Background: DM is one of the most important healthcare concerns in the world since this disease can affect virtually every system in the human body. It is a non- communicable disease with numerous cardiovascular, neurological, infectious complications. The association of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in diabetes mellitus patients is known since decades, yet there is no clear consensus among previous studies, with respect to the prevalence of SNHL in type 2 diabetes patients and the effect of duration and control of diabetes on hearing acuity. Hence the objectives of this study are to find the prevalence of SNHL in type 2 diabetes patients and to find the effect of duration and control of diabetes on hearing loss. The present study was conductedto identify whether patients with diabetes have a higher incidence of sensorineural hearing loss than the general population and examine whether control of diabetes is related to severity of hearing loss.

Method: The present study was conducted on 100 patients with 50 patients having type 2 diabetes and 50 patients as controlattending Government Medical College, Jammu in the age group of 30-70 years. After detailed history taking and clinical examination, all subjects underwent FBS, PPBS estimation and HbA1c evaluation was done for diabetic patients. All underwent pure tone audiometry and the findings were recorded and analyzed.

Results: Diabetes patients had insidious onset, gradually progressive, bilaterally symmetrical SNHL. SNHL is prevalent in 67.44% of type 2 diabetes patients compared to 23.26% of controls. It is aggravated with the increasing age and duration of diabetes. Poor control of diabetes showed increased prevalence of SNHL compared to good control of diabetes. 

Conclusions: There is increased prevalence of SNHL in type 2 diabetes patients and it is seen more in patients with poor diabetic control. 

Keywords: Sensorineural hearing loss, Diabetes mellitus, Glycosylated Hemoglobin.

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Achint Singh