![\"diabetes](\"https:\/\/hearingaidreno.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Diabetes.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAn estimated 30 million Americans have diabetes. Of that number, 23 million haven\u2019t been diagnosed! Symptoms can be difficult to detect early on, but leaving the condition untreated increases the likelihood of developing a number of health complications. These include neuropathy, heart disease, kidney failure and blindness. People with diabetes have a life expectancy of 5-6 years lower than those without the disease due to the many associated health problems that could develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the lesser-known complications of diabetes is hearing loss<\/a>. Research has shown a connection between the two, with diabetics in Reno twice as likely to develop a hearing impairment than their peers. Hearing loss is most likely to occur in patients aged 50-69; about 70 percent of individuals in this age bracket will be diagnosed with high-frequency hearing loss and one-third will have low- or mid-frequency hearing loss. Those with pre-diabetes (about 84 million people in the U.S.) aren\u2019t off the hook, either; they are 30 percent more likely to develop hearing loss themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scientists aren\u2019t exactly sure why there is a correlation between diabetes<\/a> and hearing loss, but it\u2019s believed the elevated blood glucose levels that are a trademark of diabetes are to blame. They already cause damage to the eyes and kidneys, so it stands to reason that permanent damage to the hair cells of the inner ear that are responsible for converting sound into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain for interpretation could also occur due to elevated glucose<\/a>. Another theory? Thickening of the kidney walls can cause organ failure in people with diabetes; the walls of the inner ear could be similarly affected, since they share a similar pathology with the kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n