Education Identifying Hearing Loss in Patients With Diabetes Purpose

Recent research suggests that hearing loss, a frequent problem for aging adults, is more prevalent in people with diabetes. Hearing impairment affects a patient’s learning. This article reviews the anatomy and physiol-ogy involved in hearing, describes common causes of hearing loss in people with diabetes, and describes how hearing loss is diagnosed and treated. Two simple tests the diabetes educator can use to screen for hearing loss are described, and interventions that improve communi-cation with patients with difficulty hearing are explained. Conclusions Hearing loss can negatively affect a patient’s ability to actively participate in diabetes education. Diabetes edu-cators have a responsibility to learn how to communicate better with their patients who have a hearing impairment. Diabetes educators are uniquely positioned to improve the health status of their patients by identifying persons who need referral for further evaluation of their hearing. Hearing loss may be first recognized by the diabetes educator when a patient is not participating in a conversation or asks the educator to constantly repeat information. Hearing loss can negatively affect com-munication for people with diabetes, which can affect their quality of life. In addition, communication is essen-tial for effective diabetes education as hearing is a