Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) can cause pathophysiological changes of body organs including the inner ear due to changes in the metabolism of glucose. Studies showed that in children with early onset diabetes, the damage caused by the disease can affect the function of the inner ear leading to hearing impairment, motor function, and impaired balance. There is no documented evidence about the impact of diabetes on the hearing, movement and balance. The Objective: this study was to evaluate the potential impact of type 1 diabetes on hearing and balance function in children. Materials and Methods: 65 diabetic children were included in this cross-sectional study of auditory and balance disorder and compared with control group (83 cases). The age range of enrolled participants was between 6-12 years. Audiologic exams including pure tone audiometery (PTA), Auditory Brain-Stem Response (ABR) and Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAE) were assessed. Also, Bruininks-Oseretsky (BOT-2) was used for balance examination. Comparative evaluation was performed between the two groups and final data were analyzed by SPSS 19. Results: In this study, the thresholds of PTA in case and control groups were 3.5 ± 2.8 and 1.6 ± 1.2 dB, respectively. The average absolute latency of wave V and interpeak latency I-V in diabetic children were within normal range. The lowest percentage of normal response in DPOAE test of diabetic children was observed at frequencies 750 and 1000 Hz which were less than 50 percent. All of the scales and subscales BOT-2 between the two groups were different statistically (p<0.0001). There was a significant association between manual coordination, strength and agility subscales, and total motor composite scale of BOT-2 and PTA results. Also, a paradoxical relationship between the Hg A1C and the Strength & Agility subscale in children with type 1 DM was observed. Conclusion: Children with type 1 diabetes had weaker performance in hearing and balance systems, compared to peers without diabetes. Thus, further studies are recommended on the significance of early diagnosis and preventive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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