Is diabetes a culprit for turning down hearing? At least a new study finds the association positive. People with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) face over two times the risk of developing hearing loss compared with those without the condition, according to a study in the Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery.

Researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of 39 studies, which involved 88,395 individuals with T2DM and 20,337 controls. The mean age of participants with T2DM was 50.3 years. The average diabetes duration was 9.1 years, and the mean HbA1c level was 8.4%.

Clinically significant hearing loss was present in 53% of patients with T2DM compared with 25.2% of controls (proportional difference: 27.7% and relative risk: 2.3). Sensorineural hearing loss was the most common type (46.2%), followed by mixed (10.4%) and conductive (5.0%).

Hearing loss severity in the T2DM group included 22.1% mild, 25.5% moderate, 8.5% severe, and 1.7% profound impairment. These results were significantly higher than in controls. Bilateral hearing loss affected 29.6% of T2DM patients, while 15% had unilateral loss.