Prevalence and Pattern of Sensorineural Hearing Impairment Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus at the Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

BACKGROUND Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is an illness in which insulin secretion and action is impaired. In 2014 the global prevalence of diabetes was estimated to be 9% among adults. in Africa the prevalence of diabetes has been estimated to range from 1% in rural Uganda to 12% in urban Kenya. Patients with diabetes have been shown to have worse hearing as compared to healthy individuals. AIM To determine the prevalence and pattern of sensorineural hearing impairment among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at the Kenyatta National hospital. METHODS Study setting: Kenyatta National Hospital ENT, Head and Neck Surgery outpatient department, Diabetic outpatient clinic and Nairobi Audiology Centre. Study design: This was a hospital-based cross sectional survey that was carried out for a duration of three months between the months of February and May 2016. Methodology: A total of 78 patients between 22 – 55 years of age on follow up for type 2 Diabetes Mellitus were recruited into the study. Pure tone audiometry was carried out at 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 Hz. The participants then underwent Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) testing. Demographic, anthropometric, clinical and laboratory data was collected on a preformatted questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics was used for the population demographic characteristics. Univariate and multivariate analysis was used to determine correlates of risk factors to hearing impairment in diabetes mellitus patients RESULTS A total of 78 patients were recruited in to the study and overall 39.7% of patients with type 2 diabetes were found to have hearing loss. Mild sensorineural hearing loss accounted for 90.3% of those with hearing loss with a majority of them having high frequency hearing loss. The ABR wave I, III & V absolute latencies were found to be significantly shorter as compared to normative data. However, the interpeak latencies were similar to normative data. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION The hearing loss associated with type 2 diabetes was shown to be mild and as such, the evidence we have as of now, doesn’t justify the added cost to advocate for routine hearing assessment in patients with type 2 diabetes.