Tan BKJ, Ng FYC, Tan NKW, et al. - Findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis revealed excess all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in relation to hearing loss (HL) and dual sensory loss (DSL). Physicians caring for patients with HL are advised to consider its relevance to general health and longevity.

• In this review, 14 retrospective and 13 prospective observational studies (1,213,756 participants) from 3,220 records, with moderate-quality evidence overall, were analyzed to clarify the epidemiological associations between HL/DSL and mortality.

• A 13% and 28% higher risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality was observed in relation to hearing loss.

• There existed a dose-response relationship, with the all-cause death relative hazard doubling for every 30-dB increase in audiometric thresholds; when both hearing and vision loss existed, the excess all-cause and cardiovascular death was even higher, at 40% and 86%.