Key pointsMeningitis is a life-threatening infection which may develop as a complication to acute otitis mediaThe most common sequela after meningitis is hearing loss, but risk factors for hearing loss have not been studied to any great extent.When all cases of meningitis (n=187) occurring in a Swedish county during 18 years (2000-2017) were investigated, 71 cases of hearing loss were identified, however 68 of the patients had not done a hearing test after recovery.Hearing loss was significantly more common in adults, occurring in 45% in patients aged 21-65 years and in 48% in patients over the age of 65 when assuming that those who had not done a hearing test had normal hearing. This corresponded to ORs of 8.0 and 9.8 compared to children.Concurrent acute otitis media and pneumococcal infection increased the odds of hearing loss by 2.1 and 3.6, respectively.