Diabetes, noise exposure, and hearing loss.

To examine the relationship of diabetes, noise exposure, and hearing loss, the authors reanalyzed data from a cross-sectional investigation on noise exposure, hearing loss, and BP conducted in a high-noise and a low-noise plant. Twenty-eight of 348 participants met the following criteria for diabetes: (1) currently on insulin or oral hypoglycemics or (2) at least two elevated serum glucose levels despite adhering to a calorie-restricted diet. Diabetics were evenly distributed between high- and low-noise exposure. A two-way analysis of variance was conducted at each of seven hearing threshold frequencies using diabetes and high-noise exposure as main effects. Diabetics demonstrated no evidence of higher hearing threshold shifts than nondiabetics at the same noise levels. Noise and diabetes together do not appear to produce more neuropathic damage than does one insult alone.