of tissue in the ear.
- Problems with your blood pressure.
- Infections of various types.
- Autoimmune diseases.
- Earwax buildup or other obstructions.
It can be tough to know what’s causing your sudden hearing loss or what to do about it without a medical diagnosis.
Sudden Hearing Loss Treatment Solutions
The good news here is, whether your sudden hearing loss is caused by diabetes or infection (or any of these other problems), successful treatment of the underlying cause will usually return your hearing back to normal levels if you catch it early. Once the blockage is removed or, in the case of diabetes, once blood circulation problems have been managed, your hearing will likely get back to normal if you dealt with it quickly.
But quick and efficient management is the key here. There are some disorders that can cause irreversible harm if they go neglected (diabetes is, again, one of those conditions). So if you’re coping with any type or amount of hearing loss, get it treated now.
Pay Attention to Your Hearing
If you get routine hearing screenings, sudden hearing loss might be easier to detect and you may stop it from sneaking up on you by catching it sooner. These screenings can typically detect specific hearing problems before they become obvious to you.
Diabetes and hearing loss have one other thing in common: the sooner you get treatment, the better. Untreated hearing loss can produce other health concerns such as loss of cognitive function. Call us to schedule a hearing test.
