What is a well-respected entity with 250 staff members, professional society of 16,000 healthcare professionals and network of 565,000 volunteers devoted to raising awareness of diabetes pervasiveness, preventative factors and quality of life detriments?
The American Diabetes Association, known as the ADA.
Above and beyond their 24/7/365 commitment to improving quality of life for all associated, every November, the ADA leads national advocacy efforts during Diabetes Awareness Month. This imperative reflects CDC estimates that 1.4 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in 2019 along with these astonishing statistics:
- 37.3 million Americans have diabetes, with 20% being unaware of it
- 96 million American adults have prediabetes, with 80% being unaware 1
Literally, from head to toe, from eyes to feet, Diabetes Mellitus (DM), commonly known as Diabetes, is a chronic disease which can manifest itself in unhealthy ways.
“To put it simply, you have Diabetes Mellitus when too much sugar is circulating in your blood stream. Sugar, also known as glucose, is an important and necessary fuel for our bodies. So necessary, that both the liver and the kidneys produce it naturally; however, we get the most sugar from the foods we eat.” 2
To better understand damaging flows, we rediscover our cardiovascular system’s intricacies, as represented here ➤
Did You Know the average heart pumps 2,000 gallons daily? Can you picture seeing 2,000 one-gallon jugs on your next grocery store visit?
As the heart functions, approximately 60,000 miles (twice around the earth) of miniscule blood vessels, the smallest ones measuring 5 micrometers, about 1/3 the size of a strand of human hair, circulate blood throughout your body.
Arteries, away from your heart.
Veins, back towards your heart.
Capillaries, connecting arteries and veins.
Type 2 diabetes is dysfunction in how our body regulates and uses sugar (glucose) as fuel. This chronic disease results in excess sugar circulating through the bloodstream. When the pancreas does not produce proper amount of insulin to regulate sugar movement, cells may take in less sugar than normal. As a result, elevated sugar levels may damage circulatory, nervous and immune systems.
“What is necessary to change a person is
to change awareness of himself.”
—Abraham Maslow
With many aware how circulatory issues affect heart health, it is also essential to understand they can negatively impact cochlear anatomy, nerve signals and auditory function. Research indicates high blood sugar levels can harm the inner ear’s small blood vessels and nerves, diminishing hearing abilities.
Pearls of Wisdom™ from peer-reviewed research on DM indicates:
- “The high dependance on glucose as the source for its high energy consumption makes the cochlea a target of damage in DM.” 3
- “The auditory system requires glucose and high-energy utilization for its complex signal processing. This suggests that the cochlea may also be a target organ for the ill effects of hyperglycemia.” 4
- “Intuitively, diabetic patients with retinopathy should have more hearing loss, given the similarity of the microvascular blood supply of the ear to that of the eye.” 5
With inside views of the cochlea impossible, we cannot see anatomical impacts of DM on auditory organs, however we can see how Diabetic Retinopathy distorts vision. Clearly, negative impacts on sensory acuities are measurable, with Diabetes causing increased risk of hearing loss.
While we take your hearing care seriously, a little laughter goes a long way.
Good Humor, Healthy Hearing
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Meet Our Doctor
To health and staying connected,
Dr. Peter Marincoivch
