Hearing Care Within Diabetes Care: Strategies for Direct Inclusion

An estimated 38 million Americans have hearing loss, affecting their function and ability to communicate in everyday activities, with prevalence increasing with each decade of life ( 1 ). Hearing loss, especially unmanaged hearing loss, is associated with many negative outcomes, including falls ( 2, 3 ), dementia ( 4 ), social isolation or loneliness ( 5 ), and increased health care utilization ( 6, 7 ). Management of hearing loss, traditionally with hearing aids and rehabilitation strategies to facilitate improved listening environments, is remarkably effective in augmenting impaired hearing function, supporting quality of life and preventing adverse health outcomes ( 8–11 ). However, hearing loss remains underdiagnosed and undermanaged ( 12, 13 ). Despite the growing understanding of the role of hearing loss across health and function, hearing health has not commonly been considered in primary care or specialty practices as part of the clinical care workflow and best practice recommendations, including for diabetes care ( 14 ).