Abstract: Objective To evaluate the hearing and balance function in patients with diabetes and further find out the relationship between them. Methods A total of 137 patients with diabetes mellitus visited Tongren hospital from January to December in 2011. The patients’ hearing and balance function were investigated. Results In all of the 137 subjects with diabetes: 85 cases(62.04%) had hearing loss, including the patients’ duration with diabetes≤10 years is 65 cases(65/115, 56.52%), and the duration>10 years is 20 cases(20/22, 90.90%). The incidence of hearing loss increase along with the duration of diabetes(P=0.001). 114 cases(84.44%) had vestibular disfunction, 94 cases(68.61%) had tinnitus, the number of the patients with aural fullness is 49 cases(35.77%). The multi-factor Logistic regression analysis showed that, hearing loss related with gender(P=0.073, OR=2.076) and the duration of diabetes(P=0.047, OR=1.711). Conclusion The incidence of hearing loss in patients with diabetics is high. Gender and the duration of diabetes is also related with hearing loss.

Key words: diabetes mellitus, duration, hearing loss, vestibular disfunction