Hearing loss can catch you by surprise, it’s true. But in some cases, hearing problems bypass the sneaking entirely, in favor of a sudden (and often startling), cat-like pounce. It could happen like this: you wake up, drag yourself out of bed, and maybe you don’t detect it until you get out of the shower but your hearing feels…off, or different Maybe muffled.
You just suspect that you got some water in your ears, but as the day continues, and there’s no improvement, you begin to get a little concerned.
It’s these moments when hearing loss seems to strike suddenly, as if out of nowhere, that it’s a good decision to get some medical assistance. That’s because sudden hearing loss can frequently be a symptom of a bigger problem. It may be a simple matter of an obstruction in your ear. Maybe some earwax.
And sometimes that sudden hearing loss can be related to diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
If you don’t instantly identify the connection between hearing loss and diabetes that would be understandable. Your pancreas seems a long way from your ears.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which your body has trouble breaking down sugars into energy. When your body doesn’t make a sufficient amount of insulin or can’t process the insulin it is producing, this is the result. This is why insulin injections are the most prevalent form of diabetes treatments.
What is The Link Between Diabetes And Hearing?
Diabetes is a common complicated affliction which can often be degenerative. It needs to be managed carefully, in most cases with the help of your physician. So how is that associated with your hearing?
Well, it turns out that sudden hearing loss can frequently be a sign that you’re experiencing type 2 diabetes. The connection lies in the ability of diabetes to cause collateral damage, frequently to nerves and blood vessels around the extremities. These exact changes have a strong impact on the delicate hairs in your ears responsible for your hearing (called stereocilia). So you might suffer sudden hearing loss even before other, more traditional symptoms of diabetes kick in (numb toes, for example).
What Should I do?
If you’re in this scenario, and your hearing has suddenly begun giving you trouble, you’ll definitely want to get looked at by a medical professional. Diabetes, for example, will frequently be completely symptomless at first, so you may not even know you have it until you start to see some of these warning signs.
As is the situation with most forms of hearing loss, the sooner you get treatment, the more options you’ll have. But you need to keep an eye out for more than just diabetes. Sudden hearing loss could be caused by:
- Autoimmune diseases.
- Issues with your blood pressure.
- Blood circulation problems (these are often caused by other problems, such as diabetes).
- Infections of various types.
- Growth of tissue in the ear.
- An obstruction in the ear (like an build-up of earwax).
It can be hard to know what’s causing your sudden hearing loss or what you should do about it without a medical diagnosis.
Sudden Hearing Loss Treatment Options
Regardless of which of these your sudden hearing loss is caused by, if you identify it early enough, your hearing will normally return to normal with proper treatment. If you promptly address the problem, your hearing is likely to return to normal once the blockage is removed, or in the case of diabetes, once you address the circulation problems.
But that really does rely on quick and effective treatment. There are some disorders that can result in permanent harm if they go untreated (diabetes is, again, one of those conditions). So if you’re coping with any type or degree of hearing loss, get it treated now.
Keep an Eye on Your Ears
If you undergo routine hearing screenings, sudden hearing loss could be easier to detect and you may stop it from sneaking up on you by detecting it sooner. Specific hearing problems can be identified in these screenings before you notice them.
There’s one more thing that diabetes and hearing loss have in common, treating them sooner will bring better results. Untreated hearing loss can lead to other health concerns such as loss of cognitive function. Give us a call to schedule a hearing test.