n Diabetes Lifestyle - Diabetes and that noise in your ears : living with diabetes

Abstract

When doing hearing screening for people with diabetes, it is not uncommon for patients to report noise in their ears, known as tinnitus. This prompted me to write about the common link between tinnitus and diabetes that many know little about.

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Tinnitus is the perception of a sound in the ears that has no external source. It is often described as a buzzing, ringing, roaring, hissing or humming. It can be constant or intermittent and can occur in one or both ears. It is relatively common; one-third of adults experience some degree of tinnitus in their lifetime and 10-15 % suffer with prolonged tinnitus.