Diabetes and hearing loss - How can diabetes affect your hearing?

Diabetes can in some cases lead to hearing loss. Learn how diabetes and hearing loss are related.

Created 06 October 2022 Updated 10 February 2025

About hearing

Did you know that diabetes and hearing loss are related? According to the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC), too high or low blood sugar levels can damage nerves that affect your hearing.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects your body’s ability to turn food into energy. When you have diabetes, your body isn’t very good at creating insulin, which means that too much sugar stays in your bloodstream. There is no cure for diabetes, but it can be managed with medication.

The hearing loss connection

According to the CDC, Diabetes can cause nerve damage in many parts of your body – including your ears. Over time, small blood vessels in your inner ear can get damaged from high blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar is low, it can also affect how nerve signals travel from the inner ear to your brain. In both cases, this can lead to hearing loss.

In fact, the CDC states that hearing loss is twice as common in people with diabetes.

Think you might have hearing loss? Try our online hearing test.