Severity of hearing impairment is positively associated with urine albumin excretion rate in patients with type 2 diabetes

AIMS/INTRODUCTION To identify risk factors for hearing impairment among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS AND MATERIALS A total of 68 patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled between March and September of 2011. Pure-tone auditory tests were carried out for each patient at the following speech frequencies: 250; 500; 1,000; 2,000; 4,000 and 8,000 Hz. Participants were classified as having hearing impairment if the average of the pure-tone thresholds measured at 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz in either ear exceeded 25 dBHL. Demographic, anthropometric, clinical, and laboratory parameters and diabetes-associated complications were analyzed. RESULTS Patients were divided into those with (n = 32) and without (n = 36) hearing impairment. Hearing impaired participants had a higher urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio than those without (223.1 vs 56.5 mg/g, respectively). After adjustment for age, sex and other risk factors, the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio remained significantly associated with hearing impairment (odds ratio 9.07, 95% confidence interval 1.73-47.43, P = 0.009). There were no significant differences in oxidative stress between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS The present study showed increased albuminuria was positively associated with the severity of hearing impairment among patients with type 2 diabetes. Screening for hearing impairment in diabetic patients who develop albuminuria might provide early detection of hearing impairment.