About a year before diagnosis of T2 (and stats say I will probably therefore have had high bg already), I had recurring ear infections, 3 in a year I think, having had nothing like that before. At about the same time as diagnosis, I'm in equal measure embarrassed and proud to say I experienced thrush, which is quite an achievement for a man.
Strangely, I've never had a bad bout of athletes foot for a long time. I used to get that a lot many years ago, but it was probably linked to doing several sports which involved standing on mats bare-foot which many other people stood on with their disgusting bare-feet, rather than me being particularly prone to fungus growing on the skin.
Right now I'm getting diminished sensation in my fingertips and toes. It's very hard to tell why. There are some definite solid patches of dead skin on my feet with no sensation when I touch them, which have a good explanation (new boots and a lot of walking) but I think other toe areas are less sensitive while the skin looks normal. There may also be a non-diabetes explanation for the reduced sensitive of my fingers, e.g. I started playing the guitar a few months ago and was very conscious of thickening / less sensitive skin on my fingertips, but then I haven't played for over a month, so again, not sure.
Anyway, T2 is linked to poor circulation, nerve damage, and fungus growth, all of which are likely to make themselves felt (or rather, not) on the skin.