High prevalence of disabling hearing loss in young to middle-aged adults with diabetes

South Africa has one of the highest diabetes prevalence numbers in Sub-Saharan Africa with more than 2 million diagnosed. There is an increase in evidence linking diabetes with hearing loss. This study aimed to determine prevalence and characterize the nature of hearing loss in patients with diabetes. An observational matched groups design was utilized with a total of 192 participants, 110 patients with diabetes (cohort) and 82 patients without diabetes (control). Pure tone audiometry findings showed a significantly higher prevalence of hearing loss in those with diabetes (55%) when compared to those without (20%) diabetes (p < .001). Further, in patients with diabetes (and diagnosed with hearing loss), the majority (74%) presented with sensorineural hearing loss. There was a higher number of participants with disabling hearing loss (pure tone average (PTA) 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz > 41-dB hearing level (HL) in the better ear) in those with diabetes (n = 48) than those without (n = 10). Distortion product otoacoustic emission assessments showed significantly higher percentages of abnormalities (p < 0.01) in those with diabetes compared to those without diabetes. Findings of this study showed that participants who were diagnosed with diabetes had a higher proportion of disabling hearing loss when compared to those without diabetes. The findings of this study further strengthen the suggestion that hearing loss should be considered as a comorbidity associated with diabetes.