The Association Between Age-Related Hearing Impairment and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Women: 5-Year Follow-Up Observational Study

Background: Although several observational studies showed a relationship between various conditions of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hearing threshold, there are no studies about longitudinal audiometric results related MetS. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between MetS and age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) through a large, average 5-year longitudinal follow-up, clinical comparative analysis. Materials and Methods: We recruited 1381 women older than 50 years who were enrolled in 2007 and reevaluated in 2012. They had normal or symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss. For the evaluation of the independent impact of MetS on hearing, multivariate analysis was used. Results: The average follow-up period was 5.0 +/- 0.2 years. Subjects with MetS had higher hearing thresholds than subjects without MetS. The loss in high-frequency hearing (>= 2000 Hz) progressed more rapidly in women with MetS over a 5-year period. Conclusion: Our analysis using longitudinal and large data revealed that MetS is associated with ARHI in women 50 years and older. High-frequency hearing loss tended to be greater in women with MetS than in those without MetS at the 5-year follow-up. Therefore, older women with MetS should be followed up closely for hearing evaluation.