Early Indices of Auditory Pathology in Young Adults with Type-1 Diabetes

Abstract

This project is concerned with the relationship between type-1 diabetes and auditory pathology. In this dissertation I compared hearing sensitivity, cochlear function, and peripheral auditory neural function (afferent and efferent) in young adults with type-1 diabetes in comparison to matched controls. As a secondary objective I explored the influence of covariates, such as diabetes control, sex, and noise exposure. My findings suggest that the persons with type-1 diabetes demonstrated early signs of cochlear pathology and that this damage was related to sex and history of noise exposure. In addition, I demonstrated the utility of low-level stimulus evoked otoacoustic emissions in showing reduced cochlear function in participants with higher noise exposure and type-1 diabetes despite otherwise normal auditory function outcomes. Identification and recognition of early indices of cochlear pathology may allow intervention and prevention of noise related hearing loss in persons with and without type-1 diabetes.