While deafness often comes on gradually, sometimes the onset is very sudden. It's both distressing and puzzling when this happens because there may not be an obvious cause. However, Japanese researchers have now uncovered a previously unknown link between sudden deafness and type 2 diabetes.
In a group of 148 patients with sudden-onset deafness in one ear, 16 per cent were shown, by a battery of tests, to have type 2 diabetes. They also tended to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and worse hearing than the non-diabetics in the study group. What is more, their blood sugar was higher than that in diabetics who had not suffered sudden hearing loss. These finding do suggest a causal link between diabetes and sudden hearing loss. So if you suddenly go deaf in one ear, do have the doctor investigate the possibility of diabetes and get your blood sugar checked out.
