The blood sugar disease is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, affecting almost 26 million people nationwide. The condition, in which the body either ignores insulin or doesn’t produce enough, is also the fifth leading cause of death for Latinos. Now it seems diabetes may be affecting more than just blood sugar.

For the study, researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit examined the medical records of 900 men and women who had taken hearing tests during a period of eight years. All individuals had diabetes and were divided into two groups: well controlled and poorly controlled.

Researchers found that among women between the ages of 60 and 75—including those who controlled their diabetes—hearing loss was about 14 percent worse than people without diabetes. This amount of loss, the researchers noted, is not clinically significant and might not even be noticed by the individuals. Among those with poorly controlled diabetics, however, the hearing loss was 28 percent worse than those without diabetes.

The study also found that younger women who had diabetes, well controlled or not, were also more likely to suffer from hearing loss than women who did not have diabetes.

“Diabetes is known to affect eyes, kidneys and other organs,” said study author Kathleen Yaremchuk, chairwoman of the department of otolaryngology at the Henry Ford Healthcare System. “Our study shows that it can affect hearing as well.”

However, researchers did find that managing diabetes could prevent hearing loss or keep it from getting worse. But researchers could not confirm whether damage could be reversed.

The study recommended that people with diabetes, especially women, have their hearing tested once a year.