Cross-sectional study links diabetes status with hearing impairment in Canadian adults

A cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging found that adults with prediabetes or diabetes had higher observed prevalence and adjusted odds of hearing impairment than adults without either condition. Among 24,048 participants included in the analysis, hearing impairment affected 44.0% of those with prediabetes, 42.9% of those with diabetes and 27.3% of controls. Disabling hearing impairment was also more prevalent in the two metabolic groups, at 12.8% and 11.7%, respectively, compared with 5.5% among controls.

The study used baseline data collected in 2012 from 30,097 CLSA participants and applied standardized hearing-impairment definitions proposed by the World Health Organization. Hearing impairment was defined as a four-frequency pure-tone average of at least 20 decibels hearing level in the better ear, while disabling hearing impairment was defined as a four-frequency pure-tone average of at least 35 dB HL in that ear. The investigators compared people with prediabetes, people with diabetes and a control group of participants without either condition.

Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios for the two hearing outcomes after adjustment for potential confounders. The researchers also tested interaction effects involving diabetes status, age and sex. Following adjustment, people with prediabetes or diabetes had up to 27% higher odds of hearing impairment than controls, with an odds ratio of 1.27 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.15–1.39 (p < 0.001). For disabling hearing impairment, the adjusted odds ratio was 1.56, indicating up to 56% higher odds, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.27–1.92 (p < 0.001).

Significant interactions were observed between diabetes status and both age and sex for each hearing outcome, showing that the associations were not uniform across demographic groups. The authors’ conclusion emphasized adults with prediabetes or diabetes in the youngest age group, particularly women, as potentially facing greater risk of hearing impairment severe enough to hinder speech comprehension in daily life. Based on these findings, the authors recommended early hearing screening for these populations.

Because the analysis was cross-sectional and used a single baseline assessment, it could not establish the sequence in which diabetes status and hearing impairment developed or determine whether diabetes caused the hearing outcomes. The findings also do not show that an intervention prevents hearing loss. What the study establishes is an association in a large sample of Canadian adults: both prediabetes and diabetes were associated with a higher prevalence and adjusted odds of hearing impairment, including the more severe category associated with difficulty understanding speech, while the strength of that association varied by age and sex.

Subject of Research: Cross-sectional associations between diabetes status and hearing impairment in Canadian adults

Article Title: Association between diabetes mellitus and hearing impairment in the adult Canadian population: data from the Canadian longitudinal study on aging

Article References: Nguyen, X. N., & Fuente, A. (2026). Association between diabetes mellitus and hearing impairment in the adult Canadian population: data from the Canadian longitudinal study on aging. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-29645-7

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-29645-7

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, prediabetes, hearing impairment, disabling hearing loss, Canadian adults, Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, cross-sectional study, odds ratios, age interactions, sex differences, Association, between