Manche Santoshi Kumari, Koralla Raja Meganadh, Jangala Madhavi, Akka Jyothy
Objective: Diabetes mellitus is a systemic metabolic disease, characterized by fluctuating levels of glucose which affects multiple organs. Hearing loss is one of the most common otological disorders in adults with diabetes. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of otological diseases and hearing loss patterns in adults suffering from diabetes. Methods: A total of 174 diabetic cases with hearing loss visiting MAA ENT Hospitals, Hyderabad, India along with 420 age and sex matched subjects with hearing loss constituted the study subjects. The age group of the cases above 40 years and the diagnosis was confirmed by otological examinations. Hearing loss was evaluated using pure tone audiometry and average for the frequencies at 0.5,1,2,4 and 8 kHz was recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using PASW STATISTICS 18.0 for determining the association of various demographic and otological parameters with hearing loss of diabetes subjects compared with non-diabetics. Results: In the present study, chronic suppurative otitis media (47.1%) and presbycusis (27%) were the common otological disorders prevalent in diabetic patients with hearing loss at elderly age (>60 years). 44.3% of the study subjects showed prevalence of conductive hearing loss followed by sensorineural(38.5%) and mixed hearing loss(17.2%). It was also observed that there was a significant association of sensorineural hearing loss (OR=4.85; 95% CI=2.37-9.96; p<0.001) with advancing age (>60 years). Conclusion: Therefore, the present study has revealed hearing loss in otological disorders is as an important consequence of diabetes.