from the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research
Of the many health issues blamed on
cigarette smoking, had you ever
considered hearing loss? A study from
Japan published in the journal Nicotine &
Tobacco Research analyzed data from
more than fifty thousand people over
eight years—comparing current, former
and never smokers. Even after taking
into consideration other factors, such as
exposure to noise, researchers measured
hearing loss of between twenty and fifty
percent among current smokers
compared to never smokers. Risk of
hearing loss decreased within five years
of quitting smoking. With such a large
and lengthy study, researchers say it
provides strong evidence that smoking is
an independent risk of hearing loss and a
causal factor for hearing loss.