Older age correlates with higher hearing-related symptom scores in adults with diabetesOlder Age Tied to More Hearing Symptoms in Diabetes

Hearing impairment has been increasingly recognized as being associated with diabetes mellitus. Although previous studies have demonstrated a higher prevalence of hearing loss among people with diabetes, less is known about self-reported hearing-related symptoms and their association with demographic and clinical characteristics among adults with diabetes. To assess the burden of self-reported hearing-related symptoms among adults with diabetes and examine their associations with age, sex, and diabetes duration. A cross-sectional study was conducted during the first half of 2022 among 128 adults with diabetes. Data were collected using an author-developed questionnaire constructed based on a review of the literature addressing hearing-related symptoms and their everyday and social consequences. The questionnaire was not formally validated. A Hearing-Related Symptom Score was calculated from seven self-reported symptom questions (range, 0–7). Multivariable Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used to examine associations between the Hearing-Related Symptom Score and age, sex, and diabetes duration. The mean age was 51.19 years (SD, 16.88), and the median Hearing-Related Symptom Score was 4 (range, 0–7). In the multivariable model (n = 127), older age was independently associated with a higher symptom score (adjusted ratio of expected symptom-score burden, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.03; P < 0.001), while male sex was associated with a lower symptom score than female sex (adjusted ratio of expected symptom-score burden, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.69–0.99; P = 0.037). Diabetes duration was not independently associated with symptom score (adjusted ratio of expected symptom-score burden, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00–1.02; P = 0.170). Age remained positively associated with symptom burden in both women and men; however, the age-by-sex interaction was not statistically significant (P = 0.501). Self-reported hearing-related symptom burden was associated with age and sex, but not independently with diabetes duration after adjustment. Findings should be interpreted cautiously given the cross-sectional design, convenience sampling, self-reported data, and use of a non-validated questionnaire. Further studies using validated instruments and objective hearing assessment are warranted.