Screening and Characterization of Hearing Disorders in Diabetic Persons

Diabetes is now the most common chronic disease since it affects western populations such as France almost 6% of the population. This disease is particularly costly for social protection systems, not only for the cost of daily care but also by the occurrence of Chronic complications that are leading to major co-morbidities. Thus, diabetes is a major cardiovascular risk factor. Diabetes also leads to micro-angiopathic complications: Diabetic retinopathy eventually ends up in evolved forms to the first cause of young subject blindness in developed countries. Nephropathy is one of the first causes of terminal renal failure leading to extra renal treatment.

Diabetic neuropathy seems to be the most common and the most common of the specific complications of diabetes. It can of course touch the lower limbs, most often training a symmetrical and distal motor polyneuritis, responsible for the term of Neuro arthropathy of Charcot. The vegetative nervous system can also be achieved with cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, neuro-vascular, metabolic and pupil consequences. The injuries of the cranial nerves are also possible and are most frequently characterized by facial paralysis or motor eye nerves.

The association between hearing disorders and diabetes has always aroused controversy on the part of contradictory literature data. Are hearing disorders an underestimated complication of diabetes? A recent meta-analysis of 2013, examined the scientific literature between 1950 and 2011 and of the 3158 citations, only 13 articles were selected (with more than 20 000 participants). This study found that hearing disorders in diabetic patients were 2.1 times more prevalent than in non-diabetic paired subjects. In addition, the age/aging factor is associated with the prevalence of hearing impairment and diabetes. However, it also appears that the link between diabetes and hearing disorder is more pronounced among young people than the elderly.

Nevertheless, it is regrettable that in the majority of the "diabetes-hearing disorders" studies were not exhaustive from the point of view of the documentation of the alteration of the hearing function. Indeed, the indices of impairment of the hearing are essentially based on a review of the audiograms. No more relevant objective test, allowing to evaluate more precisely the different functional compartments of the inner ear, has been achieved. Indeed, it would be wise to elucidate which (s) are the targets (s) of the diabetes. Classical hearing impairment mainly affects cochlear sensory cells and more specifically external hair cells. However, it is possible to envisage that the alteration of the micro-vascularization of the vascular Streak (ischemic disorders), a selective expectation of the nerve fibers (hearing neuropathy), the metabolic disturbances at the mitochondrial level, Oxidative stress with free radical production, advanced glycation products (AGE, advanced glycation end-products).

Objectives:

• The primary objective is the assessment of the prevalence of hearing impairment (with or without clinical manifestation) in a population of type 1 and type 2 diabetic persons treated and followed during a hospitalization or consultation in the Department of Endocrinology-Diabetology of the CHU de Clermont-Ferrand.
• The second objectives are:

Identify the proportion of patients with a peripheral explanation for their hearing impairment (involvement of the outer ciliated cells, 'classic deafness) Identify the proportion of patients who have a neural explanation for their hearing impairment (hearing-type neuropathy) And categorize types of hearing impairment by types of diabetes, its balance, age, absence or absence of complication, age of patient, sex of patient, noise exposure in a professional manner or as a part of recreation, taking ototoxic drugs, smoking.