Diabetes and risk of hearing impairment in adults: a meta-analysis

Recently, several studies have investigated the relationship between diabetes and hearing impairment, but results were inconsistent.

Our objective was to compare the prevalence of hearing impairment between diabetic and nondiabetic adults.

We performed a systematic literature search using MEDLINE (1950 to May 30, 2011) and EMBASE (1974 to May 30, 2011).

Cross-sectional studies were included if data on numbers of hearing-impaired and non-hearing-impaired cases with diabetes were presented. Hearing impairment was limited to that assessed by pure-tone audiometry that included at least 2 kHz of frequency range and was defined as progressive, chronic, sensorineural, or without specified cause.

Two authors independently extracted relevant data. Odd ratios (ORs) of hearing impairment related to diabetes calculated in each study were pooled with the random-effects model.

Data were obtained from 13 eligible studies (20,194 participants and 7,377 cases). Overall pooled OR (95% confidence interval) of hearing impairment for diabetic participants compared with nondiabetic participants was 2.15 (1.72-2.68). OR was higher in younger participants (mean age, ≤60 yr) than in those over 60 yr among which the OR remained significant (2.61 and 1.58, P = 0.008). The strength of the association between diabetes and prevalence of hearing impairment was not significantly influenced by whether participants were matched for age and gender (P = 0.68) or whether participants chronically exposed to noisy environments were excluded (P = 0.19).

Current meta-analysis suggests that the higher prevalence of hearing impairment in diabetic patients compared with nondiabetic patients was consistent regardless of age.