Abstract

 

The hearing loss associated with both insulin dependent (Type 1 DM) or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (Type 2 DM) is described as a bilateral and progressive sensorineural type hearing loss. The hearing loss in diabetic patients may be related to microangiopathy, neuronal degenerations or diabetic encephalopathy.

The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of metabolic control on the subclinical auditory disfunction related with Type 2 DM by utilizing otoacoustic emission. The metabolic control of the DM was measured by using HbA1c. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) measurements were accomplished in metabolicolly controlled and uncontrolled diabetic patients with hearing levels better than 30 dB in both groups. Twenty-five patients with Type 2 DM were eligible to participate in the study. The patients were seperated into two groups according to the HgA1c levels. Group 1 and Group 2 consisted controlled Type 2 DM cases having HgA1c6%. Therefore; the effects of metabolic control of glycemia on the outer hair cells (OHCs) functions were evaluated in the Type 2 DM patients.

We aimed to investigate the possible role of metabolic control in diabetic patients on the outer hair cells (OHCs) functions.No statistically significant differences were found in the otoacoustic emission measurements of the patients who have metabolicolly controlled diabetes and uncontrolled group. In this study, by using DPOAE (DPgram and DPOAE I/O) and TEOAE measurements. There was no statistically significant effect of metabolic control on hearing loss in diabetic patients. Further comprehensive clinical investigations shoud be done to reveal the effects of metabolic control in diabetes mellitus on hearing.

Key Words: Hearing Loss; Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus; Metabolic Control; Otoacoustic Emission.