Hearing impairment in infants of diabetic mothers: report from a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hearing impairment (HI) in infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) and to investigate its association with maternal diabetes type and maternal glycemic control.

Methods: In this prospective hospital-based observational cohort study, infants born to mothers with either pregestational diabetes (PGDM) or gestational diabetes (GDM) were classified as IDM. We screened 474 IDM over 1 year (January to December, 2021) for HI using Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE) in two steps. The first screening was conducted before the infants were 30 days old, and a second test was administered two weeks later for those who did not pass the initial screening. Infants who failed both DPOAE tests underwent further evaluation with Auditory Brainstem Response Audiometry (ABR) at three months to confirm the presence of HI. All the tests were performed in required ideal environment and with expert technician.

Results: After all the tests, 42 (8.9%) IDM were discovered as having HI. Among them 34 (81%) had unilateral and 8 (19%) had bilateral HI. The prevalence of HI was significantly higher (p < 0.00) in infants with pre-gestational diabetic mothers (19, 19.5%) than in GDM (23, 6.1%). Infants of mothers with uncontrolled (HbA1c >6.1%) blood glucose had a significantly higher rate (p 0.04) of HI than that of well-controlled diabetic mother (HbA1c <6.1%).

Conclusion: The prevalence of HI in IDM was 8.9% in our study. It was significantly higher in infants of mothers with pre-gestational diabetes and with uncontrolled blood sugar.

BIRDEM Med J 2026; 16(2): 52-57