The Connection Between Type 2 Diabetes And Hearing Loss

The Connection Between Type 2 Diabetes and Hearing Loss

How common is hearing loss in people with diabetes?
About 30 million people in the United States have diabetes, a disease characterized by high blood sugar levels. Between 90 and 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2, which can develop at any age.
Management of this disease is crucial. When blood sugar levels aren’t well-controlled, your risk of developing hearing loss may increase.
Read on to learn more about the connection between type 2 diabetes and hearing loss and what you can do about it.
Studies show that hearing loss is twice as common in people who have diabetes than in those who don’t.
In a 2008 study, researchers analyzed data from hearing tests of adults between the ages of 20 and 69. They concluded that diabetes may contribute to hearing loss by damaging nerves and blood vessels. Similar studies have shown a possible link between hearing loss and nerve damage.
The study’s authors made no distinction between type 1 and type 2, the two main types of diabetes. But almost all participants had type 2. The authors also cautioned that noise exposure and presence of diabetes was self-reported.
In 2013, researchers analyzed studies carried out from 1974 to 2011 on diabetes and hearing loss. They concluded that people with diabetes were twice as likely to have hearing loss than people without diabetes. However, these researchers did note several limitations, such as the data being based on observational studies.
What causes or contributes to hearing loss in people with diabetes isn’t clear.
It’s known that high blood sugar can damage blood vessels thro Continue reading

Rate this article

Total 1 ratings

How to Soak in a Bathtub When You Have Diabetes

According to the American Diabetes Association, 23.6 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes--sustained elevation of sugar in the blood. Numbers increase daily as Americans become obese at an alarming rate. Diet and exercise are the most effective ways to manage diabetes, but new treatment of soaking in a hot bath is gaining recognition. "DiabetesHealth" reported in a 2008 article, that Dr. Philip Hooper of the McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colorado, conducted research for people with type 2 diabetes, and found that blood sugar levels decreased and sleep patterns were improved by daily hot tub therapy. Not all diabetes experts agree, and further study is needed, but with proper safety tools in place, diabetics can enjoy soaking in a tub and reap significant benefits.
Video of the Day
Check your entire body for cuts, ulcers or sores, particularly the legs and feet. Use a full-length mirror to check the back of your body. Open wounds or breaks in the skin are pathways for bacteria to begin an infection, which is an increased danger for diabetics. Wait to enjoy your bath until all skin is intact and you are free of any infection.
Eat a low-carbohydrate snack. Soaking in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes can reduce blood sugar levels and you could experience a sudden drop (hypoglycemia) that can leave you feeling weak, light-headed or confused. Make your snack a low-carb food that lasts in your system, rather than one that will only supply a fast sugar rush.
Drink 8 to 10 oz. of water before you bathe. Sitting in very warm or hot water can cause you to s Continue reading

The Relationship Between Obesity, Diabetes and the Heart

We have been told one too many times that being overweight or obese is bad, but did you know the extent of damage obesity has on your health?
Obesity significantly increases your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, and these conditions are also intimately intertwined with heart disease. For instance, an obese person’s risk of a heart attack is 3 times greater than that of a person who has a healthy weight.
Obesity vs overweight
Although we have been using these two words interchangeably, there is a subtle difference in their medical definitions.
Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative impact on their health. This is different from being overweight, where the weight may come from muscle, bone, fat or body water.
If you weigh at least 20% more than your ideal weight, you are considered obese. To calculate your ideal weight, health professionals have suggested using your body mass index (BMI) as a rough indicator. If your BMI is 30 or above, you are considered obese.
Do keep in mind that this is a very rough gauge and having a higher than normal BMI does not necessarily mean you are unhealthy. Imagine bodybuilders! They are constantly building muscle, which means they are also putting on weight but it does not mean that their health is at stake.
Obesity can happen for many different reasons, such as consuming too many calories, leading a sedentary lifestyle and getting insufficient sleep. But regardless of the reason, being obese puts one in danger of certain illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pre Continue reading

Diabetes 2030: Insights from Yesterday, Today, and Future Trends

Diabetes and its complications, deaths, and societal costs have a huge and rapidly growing impact on the United States. Between 1990 and 2010 the number of people living with diabetes tripled and the number of new cases annually (incidence) doubled.1 Adults with diabetes have a 50% higher risk of death from any cause than adults without diabetes, in addition to risk for myriad complications.2 Reducing this burden will require efforts on many fronts—from appropriate medical care to significant public health efforts and individual behavior change across the nation, through state- and community-specific efforts. Public awareness is a key first step. For this purpose, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releases national diabetes statistics every 2 years, providing a point-in-time picture of diabetes for the country as a whole. However, state and metropolitan diabetes forecasts with projections several years into the future also are useful as health professionals and decision makers contemplate actions to address the diabetes epidemic. Therefore, the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) has prepared 2015, 2020, 2025, and 2030 diabetes forecasts for the entire United States, every state, and several metropolitan statistical areas, all of which are easily accessible on the Internet.3
This study shows how past trends, current data, and future projections provide valuable insights about the possible course of diabetes. Continue reading

5 Important Steps for Type 2 Diabetes Foot Care

Good foot care is very important when you have type 2 diabetes. Your feet can be where long-term complications of diabetes cause problems. One of the dangerous complications is neuropathy , nerve damage which in turn causes numbness and tingling in your feet. Because the nerve is damaged, you may not be able to feel a cut or sore on your foot. If you aren't looking for signs of foot problems you may not notice it in time to treat it early. This can increase your risk for infections in your feet.
Because there is decreased circulation with neuropathy, infections can be very difficult to treat. Gangrene is a very serious complication of infection. It causes the death of the infected tissue which can lead to amputation.
To keep your feet healthy, these five steps are critically important when you have type 2 diabetes.
Since neuropathy can make it difficult to feel injuries and sores to your feet, it's imperative to check your feet every day. Give them a close inspection in the morning before you put your socks and shoes on. Look closely at any possible wear spots like the backs of heels and sides of feet. Carefully check between your toes and the entire bottom surface of your feet. If it's difficult for you to see the bottom of your feet, use a mirror or have a family member check them for you.
Make sure to wash your feet daily with soap and water and dry them thoroughly. A daily cleaning can help you detect trouble spots before they turn serious. Keeping your feet clean will wash away any small irritants or debris that might have been picked up on the soles of your feet. It's Continue reading