We knew the ravages of cigarette on the brainthe heart, the lungs… It seems that the tobacco also damages hearing. Japanese researchers conducted a study on a panel of more than 50,000 participants that reported an increased risk of hearing loss in smokers compared to non-smokers. In the magazine Nicotine and Tobacco Researchthe team of Dr. Huanhuan Hu, lead author of the study, assesses the increased risk of hearing loss in a range of 20 to 60%.
The survey was based on data from the annual health check-ups of each of the volunteers, including hearing tests conducted over several years (up to eight) and a questionnaire on their lifestyle. Risk factors such as age, occupation and state of health (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, overweight, etc.) were not taken into account in the results. Lack of physical activity and listening to loud music were also not taken into consideration. For Dr. Huanhuan Hu, chief scientist of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Japan, these results “provide strong evidence to support that smoking is a causative factor of hearing loss and underscore the need for tobacco control to prevent or delay the development of hearing loss.”
Quitting smoking benefits hearing
Another lesson of the study, it would be possible to reverse the harmful effects of tobacco on hearing by a smoking cessation. The risks tended to decrease in smokers who quit the habit. “The risk of hearing loss associated with smoking appears to decrease within five years of quitting smoking,” the authors said, quoted by AFP.
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