Role of Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry in Evaluating Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Diabetic Patients

Introduction Diabetes has become a global epidemic. Hearing loss has been long associated with diabetes. Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA) is an objective, non-invasive, electro diagnostic test that not only evaluates the functional integrity of the subcortical auditory pathway but also provides topo-diagnosis of hearing loss. This study aims to identify the role BERA in detecting hearing loss early in diabetic patients.Materials and Methods In this study a total of 210 patients were taken and subjected to blood glucose levels followed by PTA were divided into two groups. Group I (n=105) consisted of diabetic patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and Group II (n=105) had age and sex matched non-diabetics with SNHL. All the patients were evaluated with BERA.Results All the patients were subjected to Brain Stem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA). Absolute latency of Wave I, III, V, I-III, III-V and I-V were assessed for both the ears. In both ear Absolute latency were significantly higher in diabetics as compared to non-diabetic patientsConclusion The findings of present study showed that the severity of hearing loss was significantly higher in diabetic patients as compared to non-diabetic controls. Level of glycemic control showed a possible link with severity of hearing loss.